
The U.S. Space Force is increasingly relying on commercial data and artificial intelligence to track foreign satellites and assess threats to American spacecraft. The effort is coordinated through the Space Domain Awareness Tools, Applications and Processing (SDA TAP) Lab, which runs three‑month accelerator cohorts for private firms. Over 400 companies have participated in the past two years, feeding the Kronos program’s modernized battle‑management suite. Moving the lab under Kronos aims to transition unclassified commercial tools into operational use faster.

Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space is set to fly its reusable Kinetica‑2 rocket in late March from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying a prototype of the Qingzhou‑1 cargo spacecraft. The 53‑metre, three‑stage vehicle uses three YF‑102 kerosene‑LOX engines per...

NASA is racing to finish repairs on the Space Launch System’s upper stage within roughly three weeks to meet the Artemis 2 early‑April launch window. The work follows a rollback to the Vehicle Assembly Building after a helium‑flow interruption in the...

China announced its first one‑year human spaceflight mission aboard the Tiangong space station, selecting an astronaut from the Shenzhou‑23 crew to remain in orbit for twelve months. The Shenzhou‑23 launch is slated for April‑May 2026, following an early delivery of...

Airbus Defence and Space reported €13.4 billion in space revenues for 2025, an 11 % increase from the prior year, while Leonardo’s Space division posted just over €1 billion, also up 11 %. Both companies improved profitability through restructuring, cutting over 2,000 jobs and...

CesiumAstro announced the acquisition of AI‑focused startup Vidrovr to embed artificial intelligence into its space‑based communications payloads. The deal, closed in late 2025, adds multimodal signal‑analysis and edge‑computing capabilities to CesiumAstro’s software‑defined phased‑array systems, including the Element satellite. By integrating...

Phantom Space has acquired launch assets from the defunct Vector Launch, including flight‑proven design elements and engineering data. The assets will be integrated into Phantom’s Daytona two‑stage rocket to cut development risk and accelerate its schedule. Phantom, which has raised...

Sierra Space announced that longtime defense executive Dan Jablonsky will assume the role of chief executive officer on March 2, succeeding interim CEO and founder Fatih Ozmen, who will remain board chair. Jablonsky previously led Ursa Major Technologies and Maxar Technologies, bringing deep aerospace...

China’s Tianwen‑2 probe is operating normally on its heliocentric transfer toward the near‑Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, with a sample‑return window set for the end of November 2027. The spacecraft, launched in May 2023, will conduct multi‑altitude investigations before employing three redundant sampling techniques...

Ken Bowersox, a former astronaut and four‑time shuttle veteran, announced his retirement from NASA effective March 6, ending a brief stint as associate administrator for space operations. He will be succeeded on an acting basis by deputy Joel Montalbano. The announcement...

India’s ISRO confirmed that a pyrotechnic valve malfunction prevented the NVS‑02 navigation satellite from igniting its orbit‑raising engine, leaving it stranded in a geostationary transfer orbit. The valve failed to open because the command signal did not reach it, likely...

The American Astronomical Society’s presidents rebut a recent call to move astronomy entirely off Earth, arguing that ground‑based observatories remain indispensable. They note that space telescopes, while transformative, are expensive, mission‑specific and unserviceable after launch. In contrast, terrestrial facilities can...

Satellite operators are increasingly unable to reach each other to avoid collisions, prompting the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs to intervene in two recent incidents involving U.S., Chinese, Malaysian, and North Korean assets. The lack of reliable contact...

Europe’s Investment Bank is providing €25 million (≈$30 million) to Luxembourg‑based OQ Technology to expand its direct‑to‑device satellite constellation. The debt will fund the launch of more than 20 small satellites, including OQ’s first C‑band satellite aimed at smartphone connectivity slated for...

Funding for the U.S. Space Force in fiscal 2026 climbs to roughly $42 billion, while total Department of Defense space spending is estimated at $57.7 billion after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act injected $13.8 billion of mandatory reconciliation money. The bulk of the new dollars support...

Sophia Space announced a $10 million seed round led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners. The funding will accelerate development of its space‑based edge computers and orbital data centers, including the Tile compute module. The round...

Remondo, an Israeli space startup, announced it has raised $20 million from private investors and Israeli government grants to develop its partial aperture imaging system (PAIS) for high‑resolution Earth observation from small satellites. Investors include 10D, Ace Capital Partners, 2i, Chartered...
China’s iSpace, a leading launch firm, announced a record $729 million fundraising round to develop reusable rockets. The capital injection marks the largest raise for a Chinese space launch company to date, underscoring growing investor interest in the country's space...

Morpheus Space announced a $15 million Series A+ funding round on Feb. 5, 2026, led by Alpine Space Ventures. The round also included the European Investment Fund, Lavrock Ventures, Morpheus Ventures, Pallas Ventures and Vsquared Ventures. The capital will be used to scale...

Space Asset Acquisition Corp., a SPAC targeting the global space economy, priced its initial public offering at $10 per unit, raising $200 million, and started trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SAAQU on Jan. 28, 2026. The offering was underwritten by BTIG. The...

Italian space logistics specialist D-Orbit announced it has closed the first tranche of its Series D round, raising $124 million. The capital will fund strategic acquisitions, expand its orbital logistics infrastructure, and scale in‑orbit transportation services. The round was announced...

Australian launch vehicle and satellite maker Gilmour Space Technologies announced a $146 million Series E funding round, co‑led by the National Reconstruction Fund Corp. and Hostplus. The round makes Gilmour Space the first Australian space‑tech unicorn, valued at over $1 billion,...
Firefly Aerospace announced the recent acquisition of SciTech, a software firm with 500 employees and 45 years of AI algorithms. The deal aims to embed AI-driven software into Firefly's rockets and lunar missions, strengthening its position in the space‑software market.