OST Staff

Markets

Gilat to Acquire Comtech's Satellite and Space Business for $157.5 Million, Six Years After Failed Merger

Israel's Gilat Satellite Networks has agreed to buy most of Comtech's space-related communications business for $157.5 million in cash, the company announced June 15. The deal expands Gilat's defense capabilities and U.S. presence six years after a takeover bid running the

Launch

Astrobotic Unveils Griffin-1 Lunar Lander, Now NASA's Moon Base 2 Mission, Ahead of Late-2026 Launch

Astrobotic showed off its nearly completed Griffin-1 lunar lander on June 15 at its Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania facility, marking a major milestone for the robotic vehicle before it ships to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California for environmental testing later this month. The lander, which carries a 650

Markets

SpaceX's First Move as a Public Company Is a $60 Billion AI Acquisition

SpaceX has announced it has exercised its option to acquire AI coding startup Cursor in an all-stock deal valued at $60 billion, its first acquisition since completing the largest IPO in history last week. The transaction, announced June 16, lands just days after SpaceX went public and less than

Launch

Chinese Commercial Rocket Stage Breaks Apart in Orbit, Scattering Debris Near Starlink Shell

The upper stage of a Zhuque-2E rocket has fragmented in low-Earth orbit, generating an estimated 100 to 150 pieces of debris in a region home to the International Space Station and a significant portion of SpaceX's Starlink network. The breakup occurred shortly after the rocket reached

ISRO Targets 200-Day Lunar Lander With Artificial Heaters to Outlast the Moon's Frozen Nights

India's space agency is developing a new lunar lander designed to survive the Moon's bitterly cold nights and operate for as long as 200 days, a sharp increase over the roughly 14-day lifespan of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan said the effort,

Markets

Intuitive Machines Left Out of NASA's First Lunar Rover Awards

NASA selected Astrolab and Lunar Outpost for its initial major lunar rover contracts, leaving Intuitive Machines out of the first round. The company, which trades publicly as LUNR and has positioned itself as a core player in the emerging lunar economy, was not among the initial awardees, a direct setback

Launch

Booster 20 Clears Cryo Proof Testing as Ship 40 Heads Toward Static Fire

SpaceX has completed cryogenic proof testing on Starship Booster 20 and is preparing Ship 40 for static fire, with both vehicles forming the stack for Flight 13. The activity comes roughly three weeks after Flight 12, with all development focus now shifted to the next vehicle pair. Flight 13 will

Satellites

State Department Signs Two-Year Starlink Agreement for Global Disaster Response

The U.S. Department of State has signed a two-year Memorandum of Understanding with SpaceX to use the Starlink satellite internet system for international disaster preparedness and U.S. humanitarian response. The department revealed the agreement on June 11, formalizing a cooperation framework with the commercial satellite operator. The

Canadarm2 Sidelined by Wrist Joint Failure, Spacewalk Repair Set for June 30

Canadarm2, the International Space Station's primary robotic arm, is offline for at least several weeks after a wrist joint seized during routine work on May 27. NASA said a spacewalk will be required to replace the affected joint, with the repair scheduled no earlier than June 30, one

Launch

China's Tallest Active Rocket Reaches Orbit as LandSpace Readies Second Landing Try

China debuted its tallest currently flying rocket, the Chang Zheng 12B, on June 1, lofting two SpaceSail Qianfan satellites into orbit on its maiden flight. The launch came amid a burst of Chinese space activity that included three constellation missions in under four days and preparations by commercial provider LandSpace

OST Insights: The Orbital AI Race Won't Be Won in Orbit

Everyone is watching the rockets. The real bottleneck is a chip factory in Texas - where one of its two products is being designed specifically for space. There is a quiet assumption underneath every orbital-datacenter pitch: that once you solve launch, solar, and cooling, the chips will simply be there

Markets

Rocket Lab Enters the Nasdaq-100 on the Same Day SpaceX Begins Trading

Rocket Lab Corporation announced today that it has been added to the Nasdaq-100 Index, placing it among the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the exchange. The move took effect the same day SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq, putting two major space companies on the same exchange

Launch

Stoke Space Clears Nova First Stage Structural Qualification, Eyes Late-2026 Debut

Stoke Space has completed proto-qualification of the first stage of its Nova rocket at its Moses Lake, Washington, testing site, the company announced in early June 2026. The milestone clears a major technical hurdle for the medium-lift Nova vehicle, which the company is targeting for a debut flight

Deep Space

Methane Detection in Comet 3I/ATLAS Points to Origin Beyond Our Solar System

James Webb Space Telescope data has confirmed the presence of methane in Comet 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system. The chemical finding indicates the comet formed in a fundamentally different environment than comets native to this solar system. 3I/ATLAS joins a short

Satellites

China's Satellite Broadband Push Targets Markets Where Starlink Has Stalled

State-backed Chinese startup Spacesail is actively signing agreements with governments and operators that SpaceX has been unable to serve, positioning itself as a direct competitor to Starlink in underserved global markets. The move comes as SpaceX pursues its IPO, and it strikes at the markets the company needs to

Deep Space

NASA's Roman Space Telescope Reaches Final Assembly Eight Months Ahead of Schedule

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has entered final preparation for launch while running eight months ahead of its original development timeline, marking a rare acceleration for a flagship space observatory. The shift represents a significant departure from recent history, when the James Webb Space Telescope slipped 14

Policy

NASA Selects Four-Person Crew for Artemis III as Moon Program Pivots to Earth Orbit Testing

NASA has announced the four-person crew for Artemis III, a critical orbital mission that will not reach the moon despite its name. The spacecraft will launch in 2027 to conduct rendezvous and docking operations with lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, testing the choreography essential before attempting

Markets

Space Force Bets Commercial Operators Can Build Jam-Resistant Military Satellites

The U.S. Space Force awarded $437.7 million to Viasat and Intelsat for the first satellites in a new protected communications program, marking a significant pivot toward commercial telecom operators for military-grade secure links. The awards represent the first production contracts under the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global program

Markets

SpaceX Targets Late 2027 Orbital AI Computing Demonstrations Ahead of IPO

SpaceX is targeting late 2027 to demonstrate operational artificial intelligence computing infrastructure in orbit, an accelerated timeline the company outlined to investors in presentations ahead of its public offering. The target arrives six months earlier than SpaceX's IPO filing disclosures and represents a critical validation test for technology

Policy

India Halts Starlink Approvals Over Military Conflict Security Risks

India has frozen commercial approvals for SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, citing security concerns about the terminals' use in active military conflicts. The regulatory hold arrives at a critical moment for SpaceX, which is preparing for a public offering while banking on rapid international expansion to drive

Markets

German Launch Startup Isar Aerospace Raises $312 Million Despite September Failure

German launch company Isar Aerospace has secured 270 million euros ($312 million) in Series D funding as it prepares to reattempt its Spectrum rocket launch after a failure last September. The round, led by new investors Island Green Capital and Molten Ventures, signals strong backer confidence in the company'

Markets

ICEYE Reaches $12 Billion Valuation as Defense Demand Drives European Space Sector

Finnish synthetic aperture radar company ICEYE closed a $520 million Series F funding round at a $12 billion valuation, becoming one of Europe's most valuable space companies. The raise reflects surging government demand for all-weather Earth observation capabilities, particularly among defense and intelligence agencies seeking persistent surveillance

Policy

Russia Deploys First Orbital GPS Jammer, Raising Specter of Space-Based Electronic Warfare

Russia has deployed a space-based platform to jam GPS signals across Eastern Europe, marking the first confirmed use of an orbital asset to conduct large-scale navigation warfare. The interference, detected by multiple independent monitoring stations, affects both civilian and military receivers across several NATO member states and threatens

Satellites

Indonesia's PSN Confirms Role as Secret Customer for Rocket Lab's Equatorial Satellite Launch

Indonesia's Pasifik Satellit Nusantara revealed on June 8 that it was the undisclosed customer behind a recent Rocket Lab Electron launch deploying six Internet of Things satellites to equatorial orbit. The constellation will deliver connectivity across Indonesia's sprawling archipelago, marking a shift in how emerging space

Markets

Prada and Axiom Space Partner on Cooling Garment for Artemis Moon Missions

Axiom Space and Prada have unveiled the liquid cooling and ventilation garment that will regulate astronaut body temperature during lunar surface operations on NASA's Artemis III mission. The collaboration, announced June 7, represents the first time a luxury fashion brand has contributed functional engineering to spaceflight hardware, signaling