SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: Johannes Galatsanos, Diffraqtion
Diffraqtion, a quantum‑imaging startup spun out of MIT and the University of Maryland, announced a $4.2 million pre‑seed round that includes a DARPA Small Business Innovation Research Phase‑II contract. The company’s quantum camera promises up to 20‑times higher resolution and 1,000‑times faster image processing than traditional optical sensors. It plans to demonstrate the technology on ground‑based telescopes through 2027 and launch its first space‑domain‑awareness satellite, Galileo‑1, in 2028, followed by a second satellite in 2029 for Earth observation and missile‑defense missions. The venture aligns with the U.S. Space Force’s $3.2 billion Golden Dome interceptor program, positioning the startup at the intersection of quantum sensing and national security.
Can Pakistan Make Its Space Program Great Again?
Pakistan has selected two Pakistan Air Force pilots for astronaut training in China, paving the way for the nation’s first citizen to fly aboard China’s Tiangong space station in late 2026. In parallel, SUPRCO has launched five indigenous satellites between...
RSAT Space and INNOSPACE Sign MOU for North American Launch and Integration Services
Montreal‑based RSAT Space and South Korean launch provider INNOSPACE signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly pursue satellite launch and space‑system contracts across North America. The deal pairs INNOSPACE’s HANBIT‑Nano small‑sat launcher, capable of delivering up to 90 kg to a...
SpaceX Accelerates Shift to Starship, Targeting 12 Tests in 2026
SpaceX announced an accelerated transition from its Falcon 9 workhorse to the next‑generation Starship fleet, aiming for 12 orbital flight tests in 2026 and a launch‑on‑demand capability by the third quarter. The shift is designed to close the emerging heavy‑lift gap...
Hanwha Group Launches ‘Korean SpaceX’ Drive, Targets 8% Stake in KAI
South Korea's Hanwha Group unveiled a “Korean SpaceX” plan to build a vertically integrated space business, expanding from defense into launch vehicles, satellites and data services. The conglomerate has raised its stake in Korea Aerospace Industries to 5.09% and plans...
Rocket Lab Narrows Q1 Loss, Acquires Motiv Space, Secures Multi‑Launch Deal
Rocket Lab reported a narrowed first‑quarter loss of $45 million and revenue of $200.3 million, while announcing the acquisition of Motiv Space Systems and its largest multi‑launch contract to date. The moves expand the company's B2B launch services and position it for...
Artemis II Crew Eyes Meteoroid Impact Flashes
During its lunar flyby, NASA’s Artemis II crew observed brief meteoroid impact flashes on the Moon’s far side, a phenomenon that onboard cameras struggled to capture. The Orion spacecraft carried 31 cameras to document the mission, yet rapid flashes evaded imaging...
UAE Space Agency Drives Public-Private Collaboration at MIITE 2026
At the fifth Make it in the Emirates (MIITE) 2026 forum, the UAE Space Agency showcased its push to embed private firms into the national space agenda outlined in the Space Strategy 2031. The agency highlighted the expansion of Space Economic...
Rocket Lab Announces Large Launch Contract and Plans to Acquire Space Robotics Company
Rocket Lab announced its largest ever launch contract, securing five Neutron and Electron missions for a confidential customer between 2026 and 2029. The deal exceeds the previous $190 million record, underscoring rising demand for the company’s medium‑lift capabilities. Rocket Lab also...
Your Kids Asked the Artemis Astronauts Questions. They Answered.
NASA’s Artemis II crew completed a ten‑day lunar flyby, venturing farther than any human and spending time on the moon’s far side. In a kid‑focused interview, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen answered questions about the mission,...
China Leverages Satellite Constellations as Core Climate‑Monitoring Infrastructure
China announced that its growing network of navigation, imaging and broadband satellites now underpins a national climate‑monitoring system, citing 92 launches in 2025—a 35% rise from the prior year. The move deepens Beijing's strategic foothold in space‑based environmental data and...
ESA Begins Developing Replacements for NASA’s Contributions to LISA
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a risk‑mitigation program to replace NASA’s planned contributions to the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission. On 5 May 2026 ESA awarded Thales Alenia Space a €26.1 million contract (about $28.5 million) to develop the mission’s...
Meet Rassvet, Russia’s Answer to Starlink
Russia’s Bureau 1440 launched the first 16 Rassvet broadband satellites on 23 March 2026, marking the start of a planned low‑Earth‑orbit constellation. The government‑backed project aims for 300‑350 satellites by 2030, delivering up to 1 Gbps speeds and 70 ms latency across the nation....
Bringing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Satellite Connectivity to Scotland’s Rail Network
Nomad Digital is installing Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite‑based Wi‑Fi on ScotRail’s Class 222 intercity fleet, covering routes such as Glasgow‑Edinburgh‑Aberdeen‑Inverness. The solution reduces reliance on terrestrial mobile networks, delivering more consistent connectivity in rural and regional areas. The rollout is...
GCT Taps Satellite Partner to Speed 5G Rollout
GCT Semiconductor has signed a reference platform agreement with a major satellite communications provider to speed the creation of 5G user equipment that works across satellite and terrestrial networks. The deal builds on an earlier chipset licensing pact and delivers...
SatVu Positions Thermal Imaging as the Missing EO Layer
SatVu, the UK thermal‑imaging startup, closed a £30 million (≈$35 million) round in February and this week announced first‑light data from its second satellite, HotSat‑2, launched on SpaceX’s Transporter‑16 rideshare. The thermal images captured activity at an oil refinery in Cuba before...
Zimbabwe Starlink Subscriptions Now The Largest In Southern Africa
Starlink’s Zimbabwe subscriber base hit 67,057 in Q4 2025, a 31.6% quarterly jump and 117% growth since early 2025, making the country the Southern African leader in satellite internet. The surge lifted Zimbabwe to over half of the region’s Starlink users,...
Infineon Rad-Hard Chips Performed Flawlessly on Artemis II
NASA’s Artemis II mission completed a 10‑day crewed flight that set a new record for distance from Earth, while simultaneously proving the reliability of Infineon Technologies’ radiation‑hardened semiconductor portfolio. Infineon’s IR HiRel rad‑hard devices powered critical Orion systems, including power supply, control...
Indonesia’s Space Ambitions: To Sign the Artemis Accords or to Wait?
The United States is urging Indonesia to join the Artemis Accords, the lunar‑exploration framework signed by 64 nations as of May 2026. Indonesia already enjoys a long‑standing space partnership with the U.S., dating back to the 1976 Palapa‑1 satellite and a...
What Supplies Does the International Space Station Require, Why, When, and How
The International Space Station’s supply chain balances daily crew needs, scientific payloads, and hardware maintenance through a coordinated mix of cargo vehicles. NASA treats supplies as an operating system, planning food, water, air, spare parts, and research cargo to match...
Rocket Lab Records Six Straight Q1 Launch Successes
Rocket Lab $RKLB had 6 successful rocket launches in Q1 2026 1: Q1 2022 3: Q1 2023 4: Q1 2024 5: Q1 2025 6: Q1 2026
Most March Russian Starlink Satellites Maneuvering to Operational Orbit
All but one "Russian Starlinks" launched in March showed signs of maneuvers, presumably on their way to operational orbits. Context: https://t.co/aDdeCmCNC9
Lunar Outpost Raises $30 Million
Colorado‑based Lunar Outpost announced a $30 million oversubscribed Series B round, led by Industrious Ventures, to revamp its rover lineup for NASA’s Artemis program. The company is developing a new Pegasus rover, leveraging 72 % of its Eagle design, to meet NASA’s revised...
NSF Green Bank Observatory Shares Images, Data From Artemis II Mission
The National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory has released high‑resolution radio images and S‑band telemetry data captured during NASA’s Artemis II crewed lunar‑flyby mission. Using its 100‑meter Robert C. Byrd telescope, the observatory tracked the spacecraft in real time and now...
Space Is Becoming Climate Infrastructure, And China Knows It
China is transforming space into a sovereign, multi‑layered infrastructure, rapidly expanding launch capacity, navigation, communications and Earth‑observation constellations. In 2025 it reported 92 launches, a 35% rise, and plans continued crewed missions, reusable rockets and satellite internet. The United States...
Mint Explainer: Why India’s Space Data Centre Dreams Could Be Far-Fetched
India’s nascent space‑data‑centre sector is attracting buzz, with four home‑grown startups joining global giants like Elon Musk’s X, Starcloud and Relativity in touting satellite‑based AI compute. The Mint explainer argues that while the theory of orbiting GPUs is alluring, the...
SpaceX Accelerates Shift to Starship, Targets 12 Test Flights by Q3 2026
SpaceX announced an accelerated transition from Falcon 9 to its fully reusable Starship, aiming for 12 orbital test flights and a launch‑on‑demand capability by the third quarter of 2026. The move targets the heavy‑lift gap and positions the company ahead...
MDA Space Secures 41 Early Customers for CHORUS SAR Constellation
MDA Space revealed 41 early customer commitments for its upcoming CHORUS synthetic‑aperture radar constellation, with nine signed contracts and 32 letters of interest. The announcement highlights robust market appetite for the hybrid SAR system ahead of its planned late‑2026 launch...
The Case for Data Centers in Space
Starcloud is developing orbital data centers to meet surging AI compute demand, beginning with a 1‑kW satellite that ran inference in space and progressing to a 10‑kW rack‑scale unit slated for launch within a year. The company’s roadmap targets a...
The Invisible Hand: Regaining Control of Service Quality From Outsourced Satellite Networks
Mobile network operators are increasingly leasing Low Earth Orbit satellite capacity from satellite network operators to fill coverage gaps, but the lack of direct control creates a trust gap and makes service‑level enforcement difficult. Researchers at Tsinghua University introduced Ripple,...
Joel Thayer and Matthew Wong: Space Policy Can’t Run on Dial-Up Speeds
The United States now hosts 15,296 active satellites, generating $65.2 billion in 2024, but the FCC’s Space Bureau backlog has swelled to 1,475 applications, slowing projects. A bipartisan push, including FCC rulemaking and the Satellite and Telecommunications (SAT) Streamlining Act, seeks...
The Rapid Rise of Cell Towers in Space
Satellite firms are racing to deliver direct‑to‑device (D2D) broadband, with SpaceX planning 15,000 new satellites and spending $17 billion on spectrum, while Amazon bought Globalstar for $11.6 billion to launch its own constellation. Market analysts forecast cumulative D2D revenue of $100 billion by...
Starship Test Rescheduled: May 9, 8 Am–8 Pm
🚨New Starship test closure: May 9th, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Looks like the WDR has moved a bit. https://t.co/mHpCFWoYEQ https://t.co/lKlErbZJtr
Australian Quantum Technology to Support National Defence Strategy
Australia’s QuantX Labs has launched TEMPO, a quantum clock that delivers up to ten times the precision of conventional GNSS timing systems, now operating in orbit. The technology promises more resilient communications, accurate navigation and robust satellite‑ground synchronization, especially when...
Rocket Lab Announces Five-Launch Neutron Deal as It Continues Aiming for Late 2026 Debut
Rocket Lab announced a block sale of five Neutron and three Electron launches to an undisclosed customer, marking its largest contract to date and surpassing the prior $190 million Haste sub‑orbital deal. The company reported a $2.2 billion backlog, with launch services...
Sama Jordan TV Joins Es’hailSat Video Neighborhood at 26° East
Qatar’s Es’hailSat has added Jordanian news channel Sama Jordan TV to its 26° East video neighborhood, broadcasting via the Es’hail‑2 satellite across the Middle East and North Africa. The direct‑to‑home service is uplinked from the Tier 4‑certified Al Ghuwayriyah Teleport in Doha. This...
SpaceX V3 Booster Has a Full Static Fire And Is On Track for a May 15 Launch
SpaceX conducted a full‑duration, full‑thrust static fire of its Super Heavy V3 booster, firing all 33 engines simultaneously. The test confirmed that the upgraded deluge water suppression system functioned as intended. Launch trackers now list a net launch window of...
SpaceX's IPO Value Would Rank Second Ever, Outpacing Dot‑Com Era
"In inflation-adjusted terms, @SpaceX alone would rank as the second-largest IPO in history, just behind @saudi_aramco . All three together would exceed the entire dot-com IPO wave of 1995–2000. They will be at least half the value, inflation-adjusted, of...
A Bizarre 'Decapitated' Asteroid Likely Made the Moon's Largest Impact Crater. NASA's Artemis Astronauts May Land Near the Proof
A new study using high‑resolution 3‑D simulations argues that the Moon’s South Pole–Aitken basin was formed by a 260‑km differentiated asteroid that was ‘decapitated’ on impact, leaving its iron core to carve the basin’s tapered shape. The shallow, north‑to‑south impact would...
US Air Force Sets Its Sights On Space Solar Power
The U.S. Air Force has awarded its first contract to startup Overview Energy to demonstrate space‑solar technology that beams power from geosynchronous orbit to Earth. Overview, which raised $20 million from investors, plans to launch satellites in 2028 and deliver megawatt‑scale...
NASA Welcomes Paraguay as 67th Artemis Accords Signatory
On May 7, 2026, Paraguay signed the Artemis Accords in Asunción, becoming the 67th nation to endorse the framework governing peaceful, transparent space exploration. The agreement aligns Paraguay’s emerging space program, which recently launched GuaraníSat‑1 and plans a GuaraníSat‑2 launch...
With Launches Slated to Grow a Hundredfold, Space Force Seeks More Sites, Money, People, and AI
The U.S. Space Force announced a plan to expand its launch cadence from more than 200 rockets this year to as many as 3,000 annually by 2036. Achieving that scale will require additional launch pads, significantly higher funding, a doubled...
Hawkeye360 IPO Jumps to $34
Signals-intel satelite fleet operator @hawkeye360 listed at $26 on @NYSE IPO May 7, opened at $33.80 and closed at $34 with a market cap of $3.17B. https://t.co/DDXHxVbqYD
United Airlines Gets FAA Nod for Starlink-Equipped Embraer 175
United Airlines has secured Federal Aviation Administration certification to outfit its Embraer 175 regional jets with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband. The airline plans to launch passenger flights using the system in May, marking the first FAA‑approved low‑Earth‑orbit connectivity on a...
Planet Labs Adds Three Pelican High‑resolution Satellites, Boosting Swedish Defense Imaging
Planet Labs has launched three additional Pelican high‑resolution imaging satellites on a rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the first delivery under its agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces. The satellites, capable of 50 cm multispectral imaging and on‑orbit...
MDA Launches High‑volume Satellite Factory, Sees Double‑digit Q1 Growth
.@MDA_space: New high-volume sat factory on schedule for @Telesat and @Globalstar constellations and we're pitching it to military customers for low-volume space defense missions. MDA reports double-digit increases in Q1 rev, EBITDA, net income.https://t.co/JLgJQ5F06O https://t.co/Qumet99zsx
James Webb Space Telescope Brings Details Of Nearby 'Super-Earth' Into Focus
The James Webb Space Telescope used its Mid‑Infrared Instrument to obtain the first surface‑level spectroscopy of the nearby super‑Earth LHS 3844 b. The data reveal a dark, olivine‑rich, featureless crust and a complete lack of CO₂ and SO₂, suggesting an old, airless...
Paraguay Joins Artemis Accords as 67th Signatory.
Paraguay becomes the 67th country to sign the Artemis Accords; third this week and sixth in the last two and a half weeks. https://t.co/VUR7u4OWbr
Preparing For a Congressional Flip At NASA
NASA’s management style shifted dramatically after Jared Isaacman became administrator, moving from largely verbal, undocumented directives that often clashed with congressional intent to a more transparent, documented approach. While the FY 2027 budget mirrors the FY 2026 request, Congress remains uneasy about...
Redwire Pursues Opportunities in Landers and Power Systems for NASA’s Moon Base Plans
Redwire is refocusing on lunar landers and power systems after NASA signaled a steady cadence of moon‑base landings. The company, a CLPS contract holder through its Deep Space Systems acquisition, has yet to win a task order but sees a...