Ocean-Based Space Launch and Recovery
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%, while autonomous drone ships and bespoke barges enable routine booster and fairing retrieval. Modern players—from SpaceX’s ASDS fleet to startups like The Spaceport Company—are commercializing both launch‑as‑a‑service and integrated recovery models. However, high maintenance costs, marine corrosion, and complex regulatory regimes remain significant hurdles.
This 3.2 Gigapixel Time Machine Will Change Everything We Know About the Cosmos
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...
From Bone Health to Space Debris: Crew-11’s Quietly Powerful ISS Legacy
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’s Day of Remembrance Honors Fallen Heroes of Exploration
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 Says Tesla’s Restarted Dojo3 Will Be for ‘Space-Based AI Compute’
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....
SunRISE SmallSats Ace Tests, Moving Closer to Launch
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...
Defense Appropriations Bill for 2026 Funds Space Force at $26 Billion, Presses Pentagon on Golden Dome
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 Suni Williams Retires
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 Links up with UK IoT Company Eseye
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...
New NASA Artemis Payloads To Study Moon’s Terrain, Radiation, History
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 to Host Innovate Space: Finance Forum in Partnership With Texas Space Commission
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...
Ukraine Expands SAR Collaboration With Iceye
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...
Asia-Pacific Operator Signs $11M Order for Gilat SkyEdge Platform
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 Reports Gen-3 Pilot Customers Signing Renewal Deals
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...
Record Number of Canadian Payloads Set for Launch in 2026
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....
Working in Orbit: What Happens when Space Goes Blue Collar?
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....
A Century's Worth of Data Could Help Predict Future Solar Cycle Activity
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,...
South Pole Telescope Detects Energetic Stellar Flares Near Center of Galaxy
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...
Jan/Feb Magazine: The Arctic Space Race
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...
The Epistemology of Risk in the New Space Era
The article examines how the Rumsfeld Matrix—originally a political framing tool—has become essential for managing uncertainty in the rapidly expanding NewSpace economy. By dividing risks into Known Knowns, Known Unknowns, Unknown Knowns, and Unknown Unknowns, it shows how launch providers,...
NASA’s SLS Rocket: Secondary Payloads
NASA’s Space Launch System will launch Artemis II to the Moon with four CubeSats as secondary payloads. The small satellites are housed in the Orion stage adapter and come from countries that have signed the Artemis Accords. Deployment is scheduled about...
10 Defining Moments in Space and Cybersecurity in 2025
2025 marked a turning point for space cybersecurity as the National Reconnaissance Office unveiled a centralized Space Cyber Program, while Ukraine publicly confirmed a 2023 hack on Russia’s Dozor‑Teleport satellite network. Academic research revealed that low‑cost satellite receivers can capture...
Competing in All Fields: Technologies for Multi-Orbit Architectures
The Pentagon and commercial sectors such as aviation and maritime are accelerating investment in multi‑orbit satellite architectures to combine Low‑Earth Orbit speed with Geostationary reliability. Projects like the Army’s Multi‑Orbit Modem, Space Force contracts, and SES’s SIMON illustrate a strategic...
The Next Space Race Will Be Won on the Ground
The article argues that the next commercial space race will be decided on Earth, not in orbit, as satellite lifespans shrink to eight‑ten years and constellations demand rapid iteration. Market pressure and Starlink’s fast‑generation cadence have forced a shift from...
Senators Introduce Bills on Space Workforce, Regulations
Senators introduced two bipartisan bills—the NASA Talent Exchange Program Act and the Satellite and Telecommunications (SAT) Streamlining Act—to strengthen the U.S. space sector. The Talent Exchange would allow NASA and commercial employees to rotate between agency and industry for up...
Hubble Tension: Primordial Magnetic Fields Could Resolve One of Cosmology's Biggest Questions
A team led by Simon Fraser University professor Levon Pogosian proposes that tiny primordial magnetic fields, present at the dawn of the universe, could have accelerated recombination and altered the cosmic microwave background signal. By incorporating these fields into detailed...
SPHEREx Imaging Reveals Increased Sublimation Activity on 3I/ATLAS
SPHEREx’s December 2025 observations of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS show a dramatic increase in sublimation activity after perihelion. Emissions of H₂O and CO rose roughly twenty‑fold, while CO₂ flux grew modestly and new organic C‑H species became detectable. Imaging revealed a...
Vast Delays Haven-1 Launch to 2027
Vast announced that its single‑module commercial space station, Haven‑1, will not launch until no earlier than Q1 2027, pushing back the original 2026 target. The company has begun Phase‑1 integration, installing thermal control and life‑support systems, with subsequent phases adding avionics...
Palladyne AI Secures Next-Generation Spacecraft Contract, Unlocking New High-Growth Opportunity
Palladyne AI announced that its GuideTech subsidiary has secured a contract with Portal Space Systems to supply navigation, guidance, modeling, embedded software and avionics for next‑generation, highly maneuverable spacecraft. The deal marks Palladyne’s first major entry into the space domain,...
Vast Cluster of Ancient Galaxies Could Rewrite the History of Star Formation
Astronomers have identified an enormous, dense filament of massive, dusty galaxies that existed just one billion years after the Big Bang. Using the NIKA2 camera on the IRAM 30‑meter telescope, the team detected millimeter emission from more than a dozen galaxies...
Earth Was Just Hit by the Strongest Solar Radiation Storm in over 20 Years — Here's What It Means
Earth was struck by an S4‑level solar radiation storm on Jan. 19, the most severe event since the October 2003 Halloween storms. The storm, driven by a fast coronal mass ejection, sent high‑energy protons toward the planet, but the particles lacked the...
SpaceX Didn’t Properly Inspect Crane Before Collapse at Starbase, OSHA Says
OSHA says SpaceX failed to properly inspect a recently repaired hydraulic crane before it collapsed at the Starbase facility in June 2025. The agency issued seven serious violations and levied the maximum fines on six of them, totaling $115,850. The...
New Spaceport Proposed in India Independent of Its Space Agency ISRO
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu announced preliminary talks with Greenko Group to develop a commercial spaceport on Hope Island near Kakinada. The site offers a more efficient launch trajectory for polar orbits, reducing fuel compared with ISRO's Sriharikota facility....
Commercial Space Federation (CSF) Welcomes 3 New Associate Members
The Commercial Space Federation announced three new associate members—Max Space, Slingshot Aerospace, and Muon Space—broadening its portfolio across space habitats, traffic management, and satellite constellations. Max Space introduces expandable habitats that grow twenty‑fold after launch, fitting on a single Falcon 9....
Sinking Salty Ice Suggests Pathway for Life-Sustaining Conditions in Europa's Ocean
Geophysicists at Washington State University have modeled a process by which dense, salt‑rich ice on Europa can detach and sink through the moon’s icy shell, delivering surface‑derived nutrients to the subsurface ocean. The study adapts Earth’s crustal delamination mechanism, showing...
2025 NESC Technical Update
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center released its 2025 Technical Update, an annual report detailing FY25 engineering activities. The document highlights independent testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA’s high‑risk projects, emphasizing safety and mission success. Collaboration across NASA centers enabled...
Mars Orbiter Sees Odd Etchings in the Sand | Space Photo of the Day for Jan. 20, 2025
The European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter captured a high‑resolution view of extensive yardangs near the Eumenides Dorsum mountains, an area roughly the size of Belgium. These wind‑blasted ridges, recorded by the High Resolution Stereo Camera, reveal that Mars is...
Jan. 20, 1930: The Birth of Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin was born on Jan. 20, 1930, in New Jersey and later earned a Ph.D. from MIT, becoming NASA’s first astronaut with a doctorate. After serving as a Korean War fighter pilot, he joined NASA’s third astronaut group in 1963. Aldrin...
Washington Harbour Expands Space Investments with Ground Services Acquisition
Washington Harbour Partners has purchased New Hampshire‑based Radome Services and rebranded it as Outpost Mission Services, a ground‑segment engineering platform for space infrastructure. The acquisition adds a 45‑person field‑services team that inspects, repairs, and maintains radomes protecting satellite, radar and...
Free Warnings, Better Catalogs: The Real Fix for Space Safety
A recent Executive Order removed the requirement that U.S. space situational awareness (SSA) and traffic coordination services be provided free of charge, sparking debate over user fees. Andrew D’Uva argues that the real issue is catalog completeness, not pricing, and...
Gaia Data Release Reveals Four Substructures in Open Cluster NGC 752
Chinese astronomers using ESA's Gaia DR3 identified four distinct substructures within the nearby open cluster NGC 752, revealing a dense central core and three progressively looser outer groups. The total stellar mass of the cluster was revised upward to about 332.5 solar...
James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Young Galaxies Age Rapidly: 'It's Like Seeing 2-Year-Old Children Act Like Teenagers'
Using JWST, Hubble and ALMA, astronomers studied 18 galaxies about 12.5 billion light‑years away, dating to less than a billion years after the Big Bang. The galaxies exhibit surprisingly high metal content, rotating disks, and rapidly feeding supermassive black holes, indicating...
Mars Once Had a Vast Sea the Size of the Arctic Ocean
Researchers analyzing data from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ESA's Mars Express, and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter have identified a distinct ancient coastline on Mars, indicating a once‑vast ocean roughly the size of Earth's Arctic Ocean. The discovery stems from...
Comet Wierzchos Buzzes the Sun Later Today: But Can You See It?
Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchos) reaches perihelion today, Jan 20, passing 52.6 million miles (84.6 million km) from the Sun. The increased solar heating should boost its brightness to about +8.1 magnitude, making it observable only with a modest telescope in the southern sky’s Microscopium...
Aurora Australis Set to Light up Australian Sky as Agencies Monitor ‘Severe’ Solar Storm
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe geomagnetic storm alert for 20 January, following a major solar flare on 18 January. The storm could make the aurora australis visible as far north as Victoria and New South Wales, offering rare southern‑light...
Another Zimmerman Op-Ed Today at PJ Media
Robert Zimmerman’s latest PJ Media op‑ed condemns mainstream coverage of NASA’s Artemis II rollout as propaganda, arguing that nearly twenty outlets praised the mission without addressing critical safety concerns. He points out that only a single article mentioned Orion’s heat‑shield issues,...
Astronomers Find that Black Holes "Seesaw" Between Ejecting Material as Winds or Jets
Astronomers using NASA’s NICER X‑ray telescope and South Africa’s MeerKAT radio array have shown that the black‑hole binary 4U 1630‑472 alternates between relativistic jets and X‑ray winds, but never produces both at the same time. The three‑year monitoring revealed a stable...
Damaged DSN Antenna Out of Service Until May
NASA’s 70‑meter DSS‑14 Deep Space Network antenna suffered an over‑rotation incident on Sept. 16, leaving it offline until at least May 1. The dish, critical for deep‑space communications and planetary radar, will later enter a multi‑year upgrade starting Aug 2026, extending its 60‑year...
Repaired Shenzhou-20 Returns to Earth Empty
China’s Shenzhou‑20 spacecraft returned to Earth empty after a debris‑induced crack compromised its viewport. The crew was transferred to the Shenzhou‑21 capsule for a safe landing in November, leaving the damaged module docked to Tiangong. A rapid‑response window‑treatment, delivered by...
Could Bees Be a Model for SETI Searches?
Researchers at Monash and RMIT demonstrated that bees can recognize Arabic and Roman numerals, solve basic addition and subtraction, and communicate complex information via their waggle dance. The findings suggest that mathematics may be a shared cognitive ability across vastly...
