Russia Deploys First 16 Rassvet Satellites, Challenging Starlink in LEO Broadband
Russia's private space firm Bureau 1440 placed the first 16 Rassvet broadband satellites into low‑Earth orbit, marking the start of a planned 900‑satellite network intended as a domestic alternative to SpaceX's Starlink. The launch underscores Moscow's push to secure sovereign internet capacity amid the Ukraine war and growing geopolitical rivalry in space.
NASA Redefines Lunar Exploration Strategy for Future Missions
Last week's EVSN took a closer look at the changing Lunar Exploration landscape. That story provides solid context for today's announcements. I've stuck it up on Medium: https://starstryder.medium.com/closer-look-nasa-rewrites-human-exploration-again-9013f90c7622?sk=ec8e6c25ff5bc4db7eeaab9320db7848
Space Force Shifts Final GPS III Launch to SpaceX After Vulcan Booster Anomaly
The U.S. Space Force has moved the final GPS III‑8 satellite from United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, with launch no earlier than late April 2026. The swap follows a solid‑rocket‑motor anomaly on a Vulcan flight and is intended...
Falcon 1’s First Orbital Attempt Marks 20‑Year Milestone
The first SpaceX orbital launch attempt was 20 years ago today. Ashlee Vance: “the Falcon 1… quite likely changed the course of human history. The imaginations and passions of engineers and dreamers all around the world expanded.” (WTHWOS p.11.) For more Falcon...
Cornwall Space Station to Support NASA’s First Crewed Lunar Mission Since Apollo
Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall will track NASA’s Artemis II crewed lunar flyby using its 32‑metre GHY‑6 antenna, marking the first human deep‑space mission since Apollo 17. The commercial facility previously supported the uncrewed Artemis I flight and historically relayed the 1969 Apollo 11...
Excited to Contribute to Roman Space Telescope Launch
Roman Space Telscope is getting ready to launch this year and I can’t believe I get to work on this awesome mission 🛰️ 🚀 ✨
NASA's Artemis II Returns to Launch Pad After Repairs, Targeting April Launch
NASA has moved the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby mission back onto the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center after completing extensive repairs in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The four‑astronaut flight, slated for early April, will resume the agency’s push to...
Moog Taps Redwire to Provide Solar Arrays for Meteor
Redwire secured a $12.8 million contract from Moog to supply its Extensible Low‑Profile Solar Array (ELSA) for the Meteor satellite bus. ELSA delivers roughly 50 % more power per unit volume than conventional arrays, targeting mass‑manufactured satellites. The arrays will be designed,...
NASA Space Reactor 1 Freedom for Nuclear Powered Interplanetary to Mars in 2028
NASA plans to launch the Space Reactor‑1 Freedom by late 2028, marking the first nuclear‑electric propulsion spacecraft bound for Mars. The mission will demonstrate high‑power, efficient thrust for deep‑space travel where solar power is insufficient. Upon arrival, SR‑1 Freedom will...
FCC Looks to Win ‘Space Race 2.0’ with Satellite Infrastructure Buildout
The Federal Communications Commission announced a strategic push to dominate the emerging "Space Race 2.0" by accelerating satellite licensing and allocating over 20,000 MHz of new spectrum. FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz outlined a "licensing assembly line" to speed approvals and...
NASA Unveils Strategy to Outpace China, Russia in Space Race
NASA’s biggest announcement in years, their plan for how to beat China and Russia in The Space Race 2.0! #space #nasa #moon #artemis #astrokobi
First Live Moon Crash Broadcast Captivates Millions
#ThisDayInTechHistory. March 24, 1965. Millions watch for the first time as the Ranger 9 space probe crashed into the moon. (NASA) #Space #Exploration #History https://t.co/PFyzWvwTPV
Laser Communications and the Rise of Orbital Data Centers
The space sector faces a data‑transport bottleneck as satellite constellations generate more information than RF links can downlink. Industry leaders are transitioning from isolated spacecraft to distributed orbital data centers, where satellites act as networked nodes processing and sharing data...
Starcloud Launches Orbital Data Center Using NVIDIA H100
NVIDIA-Backed Starcloud Tests Orbital #Data Centers with H100 AI GPU in Space by @IntEngineering #SpaceTech #Tech #Technology #EmergingTech #Space https://t.co/huY6Fk3TU4
Soyuz Launch Reveals Unexpected Military‑style Payload Fairing
Note to illustrators: videos of last night's Soyuz launch show that it used a different ("military" style) payload fairing from the Ariane-4-derived 81KS type depicted by the satellite developer. Context: https://t.co/zaum1S7eWh https://t.co/7iPE8xWFls
SES Targets New Operational MEO Constellation by 2030
SES announced its next‑generation medium Earth orbit constellation, meoSphere, slated for operational service by 2030. The network will initially comprise 28 high‑power satellites built by K2 Space in Luxembourg, with pathfinder launches planned over the next three years to validate...
Space Force Officer Reveals Emerging Threats to Space Systems
🇺🇸 Space Force officer shares intelligence on threats to space systems https://t.co/ZC1xETnG71 #SpaceEconomy #SpaceForce  https://t.co/PQPs80ePjS
SES Orders 28 Satellite Buses, Launches First Pathfinder 2029
.@SES_Satellites: 28-sat-bus order w/ @K2Space to launch starting 2029; 1st Pathfinder demo goes up on @SpaceX Transporter 16; SES building the payloads, and also to build payloads for @defis @esa #Iris2 MEO-orbit component. @Thales_Alenia_S @BoeingSpace.https://t.co/vhvvGNlR9m https://t.co/Hdbe6GTD8I
CSA Announces $3.6M Opportunity for Life Sciences Research on the ISS
The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has launched a $3.6 million CAD (≈ $2.6 million USD) Announcement of Opportunity to fund health and life‑sciences research on the International Space Station. Up to $900,000 CAD (≈ $660,000 USD) per project will be awarded to Canadian teams...
Hughes Offers Multi-Orbit, Beam Satellite Modem
Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar subsidiary, introduced the HM400, a software‑defined satellite modem that can operate on both medium‑Earth‑orbit (MEO) and geosynchronous‑Earth‑orbit (GEO) constellations. The modem leverages artificial‑intelligence to automatically switch between satellite beams, delivering continuous connectivity for manned and...
One-On-One With SDA’s GP Sandhoo
The Space Development Agency’s first operational satellite tranche is running three months behind schedule, as Acting Director Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo explained. A “strategic pause” was imposed to address a collection of minor technical glitches and a 45‑day government shutdown that...
Russia Launches the First 16 Satellites in Its Own Internet Satellite Constellation
Russia quietly placed the first 16 satellites of its Rassvet broadband constellation into a polar orbit using a Soyuz‑2 launch from the Plesetsk spaceport. The satellites, built by the state‑linked Bureau‑1440, are the initial step toward a planned 700‑plus satellite...
NASA’s Juno Delivers New Science While Its Future Remains Uncertain
NASA’s Juno spacecraft, originally slated for a five‑year Jupiter science campaign, received a two‑year extension that allowed it to record unprecedented lightning data in 2021‑2022. Researchers analyzing the data found Jovian storms produce lightning flashes at least 100 times more...
Telcos Pick Satellite Sides in Mobile Broadband Space Race
Mobile network operators are rapidly aligning with low‑Earth‑orbit satellite providers to launch direct‑to‑device broadband services. The majority are partnering with SpaceX’s Starlink Mobile or AST SpaceMobile, with Starlink already serving 10 million monthly active users and targeting 25 million by year‑end, while...
Carlos Garcia‑Galan Outlines Detailed Moon Base Roadmap
I’ve been waiting literally decades for NASA to articulate a plan for a Moon base. Now Carlos Garcia-Galan is doing a masterful job of precisely this. Dozens of landings. Drones. RTGs. Rovers. Habitats. Excavators. This is incredible stuff.
SFL Missions Selected to Build Eight Node Spacecraft for NASA HelioSwarm
SFL Missions Inc. won a competitive contract to build eight 150‑kg Node spacecraft for NASA’s HelioSwarm mission, a MIDEX‑class solar‑wind science observatory. The Nodes will be launched aboard a larger Hub spacecraft and deployed into a lunar‑resonant orbit to capture...
Nasa to Spend US$20 Billion on Moon Base, Cancel Orbiting Lunar Station
NASA announced it will cancel the Lunar Gateway orbital station and redirect its resources to build a $20 billion lunar surface base over the next seven years. The decision was made by new NASA chief Jared Isaacman, who said the agency...
NASA Adds Moon Base and Nuclear-Powered Mars Spacecraft to Road Map
NASA announced that a lunar outpost is now a formal element of its upcoming roadmap, moving the Artemis program toward a twice‑annual launch cadence. The agency also unveiled plans to field a nuclear‑propelled spacecraft for a Mars mission by the...
Are Orbital Data Centers Economically Viable? ↦
Ars Technica’s first installment examines whether orbital data centers can be economically viable. It notes that deploying a million satellites would cost over $1 trillion, dwarfing the roughly $10 billion budgets of SpaceX’s Starlink and Starship projects. Engineers argue that owning both...
Musk Unveils Orbital Data Centers Larger than ISS
Musk Offers Sneak Peek at Orbiting Data Centers. They're Bigger Than the ISS https://t.co/3zP36MHO4C https://t.co/Y2QLnDhLJO
Press Release: Eutelsat Expands LEO Connectivity for Global Rail Market
Satellite operator Eutelsat announced that its OneWeb low‑Earth‑orbit (LEO) connectivity service is expanding across the global rail market. The company now offers broadband to rail operators in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America through distribution partners...
NASA’s Water-Hunting Tool Will Help Scout Moon’s South Pole
NASA is contributing its Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS) to the JAXA‑ISRO Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, which plans to land a rover at the Moon’s South Pole no earlier than 2028. The NSS detects hydrogen signatures up to three feet...
Progress MS-33 Manually Docked to Poisk via TORU
The Progress MS-33 cargo ship docked with the Poisk module at about 1340:44 UTC Mar 24. The docking was carried out under manual remote control with the TORU system.
Optical Surfaces Ltd Targets Aerospace Surveillance with Ritchey-Chrétien Optics
On March 10, 2026 Optical Surfaces Ltd announced its Ritchey‑Chrétien (RC) telescope optics as a high‑precision solution for military and aerospace surveillance. The company manufactures hyperbolic mirrors up to 700 mm diameter with surface accuracy of λ/20 P‑V and sub‑nanometer microroughness,...
NASA Shifts to Commercial Launches, Moon Flights Every Six Months
NASA’s Lori Glaze said, beginning with Artemis VI, the agency will transition from government driven missions to commercial launches (ie Starship or New Glenn or others). Agency wants to launch humans to the Moon at least every six months.
SES Orders 28 High‑power MEO Satellites for 100 Gbps Optical Network
.@SES: We've ordered 28 20-kW sats from @K2Space for 8,000-km MEO orbit (same as as SES's O3b mPower), four orbital planes, pole to pole. SES builds the payloads. Up to 100Gbps optical data relay, interoperable w/ other constellations. Will @defis_eu...
The Exploration Company Licenses LEAP 71's Noyron RP Technology for Rocket Engine Design
The Exploration Company (TEC) has signed a five‑year renewable agreement to license LEAP 71’s Noyron RP Large Computation Model for its next‑generation rocket engine development. Noyron RP encodes physics, engineering logic, and production constraints to autonomously generate engine component geometries from...
Isaacman's Speech Praises NASA Transparency Over Cover‑ups
This is the speech Isaacman is presently giving. What is refreshing about this is that it acknowledges NASA’s shortcomings rather than minimizing or covering them up.
SpaceX Eyes $1.75 Trillion Valuation in $50 Billion IPO Plan
SpaceX is gearing up for a confidential IPO filing that could raise as much as $50 billion and value the company at over $1.75 trillion. The fundraising drive is tied to Elon Musk’s $20 billion Terafab chip plant in Austin and a recent...
Symphony Space Unveils Adagio Hosted Payload Platform
Symphony Space introduced Adagio, a reusable hosted‑payload satellite that lets customers swap payloads in orbit via robotic arms and orbital transfer vehicles. The platform targets a $10,000 per kilogram price point—significantly lower than the traditional two‑to‑five‑times higher rates. Symphony aims...
NASA Unveils “Ignition” Moon Exploration Roadmap
NASA's day-long meeting, starting at 9:00 am ET this morning (Mar 24), is "Ignition: NASA's Plan for the Moon." https://t.co/JDGO8sMTFt
NASA Switches Progress MS-33 Docking to Manual After Antenna Failure
NASA: All attempts to deploy 1 of 2 Progress MS-33 Kurs rendezvous antenna did not succeed, so the docking will be switched to manual mode as first planned yesterday... Progress MS-33 is now tracked by an ISS camera: https://t.co/P6h1cwOAXH...
Global Invacom and SatWave Arrays Inc. Sign MoU for Commercial Production of Next-Gen FPA
Global Invacom Group and Satwave Arrays have signed an MoU to co‑develop a motorised, pan‑and‑tilt flat‑panel antenna capable of operating across Ka/Ku‑band LEO, MEO and GEO satellites. The antenna will be compact, lightweight and ruggedised for defense and commercial use,...
Airtel Tests Starlink to Connect 4G Phones Even Without Network Signal
Airtel Africa successfully tested Starlink Mobile, allowing standard 4G phones to connect directly to SpaceX’s satellite constellation in areas without terrestrial signal. The trial demonstrated messaging, WhatsApp calls, and financial transactions over satellite links. Airtel plans to roll out the...
Ramon.Space, Ingrasys Aim To Fly Prototype Orbital Data Center In 2027
Ramon.Space and Taiwan‑based Ingrasys announced plans to launch a prototype orbital data‑center in 2027, with additional flights slated for 2028. The partnership builds on a 2023 agreement to produce radiation‑hardened electronics in high volume, aiming to create scalable computing infrastructure...
China's Smart Dragon‑3 Completes First Sea‑Launch, Deploys CentiSpace‑02 Satellites
China launched its Smart Dragon‑3 rocket from an offshore platform near Haiyang, Shandong, sending the CentiSpace‑02 satellite cluster into orbit. The mission, conducted by Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, represents the first sea‑based launch for the Smart Dragon series and signals...
First Space Fighter Satellite Promises Agile In‑Orbit Combat
Fascinating read on company building the first space 'fighter/pursuit' satellite for in-orbit combat - the True Anomaly Jackal. Agile and manoeuvrable - but left unsaid - what does it do when it gets on an enemy satellite's 'six o'clock'? Kinetic?...
Pulsar Appoints Enzo Brizzi to Grow Enterprise Connectivity in Africa
Pulsar International has named Enzo Brizzi as Director of Enterprise Market Expansion & Partnerships to spearhead the company’s growth in Africa. Brizzi, a veteran with more than 25 years in satellite and telecom, will drive strategic alliances and scalable operating...
US-Based Katalyst Selects Ariane 6 to Launch Satellite Servicing Spacecraft
Arizona‑based Katalyst Space Technologies has signed a launch contract with Arianespace to send its NEXUS‑1 satellite‑servicing spacecraft to geostationary orbit on an Ariane 6 rocket in the second half of 2027. NEXUS‑1 will dock with GEO satellites to install new hardware,...
NASA Plans to Send a Nuclear-Powered Spacecraft to Mars in 2028
NASA announced plans to launch the Space Reactor‑1 (SR‑1) Freedom, a nuclear‑powered spacecraft, to Mars in December 2028. The 20‑kilowatt fission reactor, originally built for the Lunar Gateway, will generate electricity for propulsion and will carry three small helicopters that will...