Know What's Happening in SpaceTech
Know What's Happening in SpaceTech
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Every morning
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Space-focused exchange‑traded funds are gaining momentum as rumors swirl around a potential SpaceX initial public offering that could price the company at roughly $1.75 trillion. The Procure Space ETF, billed as the first pure‑play space fund, has delivered a 100.7% gain over the past year, attracting heightened investor curiosity. Other niche funds such as Ark Space & Defense Innovation (ARKX) and VanEck’s JEDI are also seeing inflows, while managers seek broader platform approvals. The buzz reflects both the scarcity of public exposure to private space assets and growing strategic interest in satellite‑based technologies.
On March 16, 2026 SSC Space signed a SEK 209 million agreement with Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration to build a military satellite launch capability at Esrange. The contract includes infrastructure, tracking, security and a launch control centre, targeting operational status by 2028....
University of Illinois researchers using the Plasmatron X hypersonic wind tunnel discovered that nitrogen‑rich atmospheres cause unsteady, violent spallation of the Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) heat shield, unlike the steady particle ejection seen in oxygen‑containing air. High‑speed imaging showed intermittent...
LAUNCH at 0412 UTC Mar 16 of a Kuaizhou-11 from Jiuquan, putting eight commercial sats in orbit: Juntian-1-04A, Dongpo-11, Dongpo-12, Dongpo-16, Weitong-1-01, Xiguang-1-06, Yuxing-3-05, and Yuxing-3-06.
China launched two missions today from separate interior spaceports. A Long March 6A lifted a military remote‑sensing satellite from Taiyuan, while a Kuaizhou‑11 placed eight satellites into orbit from Jiuquan. State media gave no details on the payloads or where the...
The global liquid‑propulsion engine market was worth about $7 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $11‑12 billion by 2030, driven by an 8‑10% CAGR. Methane‑fueled engines have overtaken RP‑1 as the commercial standard, with SpaceX’s Raptor becoming the highest‑volume high‑thrust...
As of March 2026 the operational orbital launch market is defined by rockets that have proven repeatable service, not merely design concepts. The United States leads commercial reuse with Falcon 9 and maintains a strong national‑security lineup including Vulcan and Falcon Heavy, while...
A new James Webb Space Telescope study used spectral decomposition to map Europa’s surface chemistry, revealing that carbon dioxide extends far beyond the previously isolated Tara Regio chaos terrain. The CO₂‑rich areas align with unusual ice textures, indicating that the...
A new study by Sara Walker et al. proposes using Assembly Theory to detect extraterrestrial life by quantifying how difficult molecules are to assemble. Instead of searching for Earth‑like biosignature gases, the approach assigns an Assembly Index to atmospheric compounds, with...
SpaceX potentially IPO’ing on 6/9 (69). Musk wanted to keep his companies private as long as possible so the IPO will set off rumors that private markets can’t shoulder the cashflow needs of SpaceX’s spending. The IPO is allegedly time to align...
The U.S.-Iran conflict has turned the Strait of Hormuz into a live testing ground for commercial geospatial intelligence. The chokepoint, handling about 20% of global oil shipments, saw commercial traffic halted after strikes, creating urgent demand for real‑time maritime visibility....
Astronomers using NASA's TESS have confirmed a new super‑Earth, TOI‑1080 b, orbiting an inactive M4V star 83 light‑years away. The planet is about 1.2 times Earth’s radius, likely rocky with a mass near 1.75 Earth masses, and completes an orbit in just under...
As many of you know, I’m thinking more about the Space-Tech intersection with national defense and physical AI era we are about to be entering in. SpaceX’s IPO is symbolic. The race of rocket launches is about to accelerate wildly in...
Starlink is a good example of this, everyone now seems to forget that the first 100K+ terminals cost ~$2500 each to make...
United Launch Alliance’s new Centaur V upper stage, debuting on Vulcan Centaur in January 2024, features a 5.4‑meter diameter, dual RL‑10C‑1‑1A engines, and an advanced thermal system that dramatically cuts liquid‑hydrogen boil‑off. The redesign delivers roughly 2.5 × the energy and 450 ×...
Starlink stats pages updated at https://t.co/m5QkzkhI2u By popular demand I have now excluded the dummy Starlink simulators from the grand totals.
LAUNCH at 1322 UTC Mar 15 of a Chang Zheng 6A from Taiyuan with the second Yaogan-50 satellite. The first Yaogan-50 is in a 950 km retrograde (142 deg inclination) orbit.
ISRO successfully completed a 165‑second sea‑level hot test of its CE20 cryogenic engine at 22‑ton thrust, employing a Nozzle Protection System and a multi‑element igniter. The test validates the engine’s performance at the higher thrust level required for the upgraded...
GITAI’s Centaur-Like #Robot Is Built to Work on the Moon’s Harsh Terrain by @CyberRobooo #Robotics #MachineLearning #ArtificialIntelligence #ML https://t.co/DxdXcnoGMB
The Ascent of Precision: Why Honda’s Reusable Rocket Isn’t Just a Car Company’s Hobby - This wasn’t merely a Japanese automotive giant dabbling in space; this was Honda applying the rigorous, decades-long mastery of combustion and control systems.. https://t.co/MBZjOVVkSC
NASA’s Glenn Research Center is testing CryoFILL, a cryogenic fluid in‑situ liquefaction system that turns extracted lunar oxygen into liquid propellant. The project uses a flight‑like cryocooler capable of operating below –300 °F to condense oxygen, aiming to reduce launch mass...
The second time was June 2010 when Iridium had to wire the downpayment immediately after signing the launch contract so SpaceX could make payroll the next day https://t.co/UeIt4PAY4O
The United States and China are both racing to establish permanent, crewed lunar outposts, but their strategies diverge sharply. The U.S. is building on the Artemis program, leveraging commercial partners and the Lunar Gateway, while China is developing an International...
Good to see the #cluelesscult finally acknowledging that my Feb 2023 predictions that 1) Starlink would dominate the D2D market and 2) D2D performance will never match terrestrial networks were both totally correct...
India’s NavIC system lost satellite IRNSS‑1F after its atomic clock failed on 13 March 2026, leaving only three operational satellites—IRNSS‑1B, IRNSS‑1L and NVS‑01. NavIC needs a minimum of four satellites for full regional coverage, so the constellation now falls short of its...
#WhatsNext? Scientists in China created ceramics that survive 3272°F, 1800°C! Could revolutionize how heat shields are used by spacecraft. (Engineering Post) #NewMaterials https://t.co/Wr6wLsUfxe
In September 2022 NASA’s DART spacecraft struck Dimorphos, the moonlet of asteroid Didymos, at 6.6 km/s, shortening the binary’s mutual orbit by 33 minutes and nudging its solar trajectory by 0.15 seconds. The kinetic impact proved a viable method to alter an asteroid’s...
I've spent the evening chasing down errors in my data files. Please be aware that the total number of Starlinks currently in orbit is actually only 9967, and not 9969 as shown right now on my web page (should update...
SpaceX launched 25 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The first‑stage booster B1071 completed its 32nd flight, moving into fourth place among the most‑reused launch vehicles. This milestone helps SpaceX maintain a commanding lead in...
Viasat unveiled a reprogrammable, space‑qualified cryptographic engine for its HaloNet network, allowing post‑launch updates of algorithms, including quantum‑resistant protections. The module secures telemetry, TT&C, TRANSEC and mission data across S‑, L‑, Ka‑ and optical links, while remaining network‑agnostic and low‑SWaP....
The classic history "Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8" chronicles the 1968 mission that first took humans beyond Earth’s orbit. Robert Zimmerman’s narrative, enriched by a foreword from Valerie Anders and a new introduction, is now available as a print edition,...
iMetalX Inc. has emerged from stealth to announce a partnership with Psionic, integrating Psionic’s Space Navigation Doppler Lidar with iMetalX’s Asgard data‑simulation platform. The combined solution can generate high‑fidelity 3‑D models of resident space objects within minutes, aimed at autonomous...
Vietnam inaugurated the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) at Hanoi’s Hoa Lac Hi‑Tech Park, marking a major step in its ambition to become a mid‑level space power in Southeast Asia by 2030. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh used the Vietnam‑Japan...
RTX Corporation secured a $2.01 billion ceiling increase on its Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) terminal contract, lifting the total value to $2.97 billion—more than triple the original $960 million award. The indefinite‑delivery, indefinite‑quantity modification covers production, sustainment and support of all three...
SCSP’s new report highlights China’s transformation from a missile‑focused program into a full‑scale civil, commercial, and military space enterprise. Beijing now runs the Tiangong space station, operates global navigation and Earth‑observation constellations, and has achieved historic lunar and Mars robotic...
China’s Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology unveiled an “economical lunar cargo transport” concept at the CACE 2026 exhibition. The cylindrical lander family would deliver 120 kg to 5,000 kg using a methane‑liquid‑oxygen engine, marking a shift from hypergolic propellants. The system is positioned...
Wyvern, an Edmonton‑based hyperspectral imaging startup, announced two international deals: a reseller agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Neo Space Group (NSG) to deliver its Dragonnette satellite data through the UP42 marketplace, and a direct customer contract with U.S. firm Orbital Advisors...
Russia's Roscosmos announced the Venera‑D mission, a multi‑vehicle Venus probe slated for launch in 2036. The mission will deploy a lander, a balloon, and an orbiter to study the planet’s surface and atmosphere, including a search for microbial life in...
Chinese AI Startup Watching US Military Assets in Middle East From Space So are a lot of actors... “The value of MizarVision’s output is not the raw satellite image. Any government can purchase commercial satellite passes. The value is the AI...
Back when “Doc” Shoemaker had fun doing XB-1’s first (baby) taxi test. The audio is gold. https://t.co/BgoVqX0zOd
NASA gave Artemis 2 a tentative go‑ahead for an April 1‑6 launch, with the Space Launch System slated to roll out on March 19 after a successful flight‑readiness review. The crew, including NASA’s Wiseman, Glover, Koch and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen, confirmed readiness, while...
Shiyan 30-03, 30-04 and the CZ-2D upper stage cataloged in 587 x 593 km x 35.0 deg orbits following their launch on Mar 12. No orbit data yet for SatNet-LEO12 or Tenkoh-2.
Progress MS-33 cargo ship was encapsulated inside its fairing in preparation for an ISS resupply mission scheduled to lift off on March 22: https://t.co/mN4Hi2mIUG https://t.co/13WiUz4NSF
NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) continues to deliver high‑resolution lunar imagery, with its March 2026 Science Image of the Month highlighting an unnamed crater illuminated by early‑morning sunlight. The image, captured on 30 August 2023 by LROC, showcases the Moon’s rugged terrain and...
Who had Ariane 6 as the booster that would emerge from the Vulcan/New Glenn/Ariane 6 triumvirate of new rockets to become a workhorse for Amazon Leo?
Senate Commerce "WTAS" (What They are Saying) press release about the broad support in the space community for the NASA authorization act. https://t.co/6F7LmDkbDe
Terran Orbital’s subsidiary Tyvak International secured a contract with the European Space Agency to build Farinella, a 6U CubeSat for the RAMSES planetary‑defense mission. The spacecraft will study near‑Earth asteroid Apophis during its close approach on 13 April 2029, providing data to...
.@Leonardo_live: Guardian ISR constellation a centerpiece of missile-defense dome; launches start 2027/28; space division CAGR >20% 2026-2030. @telespazio @thalesgroup @AirbusSpace @defis_eu @NATO.https://t.co/2TbiKQFFQ5 https://t.co/Z2WRU6VQv9
In a Space News Space Minds podcast, Axiom Space CEO Jonathan Cirtain outlines the next wave of commercial activity in low‑Earth orbit (LEO). He highlights Axiom’s roadmap to launch the first fully commercial space station by 2028 and the expanding...
NASA’s Artemis II will launch aboard the Space Launch System for a ten‑day Orion test flight around the Moon. The crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen—will conduct system checkouts, trajectory correction burns, a translunar injection, and a...
