Development Of Rolls-Royce Lunar Nuclear Reactor On Hold
Rolls‑Royce has suspended work on its 100 kW mini nuclear reactor intended for lunar habitats after the UK government contract that funded the project expired last year. The initiative, launched in 2023 with £9 million of public money, aimed to deliver a compact fission source capable of powering a Moon base by 2029. Without a renewed contract or a launch partner, the firm has placed the programme on hold, though it remains open to restarting development. Meanwhile, NASA is advancing its own US‑only lunar reactor slated for a 2030 deployment.
Scientists Use Lunar Observations To Study Earth’s Radiation Patterns
Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers propose using lunar observations to overcome the limitations of low‑Earth‑orbit satellites for studying Earth’s radiation patterns. From the Moon, Earth appears as a full disk, allowing scientists to capture planet‑scale signals while filtering out localized...
A Single Space Image Reveals the Scale and Sprawl of Italy’s Olympic Games
A newly released Copernicus Sentinel‑2 satellite image captures the full footprint of the 2026 Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics, showing venues spread across northern Italy from the Alpine valleys to the urban sprawl of Milan. The picture highlights the Games’ lack of...
Indian Company Enters Non-Earth Imaging Arena With ISS Photos
Azista Space’s 80‑kg Azista First Runner (AFR) satellite captured the International Space Station from 250‑300 km away, delivering 2.2‑metre sampling resolution across 15 frames. The privately built, Indian‑operated satellite performed two independent imaging attempts with 100% success, validating its indigenous tracking...
China Prepares Starlink Kill Weapon as Space War Heats Up
Chinese engineers at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology have unveiled the TPG1000Cs, a compact high‑power microwave system capable of delivering 20 gigawatts in 60‑second bursts. Weighing about five tonnes and measuring four metres, the device can be mounted on trucks,...
Planetary Parade 2026: How to See Six Planets Align in February Night Sky
On 28 February 2026 six planets—Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—will form a visible arc across the evening sky. Four of the planets are bright enough to see with the naked eye, while the two outer giants require binoculars or a...
POLARIS Wins BAAINBw Contract To Develop A Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle
German aerospace startup POLARIS has secured a contract from the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In‑Service Support (BAAINBw) to develop, manufacture and operate a two‑stage, horizontal‑take‑off reusable hypersonic vehicle. The vehicle, called HYTEV, will integrate twin turbofans,...
The Actual Size Of Jupiter Might Shock You
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has refined Jupiter’s dimensions, measuring an equatorial radius of 88,841 miles and a polar radius of 83,057 miles—slightly smaller than the long‑standing textbook values. The new figures come from 32 radio‑occultation data points, far surpassing the six...
Venus Might Experience A Meteor Shower This Summer
Scientists predict Venus will encounter a meteor shower on July 5, 2026, generated by debris from a recently split asteroid. The dust originates from two Atira‑group asteroids, 2021 PH27 and 2025 GN1, which share a common parent body that fractured under solar...
India’s OrbitAID Aerospace In Talks With ISRO, SpaceX For Twin Satellite Mission
OrbitAID Aerospace Pvt Ltd is in talks with ISRO and SpaceX to launch a pair of 110‑kg satellites that will demonstrate autonomous docking, fuel and power transfer, and on‑orbit life‑extension capabilities. The twin spacecraft – a target and a chaser...
Europe’s New Weather Satellite Delivers Data That Could Change Forecasting
Europe’s new Meteosat Third Generation‑Sounder (MTG‑S) has begun delivering its first infrared temperature and humidity data after 15 years of development. The hyperspectral sounder, operating from geostationary orbit, produces global surface‑heat and cloud‑top temperature maps as well as moisture fields...
Tesla Admits Optimus Robots Are Doing No Useful Work & Other Things We Learned From Mag 7 Earnings
Tesla confirmed on its earnings call that Optimus humanoid robots are still in R&D and are not performing useful work in its factories, contradicting earlier claims. The admission resets expectations for the robotics sector, underscoring the gap between prototypes and...
New £3.8m DEEP Lab Opens in Oxfordshire to Test Satellite Propulsion Systems
A new £3.8 million Disruptive Experimental Electric Propulsion (DEEP) lab opened at Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, with £1.8 million contributed by the UK Space Agency. Built by Magdrive, the facility features a two‑metre vacuum chamber for testing electric thrusters and is open...
Singapore’s DSTA and India’s Digantara to Develop SSA Tools
Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) has signed a partnership with India’s Digantara Industries to co‑develop Space Situational Awareness (SSA) software for the National Space Agency of Singapore. The collaboration will integrate Digantara’s sensor data and AI‑driven analytics to...
U.S. Space Force Activates Northern Unit to Advance Space-Based Defense Capabilities
The U.S. Space Force officially activated its Northern component on Jan. 30, placing it under U.S. Northern Command to bolster homeland defence. The new Space Forces Northern unit, the seventh regional field component, will focus on space domain awareness, missile...
Your February 2026 Space Calendar: 15 Events & Conferences That Define Q1
February 2026 is a packed month for the space sector, featuring 15 high‑profile conferences across the UK, United States, and globally. Events range from the Space Suppliers Summit in Glasgow to the SmallSat Symposium in Silicon Valley, covering manufacturing, finance,...
ISRO Conducts Hot Test Of LOX-Methane Engine At Thrust Chamber
India's space agency ISRO successfully performed the first hot test of its high‑thrust LOX‑Methane engine at the thrust‑chamber level, achieving a chamber pressure of 56 bar with a single‑element injector fabricated via additive manufacturing. The sub‑scale test validates the engine design...
A New Era For Forest Carbon Tracking Begins As ESA Releases Biomass Data
The European Space Agency has opened free access to data from its Biomass satellite, which uses P‑band synthetic aperture radar to peer through forest canopies and directly measure woody carbon stores. After a lengthy commissioning phase that calibrated instrument stability...
December Saw More Satellites Falling Back To Earth, UK Space Data Shows
UK’s National Space Operations Centre reported that December 2025 saw record orbital congestion, with the US satellite catalogue listing 32,687 resident space objects, a net gain of 383. Re‑entry activity accelerated to 52 objects, a 21 % rise from November, while...
Bright Streak Lights Up New Zealand Sky: Was It A Meteor?
On 30 January 2026 a bright green fireball streaked across the night sky above Wellington, New Zealand, and was recorded by a webcam at the Heretaunga Boating Club. Eyewitness videos quickly spread on social media, prompting experts to debate whether the phenomenon was...
Singapore to Launch Its National Space Agency in April 2026
Singapore announced the creation of a National Space Agency (NSAS) that will begin operations on 1 April 2026. The agency will consolidate the duties of the Office of Space Technology & Industry and drive R&D, industry growth, and regulatory reform. Singapore’s space...
Indian FY27 Budget Pushes Space Companies to Look at Defence Sector for Demand
India’s FY27 Union Budget omitted direct fiscal incentives for the space sector, prompting private firms to pivot toward the defence market, which saw a 15% allocation increase to ₹7.85 lakh crore. While sector‑specific demands such as GST rationalisation and a dedicated...
Major Solar Flare Strikes as Giant New Sunspot Erupts
An unprecedented sunspot, designated 4366, emerged over the weekend and rapidly expanded to nearly ten times Earth's diameter. The region unleashed a prolonged flare sequence—M7, X1, and M6—lasting over six hours, delivering intense extreme ultraviolet radiation that triggered a shortwave...
₹1,200 Crore/£98.4 Million Pixxel Space-Led EOS Project Formalised with IN-SPACe
Indian private consortium led by PixxelSpace signed a formal agreement with IN‑SPACe to develop and operate a 12‑satellite Earth Observation constellation. The PPP project, valued at roughly ₹1,200 crore (£98 million) over five years, will deliver high‑resolution, multispectral, SAR and hyperspectral imaging...
NASA Perseverance Rover Might Have Uncovered Proof Of Life On Mars
NASA's Perseverance rover drilled a mudstone core in Sapphire Canyon, Neretva Vallis, revealing the presence of Vivianite and Greigite—minerals on Earth commonly associated with microbial processes. The rover's SHERLOC and PIXL instruments identified these minerals, marking the closest detection of...
DSIT Says Gov’t Should “Provide Clarity” Regarding UK Launch
On 30 January the Department for Space, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) published a response to the House of Lords Engagement with Space Committee's 40‑point report on the UK space economy. The most debated item was Recommendation 13, which questioned the commercial...
The Chinese Space Industry Plagued By Launch Cancellations For February
China’s Wenchang Space Centre abruptly cancelled almost all February launches, leaving only the Long March‑10A test flight scheduled for 11 February. The move follows high‑profile failures of the Long March 3B and Ceres‑2 rockets, fueling speculation about safety reviews and a strategic shift toward...
EUMETSAT & ESA Next Step With EPS-Sterna
On 27 January, EUMETSAT and ESA signed a cooperation agreement to move the EPS‑Sterna microsatellite constellation from approval to development. The programme, funded by EUMETSAT and managed by ESA for satellite procurement, will deploy six sun‑synchronous microsatellites equipped with microwave sounders...
NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory Catalogue Contains Over 1.3 Million Detections
NASA’s Chandra X‑ray Observatory, launched in 1999, has compiled over 1.3 million individual X‑ray detections into the Chandra Source Catalogue (CSC) 2.1. The catalogue, released in 2024, lists more than 400,000 unique compact and extended sources gathered through 2021. Data primarily stem...
An Uncontrolled Chinese Rocket Puts Europe On Alert
An uncontrolled upper stage of China’s Zhuque‑3 launch vehicle, weighing about 11 tonnes and 13 m long, re‑entered Earth’s atmosphere on Jan 30, 2026, ultimately crashing into the southern Pacific Ocean. European space agencies, including the EU’s SST system, monitored the object...
JAXA Taps Warpspace to Develop Open Laser Communications in Space
Japan’s Warpspace Inc. has been selected for JAXA’s Space Strategy Fund to develop open‑laser communication technologies that enable seamless inter‑satellite links across different vendors. The company will create the HOCSAI multi‑protocol optical modem to provide interoperability, and a Digital Twin...
UK Astronomy Faces Catastrophe Under Funding Cuts
The Royal Astronomical Society warns that proposed cuts from the Science and Technology Facilities Council could slash the combined budget for astronomy, particle physics and nuclear physics by roughly 30%, with some projects facing up to 60% reductions. The society...
James Webb Space Telescope Offers The Clearest View Of The Helix Nebula
The James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam has produced the sharpest infrared image yet of the Helix Nebula, one of Earth’s nearest planetary nebulae. The picture reveals distinct temperature layers—blue hot gas near the central white dwarf, yellow intermediate gas, and...
Lunar Outpost Will Be A Part Of The New In-Orbit Demonstration Mission
Lunar Outpost has been chosen by the European Commission and ESA for a new In‑Orbit Demonstration (IOD) mission. The project will launch, integrate, and operate its TACOS (Thermal Architecture ComponentS) technology in space. TACOS is designed to safeguard spacecraft against...
AI-Powered Video Processing Payload Moves Toward Flight on LizzieSat-4
Maris-Tech Ltd. and Sidus Space announced that Maris-Tech’s AI‑powered video processing payload will be integrated onto Sidus’s LizzieSat‑4 satellite, with a launch targeted for later this year. Joint hardware testing begins next week, marking a key integration milestone toward flight...
China’s Xuntian Telescope Clears Major Systems Test Ahead of Planned 2027 Launch
China’s Xuntian space telescope has passed a comprehensive systems-level simulation, confirming that its optical, imaging and data subsystems work together under realistic orbital conditions. The test moves the program from component-only verification to integrated flight readiness, clearing the way for...
CAS Space Prepares For China’s Crewed Spaceflight Operations
On 12 January CAS Space successfully completed its first Lihong‑1 suborbital flight, reaching an altitude of 120 km before parachuting back to the Jiuquan launch site. The mission collected critical data on re‑entry dynamics, deceleration and booster guidance, while carrying a microgravity...
NATO Space Centre of Excellence Reaches Full Operational Capability as New Facility Opens
NATO’s Space Centre of Excellence has been declared fully operational following the opening of its permanent facility in France on 19 January 2026. The centre consolidates three years of institutional build‑up into a standing capability that will shape alliance thinking,...
Hubble Shows Spectacularly Violent Scenes From a Massive Young Star
The Hubble Space Telescope captured vivid Herbig‑Haro objects produced by the massive protostar IRAS 18162‑2048, located about 5,500 light‑years away. Its bipolar jets blaze at over 1,000 km s⁻¹, the fastest ever recorded for a young stellar object, carving a 32‑light‑year cavity. The...
Inside South Korea’s Bold Move To Accelerate Its New Space Economy
South Korea has officially designated its first nationally recognised New Space technologies, shifting the focus from pure research to commercially ready systems. The Korea Aerospace Space Administration evaluated 52 proposals, rewarding technologies that can be manufactured, sold and operated at...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX Receives Praise From The Pentagon
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas, praising the company’s rapid innovation and “risk‑averse‑free” culture compared with traditional defense contractors. He highlighted the Pentagon’s confidence in SpaceX, noting ongoing military contracts for Falcon launches and the upcoming...
A 13-Solar-Mass Star Just Vanished in Andromeda: What Happened?
Astronomers observed the yellow supergiant M31-2014-DS1 in Andromeda brighten in 2014 before fading completely by 2018, without the expected supernova explosion. Two recent studies offer competing explanations: a failed supernova that collapsed directly into a black hole, and a stellar...
NASA’s Antarctic Balloon Fleet Hits Record Heights in the Search for Dark Matter
NASA’s Antarctic balloon program completed its latest long‑duration campaign, deploying four zero‑pressure balloons that floated above 100,000 feet for up to 25 days. The flagship flight focused on detecting rare antimatter particles that could signal dark‑matter interactions, while a companion balloon...
Türkiye Aims for the Stars as Antalya Prepares to Host World’s Biggest Space Congress
Turkey is set to host the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya from October 5‑9, 2026, drawing over 10,000 scientists, astronauts, and industry leaders. The event underscores Ankara’s broader strategy to translate its expanding space budget, new satellite and launch projects,...
STARCOM Commander Outlines Strategic Vision for Space Force
On 8 January 2026 Maj. Gen. James E. Smith released STARCOM’s strategic vision, outlining how the Space Training and Readiness Command will forge combat‑ready space forces for the U.S. Space Force. The plan centers on three pillars: enhancing Guardian warfighting skills through realistic...
Forecasting Technology Group Tomorrow.io Announce AI-Enabled Constellation DeepSky
Tomorrow.io unveiled DeepSky, an AI‑enabled satellite constellation that delivers high‑revisit, radar‑based weather observations to close a long‑standing observation gap. The system feeds a proprietary AI engine trained solely on real sensor data, producing decision‑grade intelligence for clients such as Ford,...
NOAA Will Use Data From A Space Force Weather Satellite
The U.S. Space Force announced that data from its Weather Satellite Follow‑on Microwave (WSF‑M) platform will be shared with NOAA. The first WSF‑M launched in 2024, with a second unit slated for 2028, and both are part of a broader...
Blue Origin Readies New Shepard For Jan. 22 Space Tourism Launch
Blue Origin is set to launch its New Shepard NS-38 mission on Jan. 22, carrying six passengers on a suborbital flight from West Texas. The 10‑12‑minute ride will provide a few minutes of weightlessness before the capsule lands under parachutes. The...
UK Unveils £20m Westcott Space Hub for Industry and Startups
The UK government has launched the £20 million Westcott Space Hub in Buckinghamshire, a 62,000‑sq‑ft facility designed to accelerate space‑technology development. Backed by the UK Space Agency and a mix of public and private partners, the hub offers testing infrastructure, collaborative...
ClearSpace and ESA Will Launch PRELUDE Mission to Test In-Orbit Services
ClearSpace and the European Space Agency are developing the PRELUDE mission, slated for a 2027 launch, to demonstrate autonomous, close‑range satellite servicing in orbit. The program will fly two small spacecraft that use sensors and cameras to track each other...