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Daily
Every morning
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NASA will host astronauts Nichole Ayers and Takuya Onishi at Marshall Space Flight Center on Jan. 23 for a media briefing on their recent SpaceX Crew‑10 mission. The Crew‑10 flight, launched March 14 2025 and returned Aug. 9 2025, completed dozens of ISS experiments under the Commercial Crew Program. The event highlights the Huntsville Operations Support Center’s role in engineering, safety, and payload coordination for the station. Media must RSVP by Jan. 22 to attend.
NASA post-flight news conf with Crew-11, which returned from ISS last week earlier than planned because one of the crew has a medical issue, should begin in about 15 min at 2:15 pm ET. Watch on YouTube: https://t.co/oJ467pMZhg
..@blueorigin: We're building a constellation of 5,280 LEO sats & 128 in MEO orbit for symmetrical 144 Gbps connectivity using Q/V-band RF, & up to 6 Tbps w/ MEO optical links, to serve ~100,000 corporate, govt users. Launches start Q4...
The global space arena has shifted from a Cold‑War bipolar rivalry to a multipolar frontier where dozens of nations now operate satellites and launch services. Emerging programs are adopting an "à la carte" model, buying commercial launches, partnering with universities,...
Blue Origin unveiled TeraWave, a satellite internet network that promises up to 6 Tbps data rates using a hybrid constellation of 5,280 low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) and 128 medium‑Earth‑orbit (MEO) satellites. The LEO nodes will deliver up to 144 Gbps via RF, while the...
The Essential Reading Series spotlights ten seminal science‑fiction works that examine how humanity might communicate with extraterrestrial intelligence, from Carl Sagan’s *Contact* to Octavia Butler’s *Dawn*. Each novel presents a distinct obstacle—linguistic puzzles, alien cognition, cultural misunderstanding—showing that language, biology and...
Irish researchers at Maynooth University have solved a long‑standing puzzle about how super‑massive black holes formed in the early universe. Using cutting‑edge computer simulations, they showed that light‑seed black holes—born only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang—can...
.@OHB_SE raises 3-year rev, profit forecast on @esa ministerial results and @DLR_en's contribution, and both German and @defis_eu planned milspace spending. Subsidiaries in multiple EU nations will help reach goal of > EUR 2B ($2.34B) in 2028. https://t.co/nW8I92dibn https://t.co/HNu4XOpDYU
A new arXiv study proposes deploying radio dishes on the Moon to create an Earth‑Moon interferometer capable of sub‑microarcsecond resolution. By leveraging the lunar radius as a baseline, the array could resolve black‑hole shadows as small as one‑tenth of a...
The UK government has launched the £20 million Westcott Space Hub in Buckinghamshire, a 62,000‑sq‑ft facility designed to accelerate space‑technology development. Backed by the UK Space Agency and a mix of public and private partners, the hub offers testing infrastructure, collaborative...
WISeKey International unveiled SEALCOIN, a space‑based, quantum‑resistant crypto platform, at Davos 2026. The system uses the WISeSat low‑Earth‑orbit constellation to generate cryptographic signatures directly onboard satellites, extending blockchain transactions beyond terrestrial networks. Its native QAIT token will fuel machine‑to‑machine value exchange,...
JAXA released preliminary findings on the December 2025 H3 launch failure, pinpointing premature fairing separation that damaged the satellite mounting section and ruptured the second‑stage fuel tubing. The damage halted engine combustion and caused the Michibiki‑5 satellite to detach when...
Starfish Space secured a $52.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to provide deorbit‑as‑a‑service for the SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) constellation. The award marks the first operational, paid mission for end‑of‑life satellite disposal, moving beyond earlier demonstration studies....
Loft Orbital has secured a €50 million contract from the French Ministry of Defence to deliver the nation’s first sovereign synthetic‑aperture radar (SAR) satellite under the DESIR programme. The satellite will be built on Loft’s Longbow platform, with a payload co‑designed...
On January 21, 1960, a rhesus monkey named Miss Sam was launched aboard a Little Joe rocket to test the Mercury spacecraft's Launch Escape System (LES). The flight reached roughly nine miles altitude before the capsule separated and splashed down in the Atlantic, where...
The article argues that the United States must accelerate digital transformation in its national‑security space architecture to maintain deterrence against a rapidly modernizing China. It highlights current shortcomings such as legacy single‑prime contracts, stovepiped systems, and slow acquisition cycles that...
Starfish Space secured a $52.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to provide end‑of‑life deorbit services for its upcoming PWSA low‑Earth‑orbit constellation. The deal marks the first ever procurement for commercial satellite disposal at constellation scale. Starfish’s Otter vehicle, still...
Starfish Space secured a $52.5 million contract from the U.S. Space Development Agency to provide deorbit‑as‑a‑service for a satellite in its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. The award calls for launching the company’s Otter space tug in 2027 to dock with a...
Germany's The Exploration Co (TEC) signs LoI to buy UK launch startup @orbexspace. TEC's building LEO Cargo Return Service for @esa & is 'expanding through the space transportation value chain (launcher, in-space defense, and lunar transportation),' co says. @spacegovuk @DLR....
The Atlantic Council’s new report warns that the United States remains “unacceptably vulnerable” to Russian escalation in space, including the prospect of a nuclear detonation in low‑Earth orbit. It outlines three high‑risk scenarios—nuclear anti‑satellite blasts, debris‑generating attacks, and systematic interference...
An international team examined the Diósi‑Penrose and Continuous Spontaneous Localization (CSL) quantum collapse models and demonstrated that, if these models are correct, time itself carries a tiny intrinsic uncertainty. This fuzziness imposes a fundamental, though extraordinarily small, limit on the...
ExLabs has partnered with Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology to send student‑designed CubeLanders to asteroid Apophis during its 2029 close approach. The ApophisExL mission, supported by NASA’s JPL, is billed as the world’s first commercial deep‑space rideshare, offering co‑manifested payload...
A new study using high‑precision triple‑oxygen‑isotope measurements on Apollo lunar regolith shows that only about 1% of the Moon’s soil is impactor‑derived material, limiting the amount of water late‑arriving meteorites could have delivered. Even assuming Earth received roughly twenty times...
ClearSpace and the European Space Agency are developing the PRELUDE mission, slated for a 2027 launch, to demonstrate autonomous, close‑range satellite servicing in orbit. The program will fly two small spacecraft that use sensors and cameras to track each other...
Researchers evaluated cloud‑based quantum neural networks (QNNs) for LISA’s gravitational‑wave data analysis, testing hardware from IonQ, IQM, Amazon Braket and Microsoft Azure. The QNNs demonstrated markedly faster learning than classical networks, achieving 99% fidelity on a 3‑qubit feature map and...
.@esa: Here's how we're spending the $5.45 billion we received at #CM25 ministerial on space transportation. @ArianeGroup @Avio_Group @CNES @DLR_en @ASI_spazio #Ariane6 #VegaC @EuropeSpacePort.https://t.co/rf3Zzak9oS
The 18th European Space Conference convenes in Brussels on 27‑28 January 2026, spotlighting European autonomy, resilience, competitiveness, security and defence. ESA’s participation follows the Ministerial Council’s approval of a historic €22.3 billion budget, reinforcing its mandate in security‑related activities. Sessions will highlight strengthened...
Artificial intelligence is being integrated into ESA‑backed manufacturing projects to modernize rocket component production. MT Aerospace is applying machine‑learning models to shot‑peen forming, friction‑stir welding, and automated carbon‑fibre placement, achieving tighter tolerances and faster setup. Predictive AI now forecasts metal...
ESA’s Solar Orbiter observed a large solar flare on 30 September 2024 with unprecedented detail, revealing that the eruption is driven by a cascade of small magnetic reconnection events—a magnetic avalanche. High‑resolution EUV imagery captured the precursor filament and rapid formation of twisted...
European engineers have completed a series of full‑scale drop tests on the four‑legged ExoMars descent module at ALTEC’s Turin facility. The lightweight, shock‑absorbing legs and their touchdown sensors were evaluated on hard, soft and angled surfaces to ensure stability and...
Ocean‑based launch and recovery platforms are emerging as a solution to the bottleneck of limited land spaceports as the global space market races toward a $1 trillion valuation by 2040. The equatorial advantage can boost GEO payloads by up to 25%,...
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, equipped with the 3.2‑gigapixel LSST Camera, will conduct the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, imaging the entire visible southern sky every few nights for a decade. Its three‑mirror design and massive convex secondary enable...
In this episode, researchers discuss groundbreaking experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station that explore the behavior of supercooled molten metal oxides in microgravity. They explain how eliminating Earth's gravity allows the metal to solidify without convection, revealing previously hidden...
SpaceX Crew‑11 returned after a long‑duration ISS stay, delivering a suite of experiments that span human health, orbital cleanup, and Earth observation. Astronauts logged over 850 hours of scientific work, including bone‑stem‑cell studies to combat microgravity‑induced bone loss and an...
NASA will observe its annual Day of Remembrance on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia. The ceremony begins at Arlington National Cemetery with a wreath‑laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by...
Elon Musk announced Tesla will restart development of its third‑generation AI chip, Dojo 3, repurposing it for “space‑based AI compute.” The revival follows a shutdown earlier this year that saw the Dojo team disband and many engineers join rival startup DensityAI....
NASA’s SunRISE mission has completed a full suite of thermal‑vacuum, electromagnetic compatibility and vibration tests at Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory, confirming that all six toaster‑oven‑size SmallSats are flight‑ready. Each satellite was loaded with propellant to match launch mass...
Congress approved a FY 2026 defense appropriations bill that allocates $26 billion to the U.S. Space Force, matching the administration’s request, and adds roughly $13.8 billion in mandatory funding, bringing total resources close to $40 billion—almost double the level five years ago. The legislation...
NASA astronaut Sunita “Suni” Williams retired Dec. 27, 2025 after a 27‑year career marked by three ISS missions and record‑setting flight time. She logged 608 days in space, the second‑longest cumulative duration for a NASA astronaut, and completed nine spacewalks...
OQ Technology announced a partnership with UK IoT specialist Eseye to fuse its low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) satellite constellation with Eseye’s AnyNet Connectivity Hub. The collaboration leverages 3GPP Release 17 multi‑RAT standards, allowing a single SIM to roam seamlessly between terrestrial 5G networks...
NASA announced the selection of three new lunar science investigations under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program for the Artemis campaign, with deliveries slated for no earlier than 2028. The payloads—EMILIA-3D, LISTER and SELINE—will generate three‑dimensional thermal maps, measure...
Space Foundation announced the Innovate Space: Finance Forum, an executive‑level conference slated for Feb. 18‑19, 2026 at the JW Marriott Dallas Arts District. Partnering with the Texas Space Commission, the event will gather senior leaders from finance, government, and the space sector...
Finnish satellite firm Iceye announced on Jan. 19 an expanded agreement with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, granting broader access to its high‑resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The deal builds on Iceye’s 2022 transfer of a dedicated SAR satellite and its...
Gilat Satellite Networks secured an $11 million contract with an unnamed Asia‑Pacific satellite operator for its SkyEdge platform. The platform will be used on very high throughput satellites (VHTS) to provide advanced mobility services and support multiple applications. Deployments are slated...
BlackSky announced multiple expansion contracts for its Gen‑3 satellite program, converting early‑access pilots in the Americas, Asia and Europe into renewal deals. The Gen‑3 fleet, launched from early 2025, delivers 35‑centimeter imagery with sub‑hourly collection speeds, a capability critical for...
SpaceQ reports a record 39 Canadian payloads slated for launch in 2026, marking a sharp rise from the 63 launched over the past five years. The roster includes 11 organizations, almost entirely commercial small‑satellite missions, with only one non‑commercial payload....
Venture capital is flooding the burgeoning space economy, funding startups from asteroid mining to lunar gas stations. In a TechCrunch podcast, professor Mary‑Jane Rubenstein warns that religious stories and science‑fiction tropes are shaping public expectations and policy for these ventures....
An international team led by Southwest Research Institute has calibrated over a century of Ca II K observations from the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory to reconstruct the Sun’s polar magnetic field. By correcting anomalies and correlating the historic data with modern satellite measurements,...
Researchers using the South Pole Telescope’s 3G Galactic Plane Survey have recorded two energetic, one‑day flares from accreting white‑dwarf binaries near the Milky Way’s center. This marks the first detection of such short‑lived events in a millimeter‑wavelength survey, revealing magnetic...
Via Satellite’s Jan/Feb issue spotlights the emerging Arctic space race, where shifting geopolitics, booming economic activity and accelerating climate change are forcing governments and operators to upgrade satellite communications in the high‑latitude region. The magazine also features a deep‑dive on...
