With Bezos’s Blue Origin Bowing Out of Space Tourism, Richard Branson Wants to Step Up
Virgin Galactic has become the sole commercial sub‑orbital tourism operator after Blue Origin announced it will cease space‑tourism activities. The company’s newly upgraded Delta spacecraft, designed for a two‑day turnaround, is slated for its inaugural flight by the end of 2026. Virgin has already pre‑sold 700 seats at roughly $600,000 each and plans to reopen ticket sales, potentially lowering prices as demand expands. The move positions the firm to dominate the high‑net‑worth market while the broader space‑race shifts toward lunar and Martian ambitions.
Is SDA Getting Ahead of Itself on Missile-Warning Satellites?
The Government Accountability Office released a critical review of the Space Development Agency’s missile‑warning satellite program, highlighting a heavy reliance on contractor‑provided technology‑readiness assessments and an aggressive two‑year acquisition cadence. GAO found that SDA lacks an enterprise‑wide schedule, has limited...
NASA Initiates New Program to Grab Talent From the Private Sector
NASA has launched the NASA Force program, in partnership with the Office of Personnel Management, to recruit high‑impact technical talent from the private sector for two‑year federal assignments. The initiative mirrors OPM’s Tech Force effort and offers participants a pathway...
Nvidia Hiring for Orbital Data Center System Architect, as Space Compute Market Grows
Nvidia announced a senior hire for an orbital data‑center system architect, offering a base salary between $224,000 and $356,500. The role will design end‑to‑end AI compute solutions that operate from the GPU chip through satellite platforms and inter‑satellite links. The...
The Iran Precedent: Operation Epic Fury and the Law of Armed Conflict in Space
Operation Epic Fury, a joint U.S.–Israeli strike against Iranian infrastructure, relied on coordinated space‑based uplink/downlink jamming and cyber disruption before kinetic weapons were employed. The campaign highlighted how militaries exploit a legal gray zone where non‑kinetic effects avoid the traditional...
Thursday Morning Conversation with Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg
Viasat CEO Mark Dankberg discussed the rollout of the ViaSat-3 constellation in a Thursday Morning Conversation with Via Satellite. The second ViaSat-3 satellite is set to enter service within weeks, with a third slated for a spring launch and later...
Female Astronauts Face Clotting Risks, Five-Day Weightlessness Simulation Suggests
A five‑day dry‑immersion simulation revealed that healthy female participants experience altered blood‑clotting dynamics in microgravity, with delayed initiation but faster, more stable clot formation. The study, published in Acta Astronautica, examined 18 women using rotational thromboelastometry and found no hormonal...
HawkEye 360 Adds $23M to Series E Funding
HawkEye 360 announced a $23 million addition to its Series E round, attracting new investors Ghisallo, Principia Growth and Sixty Degree Capital alongside existing backer Strategic Development Fund. The infusion follows a $150 million debt‑equity package used to acquire Innovative Signals Analysis (ISA)...
NASA’s Eclipse Megamovie Project Releases Full Data on 2024 Solar Eclipse
NASA’s Eclipse Megamovie project has released its full dataset from the April 8 2024 total solar eclipse. The collection comprises 52,469 photographs taken by volunteers at 143 U.S. observatories, creating the first white‑light eclipse dataset covering over 90 minutes of coronal observations....
Canada and India Move to Update Decades-Old Space Ties
Canada and India marked the 30th anniversary of their space collaboration by agreeing to a new Implementing Arrangement that expands joint work in atmospheric science, space robotics, human spaceflight, quantum communications and AI‑driven aerospace. The deal builds on agreements from...
Introducing the 'Interplanetary Habitable Zone'
NASA astrobiologist Dr. Caleb Scharf introduces the Interplanetary Habitable Zone (IHZ), a multidimensional extension of the classic Goldilocks concept that incorporates power availability, radiation risk, transport difficulty, and material resources. His agent‑based simulation shows how a technological civilization might migrate...
MDA Space Reports Record Revenue Again in 2025, Driven by Satellite Manufacturing Progress
MDA Space posted a record C$1.63 billion in 2025 revenue, a 51% year‑over‑year jump, driven largely by its Satellite Systems division. That segment surged 85.5% to C$1.1 billion, fueled by contracts for Low‑Earth‑Orbit constellations with Globalstar and Telesat Lightspeed. Adjusted net income...
SWOT Satellite Takes Stock of World's River Water
NASA and CNES’s SWOT satellite has completed its first year of global river monitoring, analyzing nearly 1.6 million observations across 127 000 river segments. The study, published in Nature, shows total river volume fluctuations of about 83 trillion gallons—roughly 28 % less than previous...
The First Orbiting Private Space Telescope Releases “First Light” Image
Blue Skies Space’s privately owned telescope Mauve has achieved its first‑light observation, capturing a five‑second ultraviolet exposure of the bright star eta Ursae Majoris. Although its 5‑inch mirror is far smaller than Hubble’s, the space‑based platform delivers clarity beyond any ground‑based instrument....
The Voice of Mission Control: Jenni Gibbons on Guiding Artemis 2 to the Moon
Canadian astronaut Jenni Gibbons has been appointed Capsule Communicator (Capcom) for NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed lunar flight in over five decades. As the sole voice from Mission Control to the four‑person crew, she will translate complex flight‑control data...
Mutable Tactics Raises $2.1 Million for AI Drone Coordination in Satellite-Denied Environments
Mutable Tactics, a British AI startup, secured $2.1 million in pre‑seed funding to build software that lets swarms of military drones operate autonomously when satellite navigation and communications are unavailable. The round was led by Seraphim Space, with participation from the...
Return of the (Space) SPAC
Former investment banker Raphael Roettgen revived a space‑focused SPAC in early 2026 after a four‑year hiatus, raising about $230 million in trust to seek a merger with a space‑related company. The new vehicle, Space Asset Acquisition Corp., reflects a broader revival...
GomSpace Secures €7.6 Million Contract for Defense-Grade RF Monitoring Cluster
GomSpace announced a €7.6 million contract with Rome‑based VirtuaLabs to deliver a satellite cluster for space‑based RF environment monitoring. The partnership blends GomSpace’s modular satellite platforms with VirtuaLabs’ electronic‑warfare payload expertise, targeting institutional‑grade ISR capabilities. Delivery of the fully integrated cluster...
UK Space Agency Unveils £30m Satellite Funding Pot
British firms developing satellite communications will share £30 million from the UK Space Agency’s Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C‑LEO) programme. The second funding round is designed to move technologies from testing to deployment, emphasizing smarter hardware, AI‑enhanced data delivery, and...
Russia Fixes Launch Pad Damaged by Thanksgiving Astronaut Launch to the International Space Station
Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 31, the only pad used for crewed Soyuz flights, was out of service after a Nov 27, 2025 launch damaged its service cabin and infrastructure. Roscosmos announced on March 3 that a 150‑person team completed extensive repairs, replacing 2,350 square meters...
Telespazio Deploys LEO-Based Mobile Satcom for Brazil’s Presidential Security Office
Telespazio Brasil, a Leonardo‑Thales joint venture, has rolled out VELOCE, a low‑Earth‑orbit mobile satellite communications system for Brazil’s Institutional Security Office. The solution offers high‑speed, low‑latency voice and data links across the entire country, including the remote Amazon region where...
March 4, 1979: Voyager 1 Images Jupiter’s Ring
On March 4, 1979 Voyager 1 captured a landmark photograph that revealed Jupiter’s previously unseen ring system. The image required an 11‑minute‑12‑second exposure as the spacecraft swept past the planet, causing background stars to appear as zigzag streaks. The faint, thin ring proved...
Reliable Space Rescue Is a Prerequisite for Continued Economic Opportunity in Space and We Have a Long Way to Go
SpaceX Crew 11’s emergency return in January 2026 marked the first crew rescue from orbit, proving that a rapid LEO evacuation is possible. The rescue highlighted a stark gap: no reliable, on‑demand capability exists for commercial missions beyond low Earth orbit. As...
Heritage Foundation Rates Space Force ‘Marginal’
The Heritage Foundation’s 2026 Index of US Military Strength gave the U.S. Space Force a marginal overall grade, citing severe shortfalls in resources, capacity, and readiness for contested space operations. The report highlights deficiencies in communications, weather forecasting, space domain...
Blue Origin’s Surprise TeraWave Constellation Jolts LEO Broadband Race
Blue Origin filed an FCC application for a hybrid LEO‑MEO broadband system called TeraWave, proposing 5,280 low‑Earth orbit satellites operating in Q‑ and V‑bands and 128 medium‑Earth orbit satellites linked by lasers. The architecture promises point‑to‑point links delivering up to...
Circuits Integrated Launches Ka-Band Integrated Switch Power Amplifiers
Circuits Integrated Hellas has introduced the CI-ONE family, a small‑form‑factor Ka‑band module that combines a high‑performance power amplifier with a single‑pole double‑throw switch. The integrated solution delivers 5 ns switching, up to 36 dBm output, and about 22% efficiency at the 1 dB...
PLD Space Raises $209 Million to Shift Into Serial Rocket Production
PLD Space announced a €180 million Series C round, the largest European space funding this year, to accelerate serial production of its Miura 5 launch vehicle. The round was led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric, which will receive priority launch access for its satellite...
Book Review: Space Shock
The review of *Space Shock: 18 Threats That Will Define Space Power* examines China’s surge in space capabilities in 2025, from asteroid sampling to lunar lander tests, and frames them as strategic challenges for the United States. The authors, Garretson...
Space Force Modernization Push Runs Into Acquisition Workforce Shortfall
The Space Force’s push to modernize its space capabilities is being hampered by a critical shortage of contracting officers and financial managers. As the service moves from buying discrete hardware to fielding integrated warfighting systems, it needs acquisition professionals with...
Artemis II: What’s on the Menu?
NASA has finalized a shelf‑stable menu for Artemis II, the first crewed flight around the Moon, ensuring all meals are safe, nutrient‑dense, and ready‑to‑eat without refrigeration or resupply. The menu was co‑developed with the astronauts, who sampled and ranked each item...
United Semiconductors Reserves Payload Space with Starlab to Advance Commercial-Scale In-Space Semiconductor Manufacturing
United Semiconductors has secured payload space on Starlab’s commercial space station to transition its micro‑gravity semiconductor crystal growth from the International Space Station to sustained, commercial‑scale production in low Earth orbit. The partnership leverages Starlab’s rapid, no‑assembly launch architecture and...
Canada’s Space Commander on Protecting Satellites From Jamming and Potential Nuclear Risks
Brigadier‑General Christopher Horner, commander of Canada’s 3 Space Division, warned that a nuclear detonation in low‑Earth orbit would generate an electromagnetic pulse capable of crippling global satellite services. He highlighted that Russia’s electronic‑warfare jamming already extends into space, threatening commercial...
Senate Tees Up NASA Reauthorization, Deputy Hearings
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will markup the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2025, a bipartisan reauthorization bill that extends the International Space Station to 2032 and directs NASA to build a permanent lunar base. A separate hearing...
NASA Invites Proposals to Lease Land Parcels at Sandusky Facility
NASA’s Glenn Research Center is inviting proposals to lease land parcels at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The agency offers five parcels totaling about 1,736 acres, ranging from 184 to 516 acres, under a Model Enhanced Use...
Galaxy 1 Partners with Viasat to Deliver Rapid, Scalable and Securecommunications for Uncrewed Aircraft
Galaxy 1 Communications has teamed with Viasat to extend the Velaris satellite service for uncrewed aerial vehicles and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) platforms. The partnership leverages Galaxy 1’s Distribution Partner‑as‑a‑Service (DPaaS) model, providing a managed layer that simplifies provisioning, billing,...
South Korean Launch Provider INNOSPACE Eyes Canadian Expansion via Spaceport Nova Scotia
South Korean launch provider INNOSPACE has signed a Letter of Intent with Maritime Launch Services to explore hosting its HANBIT hybrid‑rocket system at Spaceport Nova Scotia. The partnership aims to bypass Naro Space Center’s slot scarcity and trajectory restrictions, giving...
A 690-Million-Kilometer Journey Through Space Ends for Australia's SpIRIT Mission
Australia’s University of Melbourne‑led SpIRIT nanosatellite has concluded its on‑orbit phase after more than 25 months, traveling roughly 690 million kilometres – the distance to Jupiter – and completing about 16,000 Earth orbits. The 11.5‑kg spacecraft outperformed its two‑year design life,...
Asteroid Ryugu Samples Offer New Insights Into Early Solar System Magnetism
Japanese researchers led by Masahiko Sato have measured natural remanent magnetization in 28 Ryugu asteroid particles, expanding previous work from seven samples. Twenty‑three particles show stable magnetic components, with evidence pointing to chemical remanent magnetization acquired during framboidal magnetite formation....
Japan to Do Vertical Tests of Its Own Grasshopper-Type Demo Stage This Month
Japan’s space agency JAXA is set to conduct two vertical take‑off and landing (VTVL) test flights of its 24‑foot RV‑X demonstrator later this month. The first hop, scheduled for March 6, will take place at the Noshiro Rocket Testing Center on...
When Space Is Hot, Washington Holds a Match
Private equity is pouring capital into space and defense, reviving investor enthusiasm, but firms still depend on steady government funding to realize long‑term value. AE Industrial Partners, which backs Redwire, Firefly Aerospace and York Space Systems, highlighted that government contracts...
Kongsberg Discovery and Silicon Sensing Unveil Tactical-Grade North-Seeking MEMS Gyroscope
Silicon Sensing and Kongsberg Discovery have unveiled a tactical‑grade north‑seeking MEMS gyroscope, the SGH03, delivering navigation‑grade performance in a compact, solid‑state package. The device operates without GNSS or magnetometer assistance, making it resilient in GPS‑denied or magnetically hostile environments. Developed...
Russia Completes Repairs to Soyuz-2 Launchpad at Baikonur
Roscosmos announced that repairs to the Soyuz‑2 launchpad at Baikonur’s Site 31 are complete, enabling a Progress MS‑33 cargo flight to the International Space Station on March 22, 2026. The refurbishment involved 150 workers from four contractors, who painted 2,350 m², replaced attachment devices, overhauled...
ICEYE Launches SAR-Powered Deforestation Monitoring to Counter Tropical Forest Loss
ICEYE launched a dedicated deforestation monitoring solution on March 3, 2026, using its synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation. The SAR‑based service delivers near‑real‑time, cloud‑penetrating imagery for the Amazon, Congo and other tropical basins, filling the gap left by optical satellites....
The World's 1st Private Space Telescope Just Spotted Its 1st Star. Here's What It Saw.
London‑based Blue Skies Space launched Mauve, the world’s first privately funded space telescope, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in November. On Feb 9 the satellite recorded its inaugural five‑second observation of the bright UV‑rich star η Ursa Majoris, demonstrating its capability to capture visible...
Top Trump Ally Threatens Retaliation over EU Space Tech Law
Washington signaled it will retaliate if the EU adopts a Space Act that favors European satellite operators over U.S. firms. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned that the United States would mirror any restrictive EU measures, potentially barring European satellites from...
PwC Projects $127 Billion Moon Economy by 2050; Energy Infrastructure Cited as Primary Bottleneck
PwC’s latest Lunar Market Assessment projects the Moon’s annual revenue will reach $127.3 billion by 2050, roughly the size of Poland’s GDP. The report highlights that energy infrastructure, not transportation, is the chief obstacle to scaling surface operations. NASA’s Artemis program...
The Coldest "Stars" In the Galaxy Might Actually Be Alien Megastructures
Physicist Freeman Dyson’s megastructure concept gains fresh focus as a new arXiv pre‑print by Amirnezam Amiri identifies red dwarfs and white dwarfs as the most promising hosts. The study shows that a Dyson swarm would absorb visible light and re‑radiate it...
March 3, 1959: Pioneer 4 Launches
On March 3 1959 the United States launched Pioneer 4, the first American spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravity and enter heliocentric orbit. Intended to fly by the Moon and capture images, a prolonged second‑stage burn diverted it 60,000 km beyond the lunar surface, preventing...
Marlink Rolls Out Fleet-Wide Multi-LEO Hybrid Connectivity Service
Marlink launched Sealink Multi-LEO, a hybrid connectivity service that unifies Starlink and Eutelsat OneWeb low‑Earth‑orbit satellite networks under a single managed data allowance. The offering provides 500 GB to 10 TB of monthly data, with carrier‑agnostic orchestration that dynamically selects the best...
GSMA Calls for Regulatory Readiness for Direct-to-User LEO Satellite Services
The GSMA released a position paper urging governments to modernise regulatory frameworks for direct‑to‑user Low‑Earth‑Orbit (LEO) satellite services. It highlights that existing rules are fragmented and often unsuitable for new satellite‑only offerings, creating uncertainty for operators and investors. The paper...