Satellite Reentry: Atmospheric Implications
The rapid growth of satellite mega‑constellations means thousands of spacecraft are de‑orbited each decade, releasing heavy‑metal and black‑carbon particles into the stratosphere. Harvard physicist John Dykema warns that these emissions can alter sunlight absorption, disrupt stratospheric circulation, and accelerate ozone depletion. While the exact climate impact remains uncertain, the added thermal energy and chemical contaminants could shift storm tracks and delay ozone recovery. Policymakers are urged to consider material and propellant choices to mitigate these emerging atmospheric risks.
China Targets 2026 Crewed Lunar Test and Reusable Rockets
China set for crewed lunar tests, record launches, moon mission and reusable rockets in 2026 https://t.co/SRz6ry5HmO https://t.co/wTtpwQaXpz
Cellares Raises $257M in Series D Funding
Cellares, a San Francisco‑based Integrated Development and Manufacturing Organization, secured $257 million in Series D financing. The round was led by BlackRock and Eclipse, with participation from T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, and other institutional investors. The new capital lifts total funding to $612 million...
Palladyne AI Awarded U.S. Air Force Contract to Advance Swarming Capabilities for Integrated Cross-Domain Operations
Palladyne AI secured a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory to develop its HANGTIME program, aimed at unifying autonomous systems across space, air, maritime and land. The effort will deploy the company’s patented SwarmOS™ platform to enable drones, ships...
Airbus Taps Skynopy for Pléiades Neo Ground Stations
Airbus Defence and Space announced a partnership with European startup Skynopy to integrate its software‑defined ground‑station technology into the Pléiades Neo Earth‑observation constellation. The collaboration targets reduced latency between image capture and upload to Airbus’ OneAtlas platform. Skynopy’s approach centralises...
Multiwavelength Analysis Finds No Radio Pulsations From Accreting Millisecond X-Ray Pulsar
Researchers conducted a multi‑wavelength campaign on the accreting millisecond X‑ray pulsar MAXI J1957+032, covering its 2022 and 2025 outbursts and quiescent intervals. Timing analysis revealed a 3.19 ms spin period, ~1.01 h orbital period, a spin‑down rate of –0.0573 pHz s⁻¹ and a dipolar magnetic...
FAA Projects Continuing Growth in Commercial Space Transportation
The FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation licensed 205 launches and re‑entries in 2025, a 25% rise over 2024 and 12% above its own forecast. The agency projects licensed operations could double by 2029, pushing the total past 1,000 within...
The Magnetic "Birdsong" Of the Smallest Planet
BepiColombo’s Mio instrument recorded whistler‑mode magnetic waves—dubbed “birdsongs”—during six Mercury flybys between 2021 and 2025. These chirping waves mirror Earth’s chorus radiation but are confined to Mercury’s dawn side where solar‑wind compression intensifies the field. The waves act as electron...
Terran Orbital to Deliver Nebula Bus for Mitsubishi Electric LEO Demo Mission
Terran Orbital announced it will supply the Nebula satellite bus for Mitsubishi Electric’s Low‑Earth‑Orbit (LEO) demo mission, featuring a Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and optical terminal payload. The bus delivery is scheduled for 2027, with an 18‑month development window and...
What ‘Commercial Space’ Really Means Depends on Who’s Buying — and Why
A new study by the European Space Policy Institute and Aerospace Corporation’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy finds that the term “commercial” in space procurement has become a catch‑all, masking divergent practices in the United States and Europe. The...
POLARIS Spaceplanes Wins Contract for Reusable Hypersonic Vehicle
Polaris Spaceplanes has secured a contract from Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In‑Service Support (BAAINBw) to develop and flight‑test a fully reusable, two‑stage hypersonic vehicle dubbed the Hypersonic Test and Experimentation Vehicle (HYTEV). The vehicle, roughly...
Iceye Pitches 1,000‑satellite EU Network by 2030
Radarsat provider @Iceye proposes 1,000-sat network including SAR/optical, RF-sensor &transport layer for European govts. Several billion euros - within current EU/ESA budgets, says CEO. Initial service 2028, ops by 2030 feasible. Just an idea. #defis_eu @esa #Europeanspaceconf https://t.co/6HLJ6jeVCV
Exotrail and Astroscale France Join Forces to Build Deorbiting Capability for LEO
Exotrail and Astroscale France announced a partnership to test deorbiting capabilities for low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) satellites. The effort, backed by France 2030 and a CNES‑led study, aims to demonstrate an interface between Exotrail’s service vehicle and Astroscale’s rendezvous technology. Selection by the...
EU Demands National Military Space Programs Interoperate with EU Infrastructure
.@defis_eu Commissioner @KubiliusA: National milspace efforts are understanable but 'a challenge' to overall EU defense effort. They must at least be interoperable w/ EU infrastructure. @bundeswehrInfo #europeanspaceconf.https://t.co/rXWxNLcpI6 https://t.co/8hI8ESBcvt
NOAA Solar Observatory Reaches Lagrange Point 1
NOAA’s Space Weather Follow‑On — Lagrange 1 (SOLAR‑1) completed its final engine burn on Jan 23 and arrived at Lagrange point 1, roughly 1.6 million km from Earth. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in September, the satellite carries a solar‑wind plasma sensor, supra‑thermal ion sensor, magnetometer and...
40 Years After the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, Spaceflight Remains Far From Routine
January 28 marks 40 years since the Challenger disaster, a tragedy that claimed seven astronauts and reshaped NASA’s safety culture. The article recounts NASA’s Day of Remembrance, the investigations that followed Challenger and later Columbia, and the evolution of the...
First Flight
The episode chronicles NASA's historic first flight of the X‑59 Quiet Supersonic Transport, detailing the years of design, development, and testing that led to its October launch. It explains how the aircraft's innovative shape and engine technology aim to dramatically...
The Essential Reading Series: Space Stations
The Essential Reading Series curates a focused list of books that explore life, engineering, and history of space stations, from early Skylab to the International Space Station. It features astronaut memoirs like Scott Kelly’s “Endurance” and Chris Hadfield’s guide, technical histories of...
Budget Remains Tight for Scaled-Back GeoXO Program
NOAA’s next‑generation GeoXO satellite constellation has been trimmed from six to four spacecraft after OMB budget guidance, with two satellites operating simultaneously. The first satellite, slated for a 2032 launch, will carry a resurrected Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) to replace...
The "China Sky Eye" Traces Fast Radio Bursts to a Binary Star System
An international team using China’s Five‑hundred‑meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) has identified a binary star system as the source of repeating fast radio burst FRB 20220529, located about 2.3 billion light‑years away. The study observed a dramatic rotation‑measure flare, interpreted as a...
Strategic Review of Analysys Masons Space Research Programs for 2026
Analysys Mason’s 2026 strategic review maps a space industry moving from experimental silos to integrated, multi‑orbit ecosystems. It highlights LEO mega‑constellations eroding traditional GEO bandwidth pricing, prompting operators to add managed services, cyber‑security and AI‑driven analytics. Sovereign initiatives, backed by...
EU Launches Government Satcom Program in Sovereignty Push
The European Union launched GOVSATCOM, a government satellite communications program that aggregates capacity from eight geosynchronous satellites owned by France, Spain, Italy, Greece and Luxembourg. The service, now operational, offers member states a secure, encrypted marketplace of 35 communication programmes...
Novaspace Market Intelligence Reports & Data Products (2026)
Novaspace, formed from the Euroconsult‑SpaceTec Partners merger, now offers a broad portfolio of market‑intelligence reports and data products spanning government space programs, Earth observation, satellite communications, and the wider space industry. Its Government Space Programs benchmark tracks spending for 95...
NASA's Artemis II Crewed Mission to the Moon Shows How US Space Strategy Has Changed Since Apollo
NASA’s Artemis II mission, slated for a February 2026 launch, will send a four‑person crew on a lunar flyby without landing. The flight tests life‑support, navigation and deep‑space operations that are essential for the planned Artemis III landing in 2028. Unlike the Cold‑War...
Scientists Produce New Estimate of the Thickness of Europa’s Icy Crust
Scientists analyzing Juno’s 2022 Europa flyby have refined the moon’s ice‑shell thickness to roughly 29 ± 10 km (about 18 ± 6 miles). The study finds that surface fractures and shallow scatterers are too small and shallow to channel nutrients from the surface to the subsurface...
Senate Commerce Set to Vote on ORBITS and SAT Bills
Senate Commerce will vote on Sen Hickenlooper's ORBITS Act (S1898) and Sen Cruz's SAT Streamlining Act (S3639), on Tuesday, Feb. 3.https://t.co/LV1IL2VGMm
NSS Space Business Competition Closes on February 15 with $32,000 in Prizes
The National Space Society’s Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement Business Plan Competition closes on February 15, 2026, offering a $32,000 prize pool across three tiers ($16,000, $10,000, $6,000). Open to students, entrepreneurs, academics and anyone worldwide, the contest seeks innovative plans...
Northrop, Raytheon Report 2025 Earnings
Northrop Grumman posted $13 billion in 2025 revenue, a 5 % increase year‑over‑year, highlighted by an 18 % jump in fourth‑quarter sales to $3.9 billion. However, its space systems segment saw mixed results, with Q4 sales up 5 % but full‑year space revenue falling 8 % to...
Astronomers Discover the 'Growing Pains' Of Teenage Exoplanets
Using ALMA, astronomers captured detailed images of 24 debris disks around young stars, revealing the chaotic “teenage” phase of planetary evolution. The observations show multi‑ringed belts, halos, arcs and clumps, indicating frequent collisions and orbital reshuffling. This fills the missing...
Northwood Space Raises $100M in Series B and Works With Space Force on Satellite Control Network
Ground‑tech startup Northwood Space announced a $100 million Series B round, co‑led by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz, and disclosed a $49.8 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to bolster the Satellite Control Network. The financing follows a $30 million Series A and...
Gilat Secures More Orders for Sidewinder IFC Terminals
Gilat Satellite Networks announced a multimillion‑dollar order for its Sidewinder in‑flight connectivity (IFC) terminals from a major avionics manufacturer. The Sidewinder, an electronically steered antenna originally developed by Stellar Blu, operates on both GEO satellites and the OneWeb LEO constellation...
Space Debris 2026 Conference Launches with 75 Nations
Second Edition of Space Debris 2026 Conference Kicks Off with Participation from 75 Countries https://t.co/lmb1ysVcdL https://t.co/FRUZJzWczm
Second Edition of Space Debris 2026 Conference Kicks Off with Participation From 75 Countries
The Saudi Space Agency launched the second Space Debris 2026 Conference, drawing delegates from 75 countries. Backed by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the International Telecommunication Union, the event underscores a global push to curb orbital...
A WB-57 Pilot Just Made a Heroic Landing in Houston After Its Landing Gear Failed
NASA’s three‑engine WB‑57 research aircraft performed a gear‑up emergency landing at Ellington Field in Houston on Tuesday. The pilot kept the plane on the runway, allowing it to decelerate via friction, and the crew emerged unharmed. The WB‑57, a legacy...
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...
KSAT Introduces New Maritime Detection Platform
KSAT announced the launch of Vake Powered By KSAT, a maritime vessel detection service that integrates satellite data with AI analytics. The platform combines KSAT’s extensive satellite antenna network and maritime expertise with VAKE’s AI‑driven analytics and visualization tools acquired...
Capture-the-Flag in Space: D-Orbit Shares Lessons From Cyber Competition
D‑Orbit hosted the first in‑orbit capture‑the‑flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition on its ION Satellite Carrier, partnering with ESA and Mhackeroni. Five finalist teams tackled live telemetry, command sequencing and onboard software exploits in a controlled environment. The event exposed the distinct...
Milky Way Is Embedded in a 'Large-Scale Sheet' Of Dark Matter, Which Explains Motions of Nearby Galaxies
Researchers from the University of Groningen and European partners have used constrained cosmological simulations to reveal that the Milky Way and Andromeda reside within a large‑scale, flat sheet of dark matter extending tens of millions of light‑years. This planar mass...
NASA Gets New F-15 Fighter Jet to Chase Its X-59 'Quiet' Supersonic Aircraft
NASA has added two retired U.S. Air Force F‑15 fighter jets to its Armstrong Flight Research Center fleet to support the Low Boom Flight Demonstrator program. The aircraft will serve as chase planes for the X‑59 "quiet" supersonic demonstrator, flying...
Massive Star WOH G64 Is Still a Red Supergiant—For Now
WOH G64, one of the Large Magellanic Cloud's most luminous red supergiants, has been confirmed to remain in the red‑supergiant phase despite recent dimming and spectral changes. High‑resolution SALT spectra revealed titanium‑oxide absorption bands, a definitive sign of a cool photosphere,...
Magnetic Superhighways Discovered in a Starburst Galaxy's Winds
Using ALMA’s full‑polarization capabilities, astronomers mapped the magnetic fields of the merging ultraluminous infrared galaxy Arp 220 and uncovered a magnetized, high‑speed molecular outflow that functions as a “magnetic superhighway.” The study reports the first polarized CO(3‑2) detection, revealing field strengths...
EBAD PRM Payload Release Module Family Demonstrates Scalable, Low-Shock Separation Capability on Falcon 9 Twilight Rideshare Mission
Ensign‑Bickford Aerospace and Defense (EBAD) confirmed the successful actuation of its PRM9103 payload release module during SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Twilight rideshare on Jan. 11, deploying ten Kepler Communications satellites. The flight validates the low‑shock, precision‑separation capability of EBAD’s PRM family, which scales...
This Rapidly Growing Black Hole Is Challenging Super-Eddington Accretion
Astronomers have identified quasar eFEDS J084222.9+001000 (ID830) at redshift 3.435, only 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang. The object shines as the most X‑ray luminous radio‑loud quasar in the eFEDS field, accreting at roughly 15 times the Eddington limit. Its extreme X‑ray...
Streaks on Mercury Show that It Is Not a 'Dead Planet'
A team led by Dr. Valentin Bickel used deep‑learning to catalog roughly 400 bright slope streaks—known as lineae—across Mercury’s surface, creating the first systematic inventory of these features. Geostatistical analysis shows the streaks concentrate on sun‑facing crater walls and are...
First Radio Signals From Rare Supernova Reveal Star's Final Years
Astronomers have recorded the first radio emission from a Type Ibn supernova (SN 2023fyq) using the VLA, revealing the star's mass‑loss history in the decade before its explosion. The radio waves, observed over 18 months, show interaction with helium‑rich gas shed shortly before...
NASA, GE Aerospace Hybrid Engine System Marks Successful Test
NASA and GE Aerospace successfully completed the first integrated hybrid‑electric jet engine test in December at GE’s Peebles Test Operation in Ohio. The demonstration used a modified GE Passport engine that extracts energy and feeds it back through electric motors,...
Ancient Martian Beach Discovered, Providing New Clues to Red Planet's Habitability
NASA's Perseverance rover has identified wave‑formed beach deposits and carbonate‑altered rocks in the Margin unit of Jezero crater, confirming an ancient shoreline dating back roughly 3.5 billion years. The study shows that igneous rocks were later transformed by subsurface, CO₂‑rich water,...
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...
Calian to Kick-Start $100M Sovereign C5ISRT Strategic Initiative
Calian has launched a $100 million sovereign C5ISRT strategic initiative to accelerate Canada’s command, control, computing, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting capabilities. The funding will flow through Calian VENTURES, a platform that partners with Canadian SMEs and draws on...
The Rubin Observatory Will Rapidly Detect More Supernovae
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, beginning its ten‑year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), is poised to dramatically increase the detection of core‑collapse supernovae in the Milky Way. Simulations of 100,000 synthetic events indicate the telescope can localize nearly...