The Market Has Evolved and the Technology Has Evolved Sheila Kavanagh, Engineer and Network Director Vodafone Ireland
Vodafone Ireland achieved a milestone by completing the country’s first mobile video call via satellite using a standard smartphone. The service relies on AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird satellite, allowing data to be beamed directly between the phone and orbiting hardware. Sheila Kavanagh, Vodafone’s Network Director, highlighted how the technology can keep users connected during extreme weather events that frequently disrupt Ireland’s terrestrial networks. The rollout aims to broaden reliable broadband access without the need for bulky satellite phones.
Going to Space? Always, Always Pack a Camera
Artemis II astronauts captured striking lunar and Earth‑from‑space photos, reviving the awe of the Apollo 8 “Earthrise.” The piece honors planetary scientist Candice Hansen‑Koharcheck, whose five‑decade career shaped imaging on Voyager, Juno, and HiRISE missions. Her work turned raw spacecraft data into...
Uzbekistan And China Explore Possible Space Cooperation
Uzbekistan’s space agency, Uzcosmos, met with Chinese Ambassador Yu Jun to explore cooperation on space technology. The talks highlighted China’s civil‑space expertise as a catalyst for integrating space tools into Uzbekistan’s agriculture, water management, and infrastructure planning. Both parties discussed joint...
Roadmap for a Space-to-Space Economy
The space industry’s growth is now limited by orbital congestion rather than launch capacity, as low‑Earth‑orbit satellites double every two years. This bottleneck drives up propellant use, shortens mission lifespans, and raises costs. Analysts propose a space‑to‑space (S2S) economy built...
Odin Space Opens U.S. Office in Los Angeles
Odin Space, a British startup that maps sub‑centimeter orbital debris, announced the opening of its first U.S. office in Los Angeles, led by former Iceye CEO Jerry Welsh. The office will serve commercial and government satellite operators needing data on debris...
Where Are Those 12,000 Artemis II Images?
A recent NASA Watch post highlights that the claimed 12,000 Artemis II images are virtually inaccessible. Searches on NASA’s Earth Observing Laboratory portal return only a single result, and the official Artemis and Moon webpages contain no links to the collection....
Anthropic to Consider Using SpaceX Orbital Data Center Satellites
Anthropic announced it will purchase the entire capacity of SpaceX’s new Colossus 1 terrestrial data center, delivering more than 300 MW of compute power for its Claude AI suite. The agreement also gives Anthropic early access to SpaceX’s planned orbital data‑center satellites,...
Starfighters Hires Blue Origin Veterans to Accelerate Air-Launch Platform
Starfighters Space has recruited two former Blue Origin New Glenn managers—Jose Arias as vice president of space operations and Catrina Medeiros as director of operations for its Starlaunch air‑launch service. Arias previously cut integration cycle time from 76 to 13...
Skyroot Raises $60 Million Ahead of First Orbital Launch Attempt
Skyroot Aerospace raised $60 million in a Series round that values the Hyderabad‑based startup at $1.1 billion, making it India’s first space unicorn. The funding, co‑led by Sherpalo Ventures and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, also includes BlackRock and will finance the...
Former NASA Chief Takes Helm of National Security Space Firm
Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has been appointed chief executive of Quantum Space, a Maryland‑based firm developing advanced maneuverable spacecraft for national‑security missions. The company’s flagship vehicle, Ranger, the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, will carry 4,000 kg of hydrazine and...
Speed Tops Price in National Security Contracting Decisions
U.S. Space Force officials now treat speed as a strategic requirement, reshaping national‑security space contracting. Agencies are pushing for delivery timelines half as long as a year, even if it means compromising on cost or some technical specs. Contractors must...
Nayuta Space Secures Pre‑A Funding to Advance Aerodynamic‑Recovery Rocket
Nayuta Space announced it has closed three consecutive Pre‑A financing rounds to fund the Xuanniao‑R launch vehicle, a 70‑meter, stainless‑steel rocket that uses aerodynamic deceleration and horizontal landing for stage recovery. The capital will support static‑ignition tests, wind‑tunnel campaigns and...
Eutelsat, Station Satcom Expand OneWeb LEO to Over 1,000 Ships
French satellite operator Eutelsat and Indian maritime service provider Station Satcom have sealed a multi‑year agreement to extend OneWeb low‑Earth‑orbit connectivity to over 1,000 ships. The rollout begins in 2026 and leverages Eutelsat’s recent procurement of 440 replacement satellites to...
Nature’s Hardware Store: Building the Future with Biology
Lynn Rothschild, a leading US astrobiologist, argues that synthetic biology could solve one of space colonization’s toughest problems: sourcing building materials on other worlds. By tapping the “genetic hardware store” of microbes, engineers can grow construction‑grade biopolymers directly on the...
Should Saturn's Huge Moon Titan Be Humanity's Next Destination, After the Moon and Mars?
The Humans to Titan Summit, set for June 11‑12, 2026 in Boulder, Colorado, will outline a roadmap for crewed missions to Saturn’s moon after lunar and Martian exploration. It builds on NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly octocopter, slated for a 2028 launch,...
Elon Musk, Data Centres – and Junk – in Space, BSC’s New Board and Smart Energy Council
Elon Musk unveiled plans to launch up to one million orbital data‑centre satellites, each powered by massive solar arrays and capable of delivering up to a megawatt of AI‑compute power. The concept, tied to SpaceX’s Starship launch capacity and xAI’s recent...
Extended Reality at ESA Opens New Pathways for Space Exploration
The European Space Agency has formalized its extended reality (XR) strategy by launching an XR Competence Centre and releasing the open‑source ESA XR Plugin built on Unreal Engine and OpenXR. The centre coordinates XR development across member states, while the...
WARP ETF: Question & Answer>
VanEck launched the WARP Space ETF to give investors pure‑play exposure to the rapidly expanding space economy. The fund tracks the MarketVector Space Index, requiring at least 50% of a company’s revenue to come from space‑related activities. It offers a...
How ISS Reboosts Raise Orbit and Affect Station Structure
The International Space Station performed a five‑minute Progress 93 burn on April 16 2026, raising its orbit to maintain altitude and phase for upcoming arrivals. Reboosts counteract daily orbital decay caused by thin atmospheric drag in low Earth orbit, adding forward velocity rather...
May 6, 2026 Zimmerman/Batchelor Podcast
Robert Zimmerman’s new book *Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8* chronicles the historic 1968 mission that first took humans to another world. The title is now available in hardback, paperback, ebook and audiobook formats, with a foreword by Valerie Anders and...
Impersonators Claim The Pakistan EO-3 Satellite Has Released Its First Image
Pakistan’s EO-3 Earth‑observation satellite lifted off on April 25, 2026 aboard a Chinese Long March‑6 from the Taiyuan launch centre. Within weeks a counterfeit SUPARCO Facebook page circulated a multispectral image, claiming it was the satellite’s first picture of Karachi...
Space Force Lifts Andromeda Satellite Contract Ceiling to $6.2 Billion
The U.S. Space Force announced on Monday that the ceiling for its Andromeda indefinite‑delivery, indefinite‑quantity (IDIQ) contract has been raised from $1.8 billion to $6.2 billion. The boost adds $4.4 billion to the procurement pool for next‑generation space‑domain‑awareness satellites, including the RG‑XX and...
NASA’s Railroad
NASA built a 38‑mile government‑owned short line in the 1960s to move massive rocket hardware, construction materials, and hazardous cargo between the Florida East Coast mainline and Kennedy Space Center. The railroad proved essential during the Apollo and Shuttle eras,...
The Lunik Heist: How U.S. Intelligence Examined a Soviet Moon Probe
In 1959 the CIA covertly diverted a Soviet Lunik lunar‑probe exhibit during its U.S. tour, opened the crate, photographed and measured the hardware, then resealed it before Soviet handlers noticed. The operation yielded rare physical intelligence on tank shapes, weld...
Space Data Centers: Inevitable Future Backed by Tech Titans
We have been discussing the future of space based data centers at OODA for years. Some very technically savvy, space systems engineering friends of mine are convinced data centers in space will never work. They present long lists of engineering...
Thaicom Partners with Amazonleo for Thailand LEO Broadband
.@THAICOMPLC selcts @Amazonleo as its LEO broadband partner in Thailand. Thaicom will be authorized distributor and landing-rights holder for consumer and corporate services. https://t.co/d06DeNKdGX
Roscosmos Launches Soyuz‑5, New Heavy‑Lift Rocket Targeting Falcon 9 Market
Roscosmos successfully flew the Soyuz‑5 launch vehicle from Baikonur on April 30, demonstrating a 17‑tonne low‑Earth‑orbit payload capacity and a launch price of $55‑56 million. The new rocket is positioned as a direct competitor to SpaceX's Falcon 9, marking Russia's first heavy‑lift...
SME4SPACE Warns Merger Threatens European Space Competition
European @SME4SPACE small space co assn warns @esa, @defis_eu that merger of @AirbusSpace @Thales_Alenia_S & @LDO_Space is a threat to competition in Europe. https://t.co/QnIdMqgVQN https://t.co/e62hgnTVQk
US Delayed Satellite Images; Iran Reveals Damage to Bases
After the Iran war started the US asked satellite firms to delay (then pause) war zone imagery. Why let adversaries use commercial US assets for targeting? Now Iran has released their own imagery. WaPo geolocated them - exposing the full extent...
Voyager Technologies Signals Optimism for Starlab as NASA Reviews Space‑Station Policy
Voyager Technologies told investors it remains "very, very optimistic" about the Starlab commercial space‑station project despite NASA’s pending decision on its Commercial Low‑Earth‑Orbit Destinations program. The company highlighted 130% of commercial demand already booked and a $24 million NASA Space Act...
U.S. and Australia Expand Space Surveillance Network to Counter Emerging ASAT Threats
The U.S. Space Force and Australian Defence Force announced on May 1, 2026 an expansion of their joint space‑surveillance network, adding the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) in Western Australia alongside upgraded optical and C‑Band sensors. The new assets can track...
Commercial Satellite Services for Missile Launch Detection Market Analysis 2026
The U.S. Space Development Agency awarded roughly $3.5 billion for 72 Tracking Layer satellites that use infrared (OPIR) sensors to provide missile‑launch detection, tracking, and defense support. Infrared sensing is the only commercial satellite capability that can directly detect the brief...
Increased Solar Activity Accelerates Space Junk Re-Entry
A new 36‑year analysis of 17 tracked debris objects shows that once solar‑activity indices exceed roughly two‑thirds of a cycle’s peak, atmospheric drag spikes and orbital decay accelerates dramatically. The study provides satellite operators with a concrete sunspot‑threshold metric to...
SpaceX Is Starting to Move on From the World's Most Successful Rocket
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch cadence is beginning to taper as the company pivots toward its larger Starship system. After 165 Falcon 9 flights in 2025, the firm projects roughly 140‑145 launches in 2026, with a gradual decline thereafter. The shift is most...
Orbital Datacenters Will Face NIMBS Protests
don't worry they'll protest orbital datacenters too, they'll call it NIMBS (not in my back space)
Defence to Deploy Classified Version of Space Data Repository
Defence has signed a $37 million Australian‑dollar contract—about $24 million USD—with Bluestaq to deploy a classified version of its Unified Data Library (UDL) for space situational awareness. The UDL, originally trialled in a non‑classified environment since December 2023, will catalog satellites, debris and...
Proposal for Streamlined U.S. Regulatory Approval for Novel Commercial Space Activities
The U.S. Office of Space Commerce unveiled a draft "Space Commerce Certification" to streamline approvals for novel commercial space activities such as in‑space manufacturing, orbital computing and lunar stations. The proposal introduces a presumption of approval, limiting denials to security,...
Firefly Aerospace Targets Late‑Summer Launch of Alpha Block 2 Rocket
Firefly Aerospace announced that its upgraded Alpha Block 2 vehicle will fly on Flight 8 in late summer, after a successful return‑to‑flight of the original Alpha in March. CEO Jason Kim said demand from U.S. national‑security programs and commercial users is driving...
How NASA’s Chief Plans to Bring Back the Moonwalk — And Beat China
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a renewed push to land astronauts on the Moon by 2027, leveraging the Artemis III mission and a $10 billion budget boost. He emphasized building an enduring lunar presence, a demand signal for 30 landers and...
Starlink MVNO, but Why?
SpaceX plans to launch 10,000 Starlink satellites by May 2026 and has filed for a million more, positioning the constellation for a mobile‑virtual‑network‑operator (MVNO) model. The article argues that pure satellite‑to‑phone service cannot replace 5G small cells because signals cannot penetrate...
NASA Advances NEO Surveyor Toward Final Assembly Ahead of 2027 Launch
NASA has attached the aluminum infrared telescope to the flight base frame of its Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor at Space Dynamics Laboratory, marking a critical step before a launch no earlier than September 2027. The mission aims to fill a...
Verizon Details ‘Satellite-Everywhere’ for Disaster Response, Expands Satellite Fleet
Verizon announced a major expansion of its disaster‑response satellite fleet, now totaling 2,600 assets. The rollout includes a new multi‑orbit off‑road trailer that can switch between GEO and LEO satellites to deliver mobile 5G hotspots in hard‑to‑reach areas. The company...
Astranis, Scout Space Lay Out Next Steps Following Capital Rounds
Astranis secured $455 million in new capital—a $300 million Series E led by Snowpoint Ventures and Franklin Templeton plus a $155 million delayed‑draw credit from Trinity Capital—to accelerate production of its micro‑GEO communications satellites and chase U.S. military contracts, including a potential $4 billion GEO...
Anthropic, SpaceX Deal Boosts Claude Compute and Points to Space-Based AI
Anthropic has secured full access to SpaceX’s Colossus 1 supercomputer, a 220,000‑GPU system delivering over 300 MW of AI compute. The added capacity will boost performance and raise rate limits for Claude Pro, Claude Max and Claude Code services. The agreement is part of Anthropic’s...
Data Fusion Provides a High-Definition Look at Mars' Temperature Maps
Researchers at Curtin University applied a data‑fusion technique that blends low‑resolution THEMIS infrared data with high‑resolution CRISM spectral imagery, using an Extra Tree Regressor to predict thermal inertia at 12‑meter scale. The resulting thermal maps dramatically sharpen Mars’ temperature profile,...
Pee Planet: Scientists Discover Distant Planet with Atmosphere that Actually Smells Like Urine
Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified ammonia‑rich cirrus clouds in the atmosphere of the gas‑giant exoplanet Epsilon Indi Ab, located about 12 light‑years from Earth. The ammonia gives the clouds a scent comparable to urine, earning the planet the...
Brian Cox Declares Humanity on the Threshold of Becoming a Multi-Planetary Species
Renowned physicist Brian Cox warned that humanity stands on the brink of a historic shift from a single‑planet civilization to a multi‑planetary species. He highlighted the dramatic drop in launch costs, the operational Lunar Gateway, and commercial lander successes as...
The Night Sky Could Get Three Times Brighter as New Satellites Launch — All but Ruining the Vera C. Rubin...
A new arXiv study warns that upcoming ultra‑bright satellite constellations could make the night sky up to three times brighter, jeopardizing all‑sky surveys such as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s LSST. Modeling shows a 60,000‑satellite fleet dimmer than magnitude 7 adds...
Will Canada’s Telesat Really Complete Its Lightspeed Constellation by 2028?
Telesat says its Lightspeed low‑Earth‑orbit satellite network will be fully operational by the first quarter of 2028, after investing $171 million in Q1 and bringing total spend to roughly $2.7 billion. The company reported progress on design reviews, user terminals, software and...
Juno Snaps Rare Close-Up of Jupiter’s Shadowy Moon Thebe
NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured a record‑close view of Jupiter’s inner moon Thebe on May 1, 2026, imaging the irregular satellite from roughly 5,000 km away. Thebe, a 49‑km‑radius body orbiting 222,000 km from Jupiter, is heavily cratered and the primary source of dust for...