OST Staff

Launch

NASA Manifests Shoebox Satellite to Flight-Test Green Dual-Mode Propulsion

NASA has manifested a small spacecraft called GPDM, for Green Propulsion Dual Mode, on an upcoming SpaceX rideshare mission to demonstrate a low-toxicity propellant in orbit. The shoebox-sized satellite will spend nine months validating a propulsion system that could offer an alternative to hydrazine for small satellites. The

Launch

Isar Aerospace Reaches Orbit on Second Spectrum Flight, a First for Commercial Western European Launch

Germany's Isar Aerospace reached orbit on Saturday on the second flight of its Spectrum launch vehicle, deploying five satellites and marking the first time a commercial company has reached orbit from Western European soil. The success, on a mission named "Onward and Upward," gives European commercial

Markets

AvL Technologies Wins $31 Million Deal to Supply WGS-Certified Satellite Terminals to Poland

AvL Technologies signed a $31 million contract with Polish defense supplier GISS Sp. z o.o. to deliver WGS-certified tactical satellite communications terminals for Poland's Ministry of National Defence. The agreement, announced September 8, 2026, ties Polish forces to the U.S. military's Wideband Global

Policy

UK Unveils £7.8 Billion Space Strategy Centred on Defence and Satellite Communications

The UK government launched a new national space strategy on Tuesday, backed by a record £7.8 billion to 2030, that unites investment in growth, defence, and national security under a single plan. The strategy treats space as an increasingly important domain for national security and includes plans to design

Markets

Stoke Space Raises $1 Billion and Reveals 15-Ton Fully Reusable Nova Block 2

Stoke Space has closed a $1 billion Series E financing round as it prepares for the first orbital flight of its fully reusable Nova rocket, and the company used the announcement to publicly unveil a substantially larger vehicle capable of delivering 15 metric tons to low Earth orbit. The raise

Launch

Artemis III Booster Stacking Reaches Four of Five Segments as Orion Heat Shield Fix Confirmed

Teams at NASA's Kennedy Space Center have stacked the next pair of solid rocket booster segments for the Artemis III Space Launch System inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, advancing hardware toward flight readiness. The progress coincides with post-flight analysis of Orion's Artemis II heat shield,

Defense

Gilmour Space and Hypersonix Join Forces on Australian Hypersonic Flight Testing

Queensland aerospace companies Gilmour Space Technologies and Hypersonix have signed an agreement to develop hypersonic flight-test capability for defence and commercial programs in Australia and overseas. The partnership pairs Gilmour Space's rocket propulsion and launch capabilities with Hypersonix's scramjet propulsion and hypersonic vehicle technology, and

Policy

Shots Fired at Brownsville Commissioner's Home Days After SpaceX Land Vote

Police in Brownsville, Texas, are investigating a shooting outside the home of a city commissioner early Saturday, September 5, an incident that followed rising political tensions over a controversial land deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX. No injuries were reported. Mayor John Cowen called the shooting "deeply troubling.

Defense

Lawrence Livermore Telescope Tracks Satellite in Space Force Responsive-Launch Exercise

A Rocket Lab spacecraft carrying an optical payload developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory tracked another satellite during a U.S. Space Force exercise. The test evaluated how quickly a spacecraft can be launched and put to work inspecting objects in orbit. The exercise was tied to the Space Force&

Launch

Starbase Buildout Presses Ahead as Flight 14 Hardware Nears the Pad

SpaceX is continuing to expand assembly, test, and launch infrastructure at Starbase in Texas while Flight 14 hardware moves toward the pad. New flyover imagery shows construction underway at Massey's test site, the Gigabay assembly building, and both launch pads, alongside structural test articles for this flight and

Markets

Cowboy Space Leases 291,000-Square-Foot Kent Plant to Build Orbital Data Center Satellites

California-based Cowboy Space is leasing a 291,035-square-foot industrial facility in Kent, Wash., to support production of hardware for its planned constellation of AI data center satellites. The transaction is the largest industrial lease in the Puget Sound region so far this year, marking a step from

Launch

SpaceX Flies 80th Starlink Mission of 2026 as It Clears Florida Pads for Starship

SpaceX launched the Starlink 15-24 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday morning, marking its 80th Starlink flight of the year. The mission was the third since the company decided to stop launching Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rockets from Florida, redirecting future Florida Starlink flights to Starship.

Launch

Isar Aerospace Reaches Orbit on Second Flight, Deploys Satellites From Norwegian Launch Site

Isar Aerospace became the first commercial space company from Europe to deliver satellites into orbit, achieving the milestone on only its second flight. The mission, named Onward and Upward, lifted off from the company's dedicated launch complex at Andøya Space in Norway at 10:12 pm CEST on

Defense

Space Force Expands Space-Based Air Tracking Vendor Pool to 12 Companies

The U.S. Space Force has widened its vendor pool for the nascent space-based air moving target indicator program to 12 companies, with three additional firms now visible on public-facing websites. Blue Origin, Boeing and Umbra are now listed as SB-AMTI vendors, an expansion that underscores how

Policy

Pentagon to Deploy Nearly 50 Secure Facilities to Open Classified Space Work to Startups

The Pentagon unveiled a program called the Secure Space Network that will deploy close to 50 secure compartmented information facilities across the country. The initiative is designed to improve access to classified information for smaller businesses seeking to work with the military, lowering a barrier that has kept startups out

Satellites

Chinese Reconnaissance Satellite Fragments in Rare Retrograde Orbit

Yaogan-50 (02), a Chinese military reconnaissance satellite launched earlier this year into an unusual retrograde orbit, has suffered an apparent fragmentation event, generating a field of debris. The breakup marks the loss of an operational reconnaissance platform in an orbital regime rarely used by military satellites. The satellite reached

Deep Space

Hubble Reveals a 10-Sided Wave Taking Shape Over Saturn's South Pole

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has identified a giant, evolving 10-sided atmospheric wave circling Saturn's south pole, the first time scientists have observed a large, regularly shaped jet pattern in the planet's southern hemisphere. The structure, described as a decagon, appears to have formed

Markets

Munich Startup Project-S Exits Stealth, Sets October Orbital Radar Demo

Project-S, a Munich-based space situational awareness startup, has emerged from stealth with multi-million-euro backing and plans to conduct its first in-orbit demonstration of an active radar system next month. The company said the demonstrator will launch aboard a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission, marking its debut

Markets

HyImpulse Raises Over 50 Million Euros to Advance Hybrid Propulsion Launchers

German launch startup HyImpulse announced on September 2, 2026 that it had raised more than 50 million euros, roughly 58 million dollars, in a Series A extension round. The funding is aimed at accelerating development of the company's small launch vehicles built around hybrid propellant technology, as it

Policy

Four U.S. Space Firms Withdraw From Paris Summit After White House Warning

Four American space companies, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, have pulled out of an international space summit in Paris after the White House warned that attendance could be seen as endorsing European Union space policies. France's government confirmed the withdrawals on September 3, 2026, days before the event

Defense

Schiess Assumes Command as Space Force's Third Chief of Space Operations

Gen. Douglas Schiess took over as the U.S. Space Force's third chief of space operations on Sept. 3, succeeding Gen. Chance Saltzman. The transfer took place at a ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. The leadership change marks a milestone for the youngest branch of the U.

Markets

Planet Posts Record $116 Million Quarter as Sovereign Satellite Services Drive Growth

Planet Labs reported record quarterly revenue of $116.1 million for the second quarter of fiscal year 2027, a 58% increase year over year. The company, which ended the period on July 31, 2026, delivered adjusted EBITDA profit of $13.9 million and marked its fourth consecutive quarter of meeting

Markets

4iG and SpaceX Sign Europe's First Starlink Direct-to-Cell and Sovereign Defense Pact

Hungarian telecommunications and defense conglomerate 4iG Group signed two agreements with SpaceX on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, establishing what the companies describe as Europe's first partnership to deploy Starlink Mobile direct-to-cell services alongside a dedicated framework for encrypted defense communications. The agreements, executed at SpaceX facilities

Policy

NASA Opts for Simpler "Sortie Suit" to Speed Lunar Return

NASA has decided to field a stripped-down spacesuit for its first crewed missions to the lunar surface, moving to accelerate a program aimed at landing astronauts at the Moon's south pole as early as 2028. The agency announced the decision during an internal meeting this week, directing

Launch

ISRO to Launch EOS-05, India's First Earth Observation Satellite Bound for Geosynchronous Orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation will launch EOS-05, India's first Earth observation satellite designed for Geosynchronous Orbit, from the Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. Liftoff is scheduled for September 4, 2026, at 2:55 a.m. IST. If injected successfully, the satellite