Know What's Happening in SpaceTech
Know What's Happening in SpaceTech
SpaceTech Pulse
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Daily
Every morning
Weekly
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In this episode, host Emeline Paat-Dahlstrom talks with Vedika Latchman‑Singh, Director of Exotopic, about building a vibrant space startup ecosystem across Australia and the Asia‑Pacific. Vedika shares how strategic partnerships, mentorship programs, and inclusive initiatives—especially for women and young engineers—can accelerate access to space and drive sustainable innovation. She highlights practical tools like the Space Ecosystem Maturity Index and emphasizes the importance of immersive, futures‑oriented experiences to inspire broader participation in the space sector.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Dec. 18, 2025 titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority,” revamping U.S. space policy and elevating the Space Force’s counter‑space mission. The order sets a 2028 deadline for a sustainable lunar return, commits to nuclear‑propulsion development,...
Great work by the @Starlink team. Rebuilding the whole Internet in space is not easy.
NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel warned that the agency should have formally declared the Starliner crewed‑flight anomalies a high‑visibility close call. In June 2024, Starliner’s thrusters overheated and helium leaks threatened docking, forcing astronauts Wilmore and Williams to stay on...
The episode covers recent U.S. Space Force contracts, highlighting Rocket Lab’s $816 million award to build a missile‑defense satellite constellation and the Space Development Agency’s funding for 72 Tracking Layer satellites in Tranche 3. It also discusses NATO’s concerns over a potential...
Japan’s H3 launch on Dec. 22 failed when the LE-5B-3 upper‑stage engine did not ignite properly, causing a premature shutdown. The second‑stage anomaly prevented the QZS‑5 navigation satellite from reaching its intended orbit, resulting in mission failure. This is the...
United Launch Alliance chief executive Tory Bruno announced his resignation after a 12‑year tenure, citing a new opportunity. The board thanked him for his service as the company navigates a launch market increasingly dominated by SpaceX and an emerging Blue...
NASA rewrapped Boeing’s Astrovan II, an Airstream motorhome, with Artemis II graphics for the crew’s ride to the launch pad during a December 2025 rehearsal. The vehicle, originally used for Boeing’s Starliner crew transport, replaces the three Canoo electric vans NASA received...
The article outlines a practical framework for confirming extraterrestrial life, ranging from atmospheric biosignatures on exoplanets to fossilized microbes on Mars and technosignatures such as laser pulses. It reviews historical false alarms—like the 1996 Martian meteorite claim and the recent...
NASA is launching a competitive procurement for a next‑generation lunar rover slated for the Artemis 5 mission, targeted for 2030. Three aerospace firms have been shortlisted to design a vehicle capable of extended crew excursions, scientific payloads, and cargo transport on...
Researchers warn that the rapid growth of lunar satellite constellations will turn patches of the Moon into spacecraft graveyards. By 2045, more than 400 missions are slated, many of which will end without fuel for controlled de‑orbit. Operators currently have...
The Artemis Accords celebrated their fifth anniversary, now counting 59‑60 signatory nations after a rapid expansion from the original nine. Latvia has announced its intent to join but has not yet completed the signing, leaving the exact tally ambiguous. Recent...
China’s commercial space sector has accelerated since the 2014 Document 60 reforms, but it remains tightly coupled with state‑owned enterprises (SOEs). The two aerospace giants, CASC and CASIC, continue to dominate launch vehicle production, R&D, and financing while acting as anchors...
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a population of compact, red, star‑like objects in the first billion years of cosmic history. New research shows these “little red dots” are actually black holes surrounded by massive, glowing gas...
NASA’s Artemis 2 crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen—completed a full countdown rehearsal inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, strapping into Orion atop the SLS rocket. The test simulated launch‑day procedures and stopped just before zero, confirming crew‑in‑capsule integration....
Apollo 8’s December 1968 launch became humanity’s first crewed mission beyond low‑Earth orbit, proving the Saturn V rocket and deep‑space navigation. Its Earthrise photograph reshaped public perception and helped spark the environmental movement. Apollo 17 in December 1972 delivered the most scientifically ambitious...
German aerospace engineer Sabine Müller became the first wheelchair‑bound person to travel to space, completing a ten‑minute sub‑orbital flight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The mission, launched from West Texas, marked a historic accessibility milestone for commercial space tourism....
Michaela Benthaus, a paraplegic engineer from Germany, became the first wheelchair‑using astronaut when she flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard sub‑orbital capsule on Dec. 20, 2025. The ten‑minute flight reached an altitude of about 105 km, giving her and five other...
Michi Benthaus, an aerospace engineer who uses a wheelchair, flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard‑37 suborbital mission, becoming the first wheelchair‑bound passenger to cross the Kármán line. The flight launched from West Texas on December 20, 2025, with five other...
Rocket Lab has been awarded an $816 million contract by the U.S. Space Development Agency to design and build 18 defense‑focused satellites. The deal, the company’s largest ever, adds to an existing $515 million award for the SDA’s Transport Layer‑Beta Tranche 2 program....
The episode reviews President Trump's new Executive Order on American space superiority, discusses major industry deals—including Rheinmetall and ICEYE's €1.7 billion German defense contract and HawkEye 360's $150 million acquisition and financing round—and highlights recent satellite incidents such as a Starlink loss...
A building‑sized asteroid, 2024 YR4, has a roughly 4 percent chance of striking the Moon in December 2032, with a 1 percent chance that the impact will eject debris into near‑Earth space. The collision could unleash energy comparable to 6 million metric tons of TNT—about...
The episode explores how Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) data is being used to equip astronauts with rapid visual analysis tools for an upcoming lunar flyby, enabling them to make split‑second geological inferences that only human intuition can provide. It highlights...
In this episode, SSPI Executive Director Tamara Bond‑Williams talks with Craig Bowley, Regional VP of Sales for Europe at ST Engineering iDirect, about how Europe is reshaping satellite connectivity. Bowley outlines macro trends such as the EU’s IRIS² and GovSatCom...
The episode discusses the confirmation of billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator, highlights Rocket Lab's successful STP‑S30 launch for the U.S. Space Force, and notes Redwire's contract to supply docking systems for The Exploration Company's Nyx capsule. Guest Ryan Brown,...
Astronomers using Hubble have captured two fresh dust clouds around the nearby star Fomalhaut, each created by the collision of ~60‑km asteroids. The new source, designated Fomalhaut cs2, replaces the previously debated Fomalhaut b, which likely was an older dust...
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a bright dust cloud around the nearby star Fomalhaut, indicating a collision between two asteroid‑sized planetesimals about 30 km in diameter. The impact provides the first direct observation of colliding planetesimals outside the Solar System and...
NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) program remains in limbo as costs balloon to $11 billion, pushing a likely launch into the 2030s. Meanwhile, the Perseverance rover, five years on Mars, is in excellent health and has traveled 40 km—double its original mobility...
EtherealX, an Indian startup developing a fully reusable medium‑lift launch vehicle, is close to closing a $21 million funding round led by TDK Ventures with participation from Accel and BIG Capital. The round, up from an initial $15 million target, follows a...
U.S. Senate confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as the next NASA administrator, finalizing a nomination that President Trump withdrew and later reinstated. Isaacman, founder of Shift4 Payments and a private astronaut, steps into leadership as the agency pivots toward a...
The Senate confirmed billionaire Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator in a 67‑to‑30 vote. Isaacman, a former SpaceX space‑tourist who has flown on commercial missions and performed a private citizen spacewalk, will lead the agency during a critical period. He pledged...
The episode highlights Europe’s successful Ariane 6 launch of two Galileo satellites and the ESA’s decision to repurpose the Ariane 6 kick‑stage into an orbital transfer vehicle, underscoring a push for greater launch resilience. It also covers Asia’s growing space capabilities, noting...
SpaceX is providing connectivity to the least served
The Terra Hunting Experiment, launching in the Canary Islands, will deploy the HARPS3 spectrograph to conduct a decade‑long radial‑velocity survey of up to 50 Sun‑like stars. Led by Nobel laureate Didier Queloz, the project aims to detect at least two...
The episode covers recent developments in space traffic management and orbital safety, highlighting the US‑France joint satellite maneuver exercise under Operation Olympic Defender, EraDrive’s $5.3 M seed round to scale its SSA platform, and a U.S. State Department call for private‑sector...
The U.S. Space Force has launched an SBIR solicitation to develop compact, high‑performance boost‑phase interceptors that can destroy ballistic missiles within the atmosphere. The program seeks high‑G propulsion, advanced seekers, and low‑SWaP designs capable of intercepting missiles below 120 km in...
Digantara, an Indian space‑surveillance startup, secured a $50 million Series B round to broaden its portfolio from debris tracking to missile detection. The funding, led by new investors 360 ONE Asset and SBI Investment of Japan, brings total capital to $64.5 million and will...
The episode recounts how the Gemini VI crew, after their October mission was canceled, pivoted to a December launch aimed at achieving the historic first rendezvous with Gemini VII. It details the technical challenges of coordinating two spacecraft in orbit...
The episode highlights Starfish Space's autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) mission in low Earth orbit, conducted with Impulse Space, and notes Rocket Lab's first dedicated JAXA launch and Mission Space's upcoming payload with Rogue Space. Guest Patrick O'Neill, Public...
A stray comet from another star, designated 3I/Atlas, will make its closest approach to Earth this week, passing within 167 million miles. Discovered in July by NASA’s Atlas telescope in Chile, the object is estimated to be between 1,444 feet and 3.5 miles...
The article defines “sovereign capacity” as a space program’s economic, legal and political leverage over its supply chain, a concept now driving both state and corporate strategies. Geopolitical tensions are prompting nations to reduce dependencies, while private firms like SpaceX...
Build spaceships with Grok
The episode explores analog missions that simulate living on Mars, focusing on how researchers test life-support systems, crew psychology, and health protocols to keep astronauts fit for deep-space travel. Experts discuss the challenges of isolation, radiation protection, and sustainable resource...
The episode examines how recent renaming of U.S. space units signals a shift toward developing dedicated space‑based weapons, exploring the strategic implications of a new “Star Wars”‑style executive order. It highlights the evolving doctrine that treats space as a contested...
Great work by the @SpaceX team
The episode covers the resurgence of a bipartisan U.S. bill aimed at bolstering cybersecurity for commercial satellites, highlights K2 Space’s $250 million Series C round that values the company at $3 billion, and introduces stealth‑emerged Fortastra, which secured over $8 million to develop maneuverable...
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified the ultra‑hot super‑Earth TOI‑561b as a potential "wet lava ball" with a thick, volatile‑rich atmosphere. The planet, 1.4 times Earth’s size and orbiting its Sun‑like star every 11 hours, shows a dayside temperature...
The episode outlines how the emerging space economy mirrors the early internet by requiring a foundational "economic stack" of infrastructure across four pillars: orbital logistics, robotics and automation, next‑generation energy, and advanced computing and communications. It highlights the dramatic drop...
The episode explores the emerging frontier of space‑based AI and data infrastructure, highlighting Starcloud’s milestone of training the first large AI model in orbit and DARPA’s Phase 2 contract with BAE to develop autonomous space surveillance. Guest Jerome Hittle, CEO of...
In this episode, Victor Hoskins, President and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, explains how Fairfax County’s dense tech ecosystem, top universities, and proximity to federal agencies are creating a launchpad for the $1.8 trillion space economy. He highlights...
