Northrop Grumman’s First MRV Readies for Summer Launch to Expand the Space Servicing Toolkit
Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics will launch its Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) this summer on a dedicated SpaceX ride, marking the first commercial robotic in‑space servicing mission. The MRV, equipped with dual robotic arms, a standardized refueling interface and advanced docking sensors, will fly with three Mission Extension Pods to extend the life of GEO satellites. Building on the company’s earlier MEV missions, the vehicle aims to demonstrate on‑orbit refueling, inspection and repair capabilities, targeting a growing $15 billion ISAM market. Its launch positions Northrop Grumman against rivals such as Astroscale, Infinite Orbits and Rocket Lab in the competitive in‑space servicing sector.
"I'll Buy 10 of Those"—NASA Science Chief Yearns for Mass-Produced Satellites
NASA’s science budget remains at roughly $7.25 billion—essentially flat since 2000—while Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasizes faster, cheaper missions. Science leaders like Nicky Fox argue for a fleet of $100 million “off‑the‑shelf” spacecraft rather than a few billion‑dollar flagships. The agency is exploring...
U.S. Space Force Awards Northrop Grumman $398 Million Contract for Jam‑resistant SATCOM Prototype
The U.S. Space Force awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract to develop an Enhanced Protected Tactical SATCOM‑Prototype (Enhanced PTS‑P). The prototype will feature advanced anti‑jamming antennas and on‑orbit data processing, with a launch window set for fiscal year 2030. The...
SpaceX Punts Starship V3 Launch to May 21 as Investigation Opens Into Starbase Worker’s Death
SpaceX has pushed the inaugural flight of its Starship V3 megarocket to the evening of May 21, with a launch window opening at 6:30 p.m. EDT. The delay follows a fatal fall of a contractor at the Starbase facility, prompting an OSHA...
Ukraine's Starlink Lite Needs EU Funding to Launch
Ukraine's UASat 'Starlink lite' constellation will need @eucommission support before moving forward. #StetmanLLC of Ukraine, @GomSpaceGroup of Denmark selected as contractors, demo sat to launch this summer. Further steps needed for EU funding. #DGENEST. https://t.co/exDuECkMIk https://t.co/YkCMPMsioW
SpaceX Has Spent $15 Billion on Starship Development
As SpaceX gears up for its Starship V3 launch, reupping this story we had earlier this month - $15 billion spent so far on developing Starship, plus some other new details.
CSF Forecasts Launch Supply Running Low
The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) released a report forecasting explosive growth in launch demand, projecting 6,000‑230,000 satellites per year and up to 7,000 launches annually, which could outstrip current capacity by 2030. The study outlines three demand scenarios—government missions, approved...
Starship V3 Slated for First Launch Thursday Evening
JUST IN: SpaceX Starship V3 megarocket targeting its first launch this Thursday at 6:30PM ET
Intuitive Machines Secures Prime Contracts to Operate Key NASA and KARI Lunar Imaging Instruments
Intuitive Machines announced it will operate NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera and KARI’s ShadowCam under two three‑year contracts worth $15.5 million and $4.5 million. The deals shift the firm from a lunar lander builder to a central provider of cislunar imaging and...
Innovative Mars Rovers 'Swim' Through the Sand
Researchers at the University of Würzburg have engineered a Mars rover prototype whose wheels mimic the sandfish lizard’s ability to "swim" through granular media. The biomimetic design generates longitudinal and lateral forces, allowing the vehicle to traverse soft sand without...
GomSpace Q1 Revenue Jumps 43% Amid New Contracts
.@GomSpaceGroup: Q1 rev up 43%, EBITDA up 22%, scaling for future constellations; unnamed delinquent customer still hasn't paid; Sat SigInt startup #VirtuaLabs joins @Unseenlabs as GomSpace customer; JV on Ukraine constellation expected by June. @defis_eu.https://t.co/TWDtSK3unT https://t.co/hxgH9uBaKi
Astron Secures $73.5 Million Series A to Build China’s First Reusable Rocket
Beijing‑based Astron announced a 500 million‑yuan ($73.5 million) Series A round, bringing total funding to 1 billion yuan ($147 million). The cash will fund development of its AS‑1 reusable carrier rocket, with a maiden flight targeted for early 2027.
IDirect Government Launches WCore to Virtualize Military Satellite Modems
iDirect Government unveiled WCore, a virtualized waveform core and hardware abstraction layer for MILSATCOM on May 18, 2026. The software transforms single‑purpose satellite modem hardware into software‑defined modems that can run up to 16 waveforms across GEO, MEO, LEO and HEO constellations....
SpaceX Targets May 21 Launch for Most Powerful Starship Yet
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, May 21, for the launch of its most powerful Starship variant, the SN24. The launch will occur within a 90‑minute window that opens at 6:30 p.m. EDT from Boca Chica. SN24 incorporates upgraded Raptor engines and structural...
Vast High-Power Satellite Buses Extend a Space Station Company Into Orbital Infrastructure
Vast announced Vast Satellite, a 15 kW high‑power satellite bus line that repurposes technology from its Haven space‑station program. The bus offers 700 kg dry mass, over 350 kg payload capacity, and a five‑year design life, targeting communications, Earth‑observation, national‑security and orbital‑compute customers....
Astrolab’s Debut Lunar Rover to Deliver Four NASA Payloads to the Moon
Astrolab announced that its first lunar rover, the FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP), will carry four NASA payloads to the Moon. The rover will be delivered aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin‑1 lander, with a launch targeted for later this year. Agreements have...
NASA, Lockheed Martin Say Artemis III Advancing, Facing Milestones This Year
NASA and its contractors are accelerating Artemis III preparations, targeting component stacking within the next two months. The Space Launch System’s core stage and solid rocket boosters are already positioned at Kennedy Space Center, and Lockheed Martin plans to deliver the Orion...
NASA’s New Shock Detectives Project Invites Volunteers to Help Study Solar Wind
NASA has launched the Shock Detectives citizen‑science project, inviting volunteers to sort more than a decade of Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) data that capture Earth’s bow‑shock region. Participants will label sections of the data as “chaotic” or “peaceful,” helping researchers pinpoint...
Iridium to Acquire Aireon, Merging Satellite Network with Space‑Based ADS‑B Surveillance
Iridium Communications announced a definitive agreement to acquire Aireon, the operator of the space‑based ADS‑B system that tracks about 190,000 flights daily. The deal brings together Iridium’s satellite constellation and Aireon’s global surveillance data, positioning the combined entity to dominate...
China Hails Latest Breakthrough on Space Solar Power Technology
Chinese researchers have demonstrated a wireless power transmission system that can beam kilowatt‑level energy to multiple moving targets at the same time. The ground‑based test mimics the dynamics of an orbiting platform, marking a tangible step toward space‑based solar power...
York Space Systems to Acquire Solestial
York Space Systems announced a definitive agreement to acquire Solestial, a U.S.-based maker of ultra‑thin, radiation‑hardened solar cells, for an undisclosed price. The deal, expected to close in Q2, marks York’s third acquisition in 2024 following All.Space ($355 M) and Orbion...
Vast Launches Satellite Bus Business Line
Vast, the commercial space‑station developer behind Haven‑1, announced a new satellite‑bus line aimed at the low‑cost, high‑volume, high‑power market serving communications, Earth‑observation and national‑security missions. The first customer has ordered four 15‑kW buses with an option to purchase up to...
Analysts Question $1.75 T SpaceX IPO as Valuation Expert Says $1.22 T Is More Realistic
New York University finance professor Aswath Damodaran estimates SpaceX’s worth at $1.22 trillion, contrasting sharply with the company’s own $1.75 trillion target for its upcoming IPO. The gap fuels a heated debate among investors about whether the launch‑service and satellite‑internet giant is...
ESA Project to 3D Print Protective Skin for Space Robots
The European Space Agency has launched a two‑year, €1.65 million (≈$1.8 million) Smart Skin for Exploration Cobots project to 3D‑print protective skins for robotic arms used in lunar, Martian and on‑orbit missions. Led by the Danish Technological Institute with partners Admatis, PIAP...
NASA Updated Artemis III and SpaceX’s Role Just Got More Complicated
NASA has revised Artemis III, turning it into a low‑Earth‑orbit crewed rendezvous and docking test between Orion and the Starship and Blue Moon pathfinders, while the actual lunar landing is pushed to Artemis IV in 2028. The change highlights SpaceX’s pivotal role,...
Avio Completes Its First Vega-C Launch for ESA
Avio successfully executed its first Vega‑C launch for the European Space Agency, delivering the SMILE solar‑wind telescope into orbit. This marks the first Vega‑C mission managed directly by Avio rather than Arianespace, signalling a shift in ESA’s launch procurement. The...
China Sends Ninth Spacesail Satellite Batch to Orbit on Long March‑8
China launched the ninth batch of satellites for its commercial Spacesail communications constellation on May 17, 2026, using a Long March‑8 from Hainan. The successful insertion expands the network’s coverage and underscores Beijing’s push to compete in the global satellite‑internet...
The Lab Trying to Make $100bn Worth of Satellite Data Actually Useful
Singapore has launched its first dedicated space innovation lab within IMDA’s Pixel hub, backed by Deloitte and run by the Singapore Space & Technology Think Tank. The lab aims to turn the $100 billion ASEAN GDP boost projected from Earth‑observation data...
African Space Agency Calls for $25 Billion Investment Boost at Nairobi Summit
The African Space Agency, led by Tidiane Ouattara, appealed for a surge in capital at the African Forward Summit in Nairobi, highlighting a €23 billion ($25 billion) pledge from France’s President Emmanuel Macron. The agency says private‑public collaboration is essential to scale...
SpaceX Starship’s 12th Flight Test Targeted for May 20, 2026: Launch Window Opens at 5:30 P.m. CDT
SpaceX has set a new target of May 20, 2026 for the twelfth integrated flight test (IFT‑12) of its Starship system, with the launch window opening at 5:30 p.m. CDT from the newly built Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas. The mission will be the...
SMILE to Give Earth’s Magnetosphere Its First X-Ray
SMILE, a joint ESA‑Chinese Academy of Sciences mission, launched on May 18 from Kourou aboard a Vega‑C rocket. The spacecraft will be the first to use soft X‑ray emissions to produce global images of Earth’s magnetosphere and track auroral activity with...
Georgia Tech Researchers Unveil Innovative NAND Flash Storage Technology for Deep Space Missions
Georgia Tech researchers have created a ferroelectric NAND flash memory that can survive radiation doses up to one million rads—about thirty times the tolerance of conventional charge‑trapping NAND. The device uses a hafnium‑oxide ferroelectric layer that stores data via polarization...
ISS National Lab Launches Orbital Edge Accelerator with up to $750,000 per Startup and ISS Flight Access
The ISS National Laboratory has opened applications for its 2026 Orbital Edge Accelerator, a six‑company program that offers up to $750,000 in venture funding and direct access to in‑orbit research on the International Space Station. Startups will receive mentorship, commercialization...
'I'm Sorry Dave': NASA Is Working on an AI Chip to Help Next-Generation Spacecraft Think for Themselves — so Clearly...
NASA’s High‑Performance Spaceflight Computing (HPSC) project is unveiling a new radiation‑hardened AI processor that promises up to 100 times the computing power of current spaceflight hardware, with early tests indicating performance as high as 500 times. The multicore chip is engineered to...
Analysts Weigh Rocket Lab vs SpaceX as Space IPO Looms, Stocks Diverge
Rocket Lab posted a 63.5% year‑over‑year revenue jump to $200.3 million in Q1, while SpaceX accelerated its IPO timeline to raise up to $75 billion. Analysts are parsing the two companies’ financial trajectories as investors decide where to place capital in the...
Uganda Signs MoU with Starlink to Launch Nationwide Satellite Internet
Uganda's Communications Commission and SpaceX's Starlink have signed a memorandum of understanding and an operational licence to roll out satellite internet nationwide. President Yoweri Museveni highlighted the deal’s potential to strengthen security, improve revenue assurance and increase transparency in the...
The Stratospheric Toll of the Megaconstellation Era
The rapid expansion of low‑Earth‑orbit megaconstellations is creating a hidden climate threat. A University College London study finds rockets deposit black‑carbon soot directly into the stratosphere, where it lingers for about three years and traps heat 540 times more efficiently...
One Mars Spacecraft, Two Senators, and a Cloud of Questions
NASA issued a $700 million contract solicitation for a Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN) spacecraft to replace the aging Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and enable a potential Mars Sample Return (MSR) revival. The solicitation, funded by a 2025 congressional appropriation, requires bidders to...
European Imaging Companies Step in to Fill Warzone Gap
European Earth‑observation firms are stepping in as U.S. satellite providers halt imagery of Iran and the Gulf conflict. The gap is driving demand from energy traders, insurers, shipping companies, and news outlets that rely on real‑time visuals of the Strait...
SpaceX, Blue Origin Human Moon Landers – What’s the Status?
NASA has committed nearly $7 billion to the Human Landing System (HLS) program since its 2019 launch and expects total spending to surpass $18 billion by fiscal year 2030. SpaceX and Blue Origin will each design, build and own a lunar lander,...
SpaceX Raises Starlink Prices Across Every Consumer Plan and Doubles the Cost of Standby Mode
SpaceX announced a $5‑$10 monthly increase on all U.S. Starlink consumer plans and doubled its Standby Mode fee from $5 to $10. The changes take effect immediately for new customers and from June 18 for existing subscribers. The move comes as...
Dark Lunar Craters Could Host Ultrastable Lasers for Moon Navigation
Physicist Jun Ye and collaborators propose installing silicon‑based optical cavities in the Moon’s permanently shadowed south‑pole craters to create ultrastable lasers. The extreme cold (≈16 K) and ultra‑high vacuum would lock laser frequencies with unprecedented precision, enabling GPS‑like navigation, optical atomic clocks,...
Four NASA Payloads to Fly on Astrolab’s First Lunar Rover
Astrolab’s FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover will carry four NASA payloads on a Griffin‑1 lander launch slated for late 2024. The payloads include the METAL camera‑radiometer for helium‑3 prospecting, a lunar retroreflector array, the LDES dust‑degradation sensor, and a...
Blueshift Is Named Finalist in Inaugural Aviation Week Space Tech Challenge Awards
Blueshift, a Massachusetts‑based developer of thermal protection system materials, has been named a finalist in the Commercialization category of the inaugural Aviation Week Space Tech Challenge Awards. The company’s AeroZero tapes, ultra‑thin flexible thermal barriers, are engineered for low‑Earth‑orbit satellites and...
Cowboy Raises $275M and Files for 20,000 Orbital Data Centers, Forcing the ODC Thesis Into View
Cowboy Space Corporation, formerly Aetherflux, closed a $275 million Series B round led by Index Ventures, valuing the firm at $2 billion. The startup filed an FCC request to launch up to 20,000 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites—named “Stampede”—each housing a one‑megawatt data‑center payload with roughly...
ESA, CNES Pour $1.16B Into Guiana, Sparking European Port Concerns
.@ESA & @CNES sign off on 3-yr, $1.16-billion investment in Europe's Guiana Space Center @EuropeSpacePort. @SaxaVord_Space @AndoyaSpace @SSCspace and other new spaceports in Europe ask: What about us? @defis_eu. https://t.co/AgSS1mPRDs https://t.co/fCWJ3mffl0
NASA’s MAVEN Makes 1st Discovery of Atmospheric Effect at Mars
In December 2023, NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft captured the Zwan‑Wolf effect—previously known only from Earth’s magnetosphere—within Mars’ ionosphere below 200 km. The phenomenon, observed during a powerful solar storm, shows charged particles being squeezed along magnetic flux tubes, altering atmospheric dynamics. Published...
AIAA Releases Third Edition of Orbital Safety Guide
AIAA and partners are out with a third edition of "Orbital Safety Best Practices for Satellite Operators."
SpaceX Starship V3 Delayed: When To Watch The Biggest Rocket Test Yet
SpaceX postponed the inaugural flight of its Starship V3 megarocket by one day, now targeting a launch on Wednesday, May 20 at 6:30 p.m. ET from Starbase, Texas. The test will feature 22 dummy Starlink satellites, showcasing both engineering progress and...
Europe Tests Laser Links as Satellite Comms Outgrow Radio
Europe is accelerating the transition to laser‑based satellite communications with the commissioning of the Holomondas Optical Ground Station in northern Greece. Built under the ESA‑backed PeakSat project and operated by Lithuanian firm Astrolight, the site receives data from CubeSats via...