OST Staff

Markets

NOAA Names 14 Commercial Providers to Five-Year Weather Data Contract

NOAA has selected 14 commercial satellite companies to supply weather data across seven categories under an expanded procurement aimed at improving forecasting. The move deepens the agency's reliance on privately operated constellations to gather environmental observations rather than building all the capability in house. NOAA announced the partner

Launch

Rocket Lab Launches 16th Electron of 2026 on Dedicated Flight for Undisclosed Customer

Rocket Lab launched its 16th Electron mission of the year on September 11, carrying a dedicated payload for a confidential customer from its New Zealand launch complex. The company said the flight solidifies its status as the world's leading small-launch provider. The mission continues a steady Electron

Policy

EU Commission Seeks to Devote Half of 131-Billion-Euro Defense and Space Budget to Space

The European Commission wants space programs to receive 50 percent of its proposed seven-year military and space budget of 131 billion euros ($152.3 billion), Defence and Space Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said in Paris. The allocation would channel roughly 65 billion euros to space over the 2028 to 2034

Defense

Antares Wins $161M Space Force Award to Demonstrate Nuclear Reactor in Orbit

Antares has been selected for a $161 million Strategic Breakthrough award to advance nuclear power for space, the company announced September 11. The selection, made by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, marks the largest current Department of War award in

Policy

NASA Opens State Competition to Host New U.S. Space Academy

NASA issued a Request for Information on September 10 inviting governors to indicate interest in hosting and sponsoring the new U.S. Space Academy proposed in President Trump's recent Executive Order. States have until 6:00 pm ET on Monday, October 26, to respond. The move turns site

Defense

MDA Space Launches Defence Variant of Aurora Software-Defined Satellite

MDA Space has introduced MDA Aurora Black, a defence-focused extension of its Aurora software-defined satellite product line built to deliver secure and resilient communications for government and military customers. The company announced the product on September 10, 2026, positioning it to address military satellite communications requirements in contested

Defense

Space Force Moves Toward New GPS Ground Control Program Months After OCX Cancellation

The U.S. Space Force appears ready to launch a new program to modernize the GPS ground command-and-control segment, less than six months after canceling the troubled Next-Generation Operational Control System, known as OCX. The effort would upgrade the ground infrastructure that operates the GPS satellite constellation.

Defense

Space Force Picks Lake Kickapoo, Texas, To Complete DARC Radar Triad

The U.S. Space Force has selected a remote location near Lake Kickapoo in northern Texas as the third and final site for its next-generation ground-based space domain awareness network. The choice completes a three-site global triad designed to track objects in deep space, including in geostationary

Policy

DOT Creates SPACE Task Force to Speed Commercial Launch Approvals

The US Department of Transportation has launched a new SPACE Task Force intended to make space launches faster and more cost-effective while keeping the United States ahead in commercial space. Coverage published September 9 framed the initiative as an effort to unleash commercial space innovation. The task force arrives

IBM and NASA Open-Source First Lunar Foundation AI Model to Speed Moon Science

IBM and NASA released the NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model, one of the first publicly available foundation models built for scientific exploration of the Moon. Trained on an extensive lunar observation dataset curated by researchers from both organizations, the model turns decades of multi-instrument data into insights meant to

Venturi Space Debuts ALTA LUNA, a Tracked Crewed Rover for Lunar Base Support

Venturi Space unveiled ALTA LUNA, a compact and maneuverable astronaut-driven lunar rover, at the International Space Summit in Paris. The tracked vehicle is designed to support operations around future lunar bases and broadens the company's lunar mobility portfolio, marking a European entry into the field of crewed

Defense

SpaceX Sets Vandenberg Launch of Classified USSF-153 Space Force Mission

SpaceX is preparing to launch USSF-153, a classified mission for the United States Space Force, aboard a Falcon 9 Block 5 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff is targeted for 15:42 UTC on September 10, 2026, within a three-hour window opening at 15:37 UTC. The mission

Launch

SpaceX Pairs Booster 22 and Ship 42 at Massey's for Flight 15 Cryo Testing

SpaceX has rolled Super Heavy Booster 22 out of Mega Bay 1 to its Massey's test site for cryogenic proof testing, where Ship 42 has since joined it on a second trip to the stand. The pairing is slated to fly on Flight 15, which could come about

Defense

Canada Opens Direct Space Career Path for Enlisted Members

The Canadian Armed Forces created a new occupation this summer allowing non-commissioned members to enroll and build careers as space professionals from the outset, rather than transferring in from other trades. Brig. Gen. Chris Horner disclosed the move on a Sept. 4 episode of the CGAI Podcast Network'

Deep Space

Chandra Data Reveals a New Class of Cosmic Objects Hiding in Six Galaxies

Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have discovered a previously unseen class of objects that emit unusually low-energy X-rays alongside intense ultraviolet radiation. The finding, published Wednesday in Nature Astronomy, identifies 84 of these objects across six galaxies and could help resolve two long-standing

Markets

NASA Adds Relativity Space's Terran R to Launch Services Roster

NASA has awarded Relativity Space a Launch Services II contract for its Terran R vehicle under the contract's on-ramp provision, the agency announced September 9. The addition makes Terran R available for the agency's future missions and expands NASA's roster of launch options.

Markets

Eutelsat Signs Infinite Orbits for GEO Satellite Life Extension

Eutelsat has agreed to have Infinite Orbits extend the operational life of at least one of its geostationary satellites, the two companies announced today on the sidelines of the International Space Summit in Paris. The deal marks the third life-extension order for the French satellite-servicing company and a

Defense

Space Force Clears Design Review for Second Batch of MEO Missile-Warning Satellites

The U.S. Space Force has completed the critical design review for the second batch of its new missile warning and tracking satellites destined for medium Earth orbit, Space Systems Command announced Sept. 8. The milestone advances the MEO layer of the service's next-generation missile-warning architecture.

Policy

Europe's Big Four Carriers Weigh Joint Bid for EU Satellite Spectrum

Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone are in talks to form a consortium to bid for EU mobile satellite spectrum for direct-to-device service. The joint effort positions Europe's largest mobile operators directly against Starlink in the contest for the region's satellite-to-phone spectrum.

Policy

NASA Solicits Industry to Build the Infrastructure for a Permanent Moon Base

NASA on September 8 issued a solicitation seeking proposals to advance the technology and infrastructure needed to establish a sustainable human presence at the lunar South Pole. The call targets fundamental capability gaps, including power generation, oxygen extraction, and producing construction materials on the Moon. The solicitation is aimed at

Defense

U.S. Space Command Completes First Exercise on Dynamic Satellite Maneuvers

U.S. Space Command has completed its first exercise focused on how military satellites could move more dynamically in orbit. The exercise used actual spacecraft operating across low, medium and geosynchronous orbits, demonstrating the ability to reposition assets across different orbital regimes. The exercise marks an early step in testing

Markets

Royal Group of Abu Dhabi Commits $1 Billion to 50-Satellite AI Imaging Constellation

Loft Orbital and UAE-based Marlan Space announced a billion-dollar investment by the Royal Group of Abu Dhabi to build a 50-satellite constellation using artificial intelligence to deliver optical and radar imaging products to Europe and the United Arab Emirates. The commitment ranks among the largest single financing

Markets

Besxar Strikes Deal to Prototype an Orbital Chip Factory Across a Dozen Falcon 9 Flights

Besxar, a startup founded by former OpenAI staffer Ashley Pilipiszyn, says it has convinced SpaceX to let it prototype an orbital semiconductor factory across a dozen flights aboard a Falcon 9 booster. The company aims to manufacture key precursors for advanced semiconductors in the vacuum of space and return the

Rocket Lab Releases Germanium-Free Solar Cell With 31.5% Efficiency

Rocket Lab Corporation has announced the production release of IMM Apex, the newest version of its Inverted Metamorphic solar cell for space applications. The cell delivers a Beginning of Life conversion efficiency of 31.5% and eliminates the germanium substrate used in conventional multi-junction cells, a shift the company

Markets

The Exploration Company Raises $450 Million to Fund Nyx Capsule and Storm Engine

European space logistics startup The Exploration Company has secured $450 million (€387 million) in a Series C funding round to advance its Nyx reusable capsule and Storm rocket engine. Announced on 8 September, the round brings the company's total funding since its 2021 founding to approximately $680 million.