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The European Space Agency announced on 6 March that it has lost contact with the Coronagraph spacecraft of its PROBA‑3 formation‑flying mission. An anomaly on 14‑15 February caused a loss of attitude, forcing the satellite into survival mode as its solar arrays stopped generating power. ESA is investigating the fault and assessing whether the healthy Occulter satellite can assist in recovery. The €200 million mission, launched in December 2024, was designed for a two‑year operational life to study the Sun’s outer corona.
India’s security agencies have moved to partner with deep‑tech spacetech startups to create “bodyguard” satellites that can shield high‑value space assets. Bloomberg reports that Galaxeye, Agnikul and Dhruva Space are in advanced talks, with a test flight slated for June...
We just launched GPUs into orbit. Not satellites. GPUs. For the first time, NVIDIA H100 chips are being sent into space to train AI models under constant sunlight. Not as an experiment. As infrastructure. On Earth, AI is already pushing against hard physical limits: →...
The European Space Agency announced a new AI Hub at its ECSAT campus in Oxfordshire, backed by the UK Space Agency. The facility will provide a testbed for AI‑driven satellite and converged communications, extending the capabilities of ESA’s existing 5G/6G...
March 2026 will host more than 20 high‑profile space conferences, summits and workshops across the UK, the United States and globally. The calendar features flagship gatherings such as Space‑Comm Europe in London, the Joint Space Operations Summit in Maryland, LPSC in...
The article traces the evolution of human spacecraft entry, descent, and landing from Vostok’s ejection‑before‑touchdown to modern capsules such as Dragon, Starliner, and Orion. It highlights how early programs diverged into ocean splashdowns, land touchdowns, and runway glides, with the...
Seraphin Space Investment Trust reported record H2 2025 results, with net asset value climbing 20% to £337.5 million and fair‑value multiples exceeding 200% of cost for the first time. The top ten holdings delivered 79% revenue growth year‑over‑year, while more than 85%...
Just got this from Planet Labs, they are delaying posting imagery from specific areas in the Middle East 96 hours due to operational security concerns: Reads in part: As part of Planet’s commitment to responsible data practices and the safety of personnel...
LAUNCH of Rocket Lab Electron from Mahia at 2353 UTC Mar 5 carrying a BlackSky Global Gen3 imaging satellite
Polish startup Liftero has signed a contract with India’s OrbitAID to provide two multi‑thruster BOOSTER configurations for an in‑orbit servicing mission slated for the fourth quarter of 2026. The boosters use nitrous‑oxide (N₂O) chemical propulsion to deliver six‑degree‑of‑freedom (6‑DOF) maneuvering,...
Following today's nomination hearing for Matt Anderson to be NASA Deputy Admin, the Senate Commerce Cmte will vote on his nomination (and several others) next Thursday, Mar 12, at approx 11:30 am ET. It's in the Capitol (S-216) so likely...
Researchers have created a photonic‑crystal light sail (PCLS) that uses a three‑dielectric nanostructure of germanium pillars, air holes, and polymer matrix to achieve high reflectivity at a propulsion‑specific wavelength. Simulations and electron‑beam fabricated prototypes demonstrate about 90 % reflectivity at 1.2 µm...
New James Webb Space Telescope observations collected on Feb. 18 and 26 refined the orbit of near‑Earth asteroid 2024 YR4, eliminating any chance of a lunar impact on Dec. 22, 2032. The asteroid is now projected to miss the Moon by about 13,200 miles (21,200 km)....
A new SETI Institute study shows that turbulent plasma in a star’s immediate environment can broaden ultra‑narrow radio signals, spreading their power across frequencies and making them harder to detect. By calibrating plasma‑induced broadening with measurements from solar‑system spacecraft, the...
Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company, announced Kwon Park as senior director of manufacturing operations. Park brings more than 20 years of aerospace and defense manufacturing experience, including leadership of a $300 million aerospace site. He will oversee manufacturing execution, production...
.@Globalstar: Record 2025 rev, hoping for 2 @SpaceX launches this yr, only certain of one. @Apple @MDA_space @RocketLab @ITU.https://t.co/SDDwWZZM9C https://t.co/Cr479jj1du
Virgin Galactic announced that its next‑generation Delta Class suborbital vehicle will begin commercial flights by the end of 2026, targeting a rapid 48‑hour turnaround between missions. The move follows Blue Origin’s decision to suspend New Shepard flights, positioning Virgin as...
The ISS is now likely to fly through 2032, and Congress wants NASA to get moving on selecting two developers for private space stations. https://t.co/tsD0ZCfxnB
BlackSky has secured a seven‑figure renewal from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency under the Luno A Facility Monitoring Delivery Order. The contract extension reflects strong customer satisfaction with BlackSky’s high‑cadence, AI‑enabled change detection analytics. The company now monitors more than...
SES announced that the ninth and tenth O3b mPOWER satellites have entered service, raising the constellation to ten operational units out of the planned thirteen. The satellites were launched by SpaceX on July 22 from Cape Canaveral and use redesigned...
@NASA is there a reason you don't have rewind mode enabled on the ISS live video stream https://t.co/bqWRdeeWwb ? This used to work, and it's very inconvenient not to be able to replay something you missed...
The Space Development Agency’s first operational tranche of 42 satellites launched in late 2024, but on‑orbit checkout and functional testing have lagged due to supply‑chain bottlenecks, a 45‑day government shutdown, and a technical snag with a Lockheed Martin spacecraft. The...
EarthDaily released the first public images from its EDC‑01 satellite, confirming that the ABB‑built imaging system meets daily global‑monitoring standards. The satellite digitizes 20 billion pixels per second and carries 16 multispectral assemblies covering 22 spectral bands. EarthDaily will launch six...
Sierra Space closed a $550 million Series C round, lifting its valuation to roughly $8 billion and marking a strategic pivot toward national‑security satellite programs. The funding will support new product development and expanded production capacity, including contracts worth up to $1.19 billion with...
The Beyond Earth Symposium highlighted a strategic shift from viewing lunar exploration as a symbolic race to focusing on durable infrastructure. Keynote speaker Bhavya Lal argued that lasting impact depends on power systems, logistics, governance, and commercial frameworks rather than...
NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility provided tracking, telemetry and range‑safety services for Rocket Lab’s HASTE suborbital launch on Feb. 27, 2026. The mission, dubbed Cassowary Vex, carried a hypersonic test platform for the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit. This was the first...
On 3 March 2026 HEO Space and Spain’s SATLANTIS signed a memorandum of understanding to deliver sovereign space domain awareness (SDA) capabilities to government and defence clients. The deal merges HEO’s non‑Earth imaging software, analytics and operational expertise with SATLANTIS’s high‑performance optical...
NASA may soon get a deputy administrator. Matt Anderson is before a Senate committee today. Barring surprises his confirmation in the coming weeks should be non-controversial.
Asteroid 2024 YR4, a 60‑metre near‑Earth object, once carried a 4 % chance of striking the Moon in December 2032. New observations with JWST’s NIRCam in February 2026 precisely measured its orbit, eliminating the lunar‑impact risk. The asteroid will safely miss the Moon by...
Not just @defis_eu Space Act: @FCC wants industry input on discriminatory policies at @esa, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Gulf Cooperation Council. @spacegovuk @BrendanCarrFCC #MWC26. https://t.co/WNE0RDXEPN https://t.co/l6A5Fqkgw1
The FCC is outlining plans to provide spectrum for novel space activities, or what it calls "weird space stuff." https://t.co/blttdrzzp3
Scientists at the University of Texas and Texas A&M have successfully grown and harvested the Myles chickpea variety using a simulated lunar regolith mix. By blending up to 75% moon‑dirt with vermicompost and inoculating seeds with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, the team...
Artificial intelligence is poised to reshape space exploration, offering real‑time data analysis, autonomous navigation, and predictive health monitoring for spacecraft. To realize these gains, AI hardware must survive radiation, extreme temperatures, and power constraints while delivering sufficient compute throughput. The...
Circuits Integrated Hellas (CIH) and Reach Power have signed a multi‑year memorandum of understanding to co‑develop integrated RF/mmWave and wireless power‑at‑a‑distance (WPDT) solutions. CIH will supply custom semiconductor designs, beamforming architectures and heterogeneous integration, while Reach contributes its proven power‑beaming...
The United Kingdom unveiled a £500 million space funding package aimed at accelerating economic growth and national security. The money targets seven sub‑sectors, with priority given to satellite communications, assured access, in‑orbit servicing, assembly, manufacturing and space domain awareness. The package...
Dominic Hayes, spectrum manager for the European Commission, discussed the Iris² satellite programme on a PolicyTracker podcast, highlighting its role within the broader European Space Programme. Iris² aims to provide a European‑controlled direct‑to‑device (D2D) communications network, offering an alternative to...
Roundhill Investments announced the launch of the Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (ticker MARS) on March 5, 2026, offering active exposure to pure‑play space companies. McKinsey projects the global space economy to swell to $1.8 trillion by 2035, up from $630 billion...
The UK government announced a new package of measures to accelerate space‑based pharmaceutical manufacturing, offering regulatory clarity and a sandbox for companies developing drugs in microgravity. The initiative, led by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, brings together the...
The article argues that despite hype around reusable rockets, truly low‑cost launch prices remain elusive. It examines why SpaceX’s sub‑$5 kg target is still out of reach for most customers, citing technical bottlenecks, limited launch cadence, and regulatory hurdles. The piece...
China’s Astronaut Center completed its first cave‑survival training, involving 28 astronauts and trainees in a month‑long program in Chongqing’s Wulong district. Participants endured 8 °C temperatures, 99 % humidity, darkness and confined spaces while conducting mapping, scientific tasks and emergency drills. The...
Southwest Research Institute and UT San Antonio re‑examined Apollo 11, 16 and 17 lunar soils with modern transmission electron microscopy to quantify how space weathering alters far‑ultraviolet (FUV) reflectance. The study linked the presence of nanophase‑iron particles in grain rims...
Researchers from the Beijing Institute of Technology, the China Academy of Space Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have introduced a theoretical model that couples electrostatic forces with contact‑mechanics to predict whether low‑velocity charged lunar dust grains stick to...
Northrop Grumman's new five‑segment solid rocket boosters will power NASA's Artemis II launch, the first crewed mission of the Space Launch System, slated for early February 2026. Each 177‑foot booster delivers 3.6 million pounds of thrust, together providing 7.2 million of the SLS’s...
Over half of methane exhaust from lunar landers can migrate across the Moon, reaching the opposite pole within two lunar days and becoming trapped in permanently shadowed regions. Simulations of ESA’s Argonaut mission show 42 % of exhaust settles at the...
Denmark’s University of Copenhagen will lead the ESA‑backed Mani mission, slated for a 2029 launch, to map the Moon’s north and south polar regions in three dimensions. The satellite will capture high‑resolution images from multiple angles, using shadow analysis to...
The Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s largest space launch facility, sits in southern Kazakhstan about 200 km west of the city of Baikonur. Operated by Russia’s Roscosmos under a 1994 lease, it has supported more than 400 orbital launches since its first...
SpaceX provably has revenues of less than $20bn and loses money after the merger with xAI, but is targeting a $1.75 TRILLION IPO. So FTAV explored how Musk might try to pull off what could be the biggest bagholder operation...
ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured the May 2024 solar superstorm’s effects on the Red Planet, revealing unprecedented electron spikes in the upper atmosphere. A radiation monitor on TGO logged a dose equivalent to 200 Earth days in...
Ursa Major announced the successful hot‑fire of its upgraded Hadley H13 liquid rocket engine, marking the first flight test of the latest variant. The company has integrated additive manufacturing across roughly 80% of the engine’s parts, streamlining production and cutting...
Elon Musk’s decision to block Russia from using Starlink satellites has hampered Russian drone and artillery operations, highlighting the strategic power of private space assets. After initially supplying Ukraine with terminals, Musk later restricted their use against Russian territory following...
