Aerospacelab to Build Eight Satellites for Xona’s Navigation Constellation
Aerospacelab has secured a contract to build eight low‑Earth‑orbit satellites for Xona Space Systems' Pulsar navigation constellation. The Belgian manufacturer will act as Xona's transition partner, delivering platforms and integration while Xona develops its own production line in California. Four of the satellites are slated for launch later this year, with the full eight‑satellite constellation expected by 2027, enabling a commercial PNT service that supplements GPS. Xona also received a $4.6 million Air Force contract to test its technology in GPS‑denied environments.
Swedish Armed Forces Sign Sovereign Satellite Deals with Planet and Iceye
Sweden’s Armed Forces have signed sovereign satellite contracts with Planet Labs and Iceye, granting the nation dedicated access to high‑resolution optical and synthetic‑aperture‑radar (SAR) imagery. The Planet agreement is a multi‑year, low nine‑figure deal that provides a suite of cutting‑edge...
Aetherflux Hires Joe Yaffe as COO and Chief Legal Officer
Aetherflux, the space‑solar startup founded by Baiju Bhatt, appointed Joe Yaffe as chief operating officer and chief legal officer. Yaffe arrives from Skadden, where he led the Palo Alto office, bringing deep operational and regulatory expertise. The hire follows a...
Tiny Mars's Big Impact on Earth's Climate: How the Red Planet's Pull Shapes Ice Ages
New research published in the *Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific* shows that Mars, despite its small size, plays a measurable role in Earth's Milankovitch cycles. Simulations indicate that removing Mars eliminates the 100,000‑year eccentricity cycle and a...
Hubble Spies Stellar Blast Setting Clouds Ablaze
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a new image of the Herbig‑Harbor objects HH 80/81. These jets, driven by the massive protostar IRAS 18162‑2048, extend 32 light‑years and represent the largest known protostellar outflow. Measurements show parts of the jet moving faster than...
NASA Welcomes Portugal as 60th Artemis Accords Signatory
Portugal signed the Artemis Accords on Jan. 11, becoming the 60th nation to join the framework for responsible lunar and deep‑space exploration. The signing ceremony in Lisbon featured Portuguese Space Agency director Hugo Costa and U.S. Ambassador John J. Arrigo,...
Mars Was Once a 'Blue Planet': Ancient River Deltas Point to Vast Ocean
An international team led by the University of Bern has identified river‑delta formations in the southeast Coprates Chasma of Valles Marineris, providing direct evidence of a standing ocean on Mars around three billion years ago. The deltas, captured by high‑resolution images...
White Dwarf Star (Artist’s Concept)
NASA’s Imaging X‑ray Polarization Explorer (IXPE) has for the first time measured X‑ray polarization from a white dwarf binary, EX Hydrae, located about 200 light‑years away. The week‑long observation revealed the geometry of the accretion flow as material from a...
Asteroseismology Study Probes Properties of Newly Discovered Pulsating White Dwarf
Chinese astronomers have performed an asteroseismology analysis of the newly identified pulsating white dwarf WFST J0530, confirming it as a faint ZZ Ceti (DAV) star. The study measured three stable pulsation modes between 594 and 873 seconds, yielding a mass...
Tyvak International’s LIDE Satellite Completes Initial On-Orbit 5G Tests
Tyvak International’s 12U CubeSat LIDE has completed its first months of on‑orbit operations, confirming the satellite can deliver 5G connectivity from space. Launched on July 23, 2025, the mission demonstrated downlink speeds of up to 10 Mbps and uplink rates of 1 Mbps using...
NRO Taps Capitol Hill Staffer Bill Adkins as Principal Deputy Director
Bill Adkins, a veteran staffer on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, will assume the role of principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office on Jan. 12, succeeding Troy Meink. The deputy director manages the NRO’s daily operations, including classified satellite...
AI Needs Spatial Intelligence. The GEOINT Industry Will Deliver It.
The article argues that AI’s next breakthrough lies in spatial intelligence, not just faster image processing. GEOINT’s persistent, sensor‑agnostic data can supply a living digital twin of Earth, giving AI the context to predict actions and recommend responses. Government spending,...
Superheavy-Lift Rockets Like SpaceX's Starship Could Transform Astronomy by Making Space Telescopes Cheaper
SpaceX’s Starship achieved a successful test flight in October 2025, positioning it to deliver payloads far larger than current rockets. The super‑heavy‑lift vehicle can transport roughly ten times more mass to orbit, enabling space telescopes with unfurled mirrors and reducing...
Why Don’t Planets Fall Into the Stars They Orbit?
Planets remain in orbit because their tangential velocity is high enough to keep the star’s curvature away from their path, creating a continuous free‑fall around the Sun. Newton’s law of universal gravitation explains that gravity pulls inward while orbital speed...
GRU Space Opens Bookings for Planned Lunar Hotel
GRU Space, a Y Combinator‑backed startup, opened bookings for its planned lunar hotel, requiring a $1 million deposit to reserve a spot. The company’s roadmap includes three lunar missions, with an inflatable habitat test in 2029 and a full‑scale hotel launch...
Jan. 12, 2005: A Comet Impactor Launches
NASA’s Deep Impact mission, launched on Jan. 12 2005, deployed an impactor that struck Comet 9P/Tempel 1 on July 4, creating a 150‑meter crater. The collision revealed the comet’s interior to be roughly 75 % porous, with fine dust and intact water ice and organic compounds....
Portuguese Firm Buys Two EO Sats for $18M From Satellogic
Satellogic will deliver two NewSat Mark V 50 cm Earth‑observation satellites to Portugal’s CEiiA for $18 million, with hand‑over scheduled for Q2 2026. The payloads are built with 85% European components, underscoring the EU’s drive for space sovereignty. These satellites will become part of...
Satellite Sees 40-Year-Old Iceberg Melt, Turn Blue | Space Photo of the Day for January 12, 2025
A‑23A, a massive tabular iceberg that calved from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986, is now showing extensive blue melt‑water ponds as it drifts in the South Atlantic. NASA’s Terra satellite captured the striking image on 26 December 2025, and an ISS...
This Year Must Bring Greater Collaboration Against Orbital Congestion
Orbital congestion is accelerating as commercial megaconstellations plan to launch thousands of low‑Earth‑orbit satellites in 2026, heightening collision and spectrum‑interference risks. Advances in AI‑driven debris tracking and collision‑avoidance tools promise better situational awareness, yet regulatory frameworks lag behind. Active debris...
Japanese Commercial Firms as Drivers of Japanese Space Policy
Japan’s commercial space sector has surged, with startups launching radar imaging satellites, developing lunar landers, and pursuing on‑orbit servicing. Recent policy reforms—such as streamlined licensing, increased R&D subsidies, and a dedicated commercial space law—have lowered barriers for private firms. In...
Building Empires in the Sky: Effectuating Off-Earth Territorial Expansion Using Existing Legal Frameworks
The article examines how existing legal regimes—particularly the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, the non‑binding Artemis Accords, and the U.S. 2015 Space Resources Ownership Act—can be leveraged for off‑Earth territorial expansion. It argues that while sovereign claims are prohibited, actors can...
Safe Passage in the Stars: The Next Bretton Woods
Alex Li argues that just as naval power secured maritime trade and cemented the U.S. dollar’s reserve status, future control of orbital trade routes will create a space‑based Bretton Woods. He outlines how low‑energy orbital pathways, such as the Interplanetary...
Astronomers Baffled by 'Mysterious Disruptor' With a Mass of 1 Million Suns and a Black Hole for a Heart
Astronomers have identified a completely dark object with a mass equivalent to one million suns, anchored by a black‑hole‑like core, in the gravitational‑lens system JVAS B1938+666. The object lies about 11 billion light‑years away, making it the most distant mass‑only detection ever...
Surrey Japan Team to Probe Short Lived Atomic Nuclei in Cosmic Element Quest
The University of Surrey and Kyushu University, together with RIKEN’s Radioactive Isotope Beam Factory, have secured a £215,100 Royal Society grant to study some of the most short‑lived, neutron‑rich and neutron‑deficient isotopes. Over the next three years the team will...
Momentus to Flight Test 3D Printed Fuel Tank on Vigoride 7
Momentus Inc. will flight‑test an additively manufactured metal fuel tank on its Vigoride‑7 Orbital Service Vehicle. The tank, printed with Velo3D’s metal 3D‑printing system, showcases internal geometries impossible with traditional machining. Momentus aims to use this technology to lower costs...
India’s PSLV Rocket Experiences the Second Launch Failure in a Row
India’s ISRO attempted its first 2026 launch using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), but the rocket’s third stage failed again near the end of its burn. The malfunction caused the stage to tumble, aborting engine thrust and resulting in...
The Global Network of Operational Optical Telescopes
An international network of optical telescopes, ranging from 4‑meter workhorses to 10‑meter giants, underpins modern astrophysics. Key facilities cluster on Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the Atacama Desert in Chile, leveraging high altitude and dry air for superior seeing. The next...
Operational Radio Telescopes of the World
The article surveys the world’s operational radio telescopes, from giant single‑dish instruments like China’s FAST to interferometric arrays such as the US Very Large Array and Europe’s LOFAR. It explains how large collecting areas and cryogenic receivers enable detection of...
Kepler Network to Link OroraTech Sensors for Earth Monitoring
OroraTech has signed a multi‑year partnership with Kepler to mount its SAFIRE Gen4 thermal sensors on Kepler’s optical communications constellation. The first four sensors launched aboard a Falcon 9 on Jan 11, expanding OroraTech’s active fleet to 15 instruments and advancing its...
Exploring the 50 Pillars of Science Fiction Storytelling
The article outlines fifty foundational themes that shape science‑fiction storytelling, grouped into categories such as space exploration, alien contact, artificial intelligence, biology, temporal manipulation, and societal futures. It details how each pillar— from space colonization and faster‑than‑light travel to AI...
Royal Astronomical Society Announces 2026 Award Winners
The Royal Astronomical Society unveiled its 2026 award winners at the A&G Highlights Meeting on 9 January. Professor Shrinivas Kulkarni received the Gold Medal in Astronomy for pioneering work in time‑domain and multi‑wavelength transient astrophysics, while Professor Andrew Jackson earned the...
SpaceX Launches NASA’s Pandora Exoplanet Space Telescope
SpaceX successfully launched NASA’s Pandora exoplanet telescope aboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg, marking the rocket’s fifth first‑stage recovery and a landing on the West Coast. Pandora, a smallsat designed to repeatedly observe 20 known transiting exoplanet host stars, flew alongside...
NASA Astrophysics, Commercial Satellites Launch on SpaceX Rideshare Mission
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 "Twilight" rideshare launched on Jan. 11 from Vandenberg, deploying 40 spacecraft into a dusk‑dawn sun‑synchronous orbit. The manifest included three NASA astrophysics cubesats—SPARCS, BlackCAT and Pandora—alongside commercial constellations from Kepler Communications, Spire, Plan‑S, Hawkeye 360, Capella Space, ICEYE and Umbra....
'A Completely New Manufacturing Frontier': Space Forge Fires up 1st Commercial Semiconductor Factory in Space
Space Forge announced the first plasma generation aboard its ForgeStar‑1 satellite, marking the inaugural commercial in‑orbit semiconductor factory. The miniature furnace produced plasma at 1,000 °C, proving that gas‑phase crystal growth can be achieved in low‑Earth orbit. The company plans to...
Watch India Launch Advanced Military Satellite on Rocket's 1st Flight Since May 2025 Failure
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is set to lift off tonight, marking its first flight since a May 2025 failure that lost the EOS‑09 Earth‑observing satellite. The rocket will carry the EOS‑N1 (Anvesha) military hyperspectral imaging satellite along with 15...
First Contact: 10 Science Fiction Films That Imagine Meeting the Other
The article surveys ten seminal first‑contact science‑fiction films—from “Arrival” and “Contact” to “The Thing”—highlighting how each uses an alien encounter to probe language, ethics, and institutional behavior. It notes that the movies treat contact not merely as spectacle but as...
Indian Rocket To Orbit A Temple and Spanish KID. KID To Reenter Earth Atmosphere
India’s PSLV‑C62 mission on 12 January 2026 will loft Spain’s KID re‑entry demonstrator, Brazil’s Orbital Temple, and 13 other satellites, including India’s EOS‑N1 earth‑observation payload. KID will separate at about 504 km, re‑enter after 108 minutes, and transmit data without a parachute. The Orbital...
FCC Approves 7,500 Additional Starlink Satellites
The FCC approved a second tranche of 7,500 Starlink Gen2 satellites, raising the total authorized Gen2 spacecraft to 15,000. The approval is incremental, part of SpaceX’s plan to eventually field 29,988 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites. The order also grants SpaceX a temporary...
Space Force Awards $739 Million in Launch Orders to SpaceX
The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX nine national‑security launch missions worth $739 million under the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract. Five launches will deploy the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer satellites, while four support the National Reconnaissance Office’s classified payloads. The missions...
Jan. 10, 1946: The US Bounces a Radar Wave Off the Moon
On January 10, 1946, the U.S. Army Signal Corps successfully bounced a radar signal off the Moon in an experiment known as Project Diana. Led by Lt. Col. John DeWitt at Fort Monmouth, the team transmitted a pulse that returned...
What Happened To Four Mice In Orbit Could Change Deep-Space Missions Forever
Four laboratory mice flew aboard China’s Shenzhou‑21 mission for a 14‑day stay on the Tiangong space station. After returning to Earth, a female mouse gave birth to nine pups, six of which are thriving. The experiment demonstrated that short‑term microgravity...
Moon Fever Hits DC as Artemis 2 Rocket 'Candle' Lights up Washington Monument Just 1 Month Before Launch (Photos)
NASA projected a Saturn V image onto the Washington Monument from Dec. 31 2025 to Jan. 5 2026, celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary and the upcoming Artemis 2 launch. The crewed round‑the‑moon mission is slated for Feb. 6 2026, marking the first human lunar flight since Apollo 17. Artemis 2...
Pandora, a Keen-Eyed Satellite Built to Study Exoplanets, Readies for Launch
The University of Arizona’s Pandora SmallSat is set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Jan 11, 2026, from Vandenberg. Equipped with an 18‑inch telescope, the mission will conduct multi‑color spectroscopic observations of at least 20 known exoplanets to probe atmospheric...
Leonid Space Releases Deorbit Forecast Validation
Leonid Space completed a comprehensive validation of its deorbit forecasting workflow, testing 934 non‑maneuvering satellites that reentered between 1961 and 2024 across six solar cycles. The company reports median one‑year deorbit errors of 6.0 days with perfect knowledge, 18.6 days...
Dhruva Space to Enable 10 Missions on ISRO’s PSLV-C62 Rocket
Dhruva Space announced its Polar Access‑1 programme, enabling ten satellite missions on ISRO’s PSLV‑C62 launch scheduled for 12 January. The initiative bundles four satellites, separation systems and ground‑station services into a repeatable Sun‑Synchronous orbit access package. Missions span disaster communications, environmental...
Pentagon Chief Takes ‘Arsenal of Freedom’ Tour to Rocket Lab
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited Rocket Lab’s Long Beach plant on Jan. 9, framing the stop as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour that champions rapid, scalable production for the warfighter. He praised Rocket Lab as a model of...
NASA SWOT Satellite Recorded A Tsunami From Space
NASA’s Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite recorded a high‑resolution view of the July 2025 Kamchatka‑origin tsunami, covering more than 120 km of ocean surface. Researchers combined this imagery with DART buoy data, revealing detailed wave patterns and challenging the long‑standing...
Twilight Rideshare Mission Set to Deploy First Tranche of Kepler’s Optical Network
SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission, slated for Jan. 11 from Vandenberg, will launch ten 300‑kg Kepler Communications satellites into a dusk‑dawn Sun‑synchronous orbit. Each satellite carries at least four optical‑terminal lasers, forming the first tranche of Kepler’s next‑generation space‑based internet. The constellation...
Kepler Communications Set to Launch 10 AETHER Optical Relay Satellites This Sunday
Kepler Communications is set to launch ten AETHER optical relay satellites on SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission early Sunday, with a launch window opening at 8:19 a.m. ET from Vandenberg. The batch represents the first operational tranche following two pathfinder satellites that...
FlyExclusive Set to Bring Starlink IFC to Its Fleet
flyExclusive has become an authorized reseller and installer for SpaceX’s Starlink in‑flight connectivity, beginning installations on its Bombardier Challenger 350 fleet in early 2026. The private‑jet operator, which runs more than 90 aircraft and ranks as the fifth‑largest U.S. fleet,...
