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NASA Revives Stand-Alone Commercial Station Plan With Draft RFP

NASA Revives Stand-Alone Commercial Station Plan With Draft RFP

NASA released a draft request for proposals on Monday for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations program, formally committing to support privately owned stand-alone stations to replace the International Space Station. The agency said it intends to award early development contracts to at least two station builders, marking a

Isar Aerospace Signs $112.5 Million Deal to Launch Spectrum From Nova Scotia in 2028

Isar Aerospace Signs $112.5 Million Deal to Launch Spectrum From Nova Scotia in 2028

German rocket builder Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement with Canada's Maritime Launch Services to develop a dedicated launch facility at Spaceport Nova Scotia. The first launch of an Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket from the site is expected in 2028. The arrangement extends Isar's ambitions to

First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Reaches Orbit on Falcon 9 Rideshare

First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Reaches Orbit on Falcon 9 Rideshare

City Labs' BOHR cubesat became the world's first commercially built nuclear-powered satellite to reach orbit, launching early on July 7 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The mission marks the first commercially designed and operated spacecraft to carry nuclear technology into space, a domain long reserved for

Iridium Absorbs Aireon in $367 Million Deal Ahead of Rocket Lab Sale

Iridium Absorbs Aireon in $367 Million Deal Ahead of Rocket Lab Sale

Iridium Communications has completed its takeover of Aireon, the aircraft-tracking venture, buying the remaining 61 percent it did not already own for $367 million. The move brings the aviation safety service fully in-house ahead of Iridium's planned $8 billion sale to Rocket Lab. Iridium announced the

South Korea Approves Sovereign LEO Constellation, Pulls Lunar Landing Forward to 2030

South Korea Approves Sovereign LEO Constellation, Pulls Lunar Landing Forward to 2030

The South Korean government formally authorized an industrial space strategy on Friday, July 3, 2026, to build a sovereign low Earth orbit satellite communications network by 2035. The plan, frequently designated the "Korean version of Starlink," commits the country to a self-reliant aerospace capability administered through the

Tianwen-2 Reaches Asteroid 2016H03 After Billion-Kilometer Cruise

Tianwen-2 Reaches Asteroid 2016H03 After Billion-Kilometer Cruise

China's Tianwen-2 probe has arrived at asteroid 2016H03, closing out a journey of more than 1 billion kilometers over roughly 400 days, China's state space administration announced. The spacecraft is now close enough to begin investigating the asteroid, the first step toward its central goal

NASA Aids Blue Origin Probe Into New Glenn Explosion, Points to Engine Issue

NASA Aids Blue Origin Probe Into New Glenn Explosion, Points to Engine Issue

NASA is actively supporting the investigation into the May 28 explosion of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, Administrator Jared Isaacman confirmed Sunday. Investigators have already identified a potential engine issue as the likely cause, a finding that carries direct consequences for the timeline of NASA's Artemis

Japan's Veteran Hayabusa2 Enters Planetary Defense Role With Asteroid Flyby

Japan's Veteran Hayabusa2 Enters Planetary Defense Role With Asteroid Flyby

Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft executed a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid on Sunday, July 5, in a mission framed as a test of technology that could help protect Earth from asteroid impacts. The maneuver opens a new phase for a probe that had already completed its primary science

Vast's Haven-1 Clears Integration Milestones on Path to Q1 2027 Launch

Vast's Haven-1 Clears Integration Milestones on Path to Q1 2027 Launch

Vast Space's Haven-1 station remains on track for a first-quarter 2027 launch after completing critical integration and testing procedures in recent weeks. The single-module station is a candidate to become the world's first commercial space station and a contender for NASA funding as

Semiconductor Test Beds Ride Falcon 9 Booster on Sunrise Starlink Launch

Semiconductor Test Beds Ride Falcon 9 Booster on Sunrise Starlink Launch

Two semiconductor fabrication test beds flew a sub-orbital ride on the first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that lifted a batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral shortly after sunrise on July 5, 2026. The manufacturing pods belong to Washington, D.C.-based startup Besxar Space Industries,

French Launcher Latitude Picks Oman's Etlaq Spaceport for 2027 Debut

French Launcher Latitude Picks Oman's Etlaq Spaceport for 2027 Debut

Latitude will stage the debut launch of its rocket from Oman's Etlaq Spaceport in late 2027 under an agreement announced this week. The deal is the latest in a growing set of partnerships linking European space organizations with operators in the Middle East, a region offering European firms

Landspace Satellite Affiliate Hongqing Raises $191 Million in Major Chinese Commercial Space Round

Landspace Satellite Affiliate Hongqing Raises $191 Million in Major Chinese Commercial Space Round

Hongqing Technology, the satellite manufacturing affiliate of Chinese launch firm Landspace, has raised more than 1.3 billion yuan, roughly $191 million, in one of the largest single funding rounds for a Chinese commercial satellite maker. The round, announced July 2, brings the company's total financing to more

Planet Germany Picks Isar Aerospace for German-Built Satellite and Rocket Launch

Planet Germany Picks Isar Aerospace for German-Built Satellite and Rocket Launch

Planet Labs' German subsidiary has selected Isar Aerospace to launch one of its Pelican Earth observation satellites aboard a Spectrum rocket, with both companies aiming to complete the mission in less than 12 months. The agreement pairs a German-built satellite with a German-built rocket, a first for

Ship 40 Completes Six-Engine Static Fire, Clearing a Milestone for Starship's 13th Flight

Ship 40 Completes Six-Engine Static Fire, Clearing a Milestone for Starship's 13th Flight

SpaceX fired all six Raptor engines on the upper stage of its Starship rocket for a full minute at Starbase, Texas, less than a week after the vehicle's first static-fire test. The engine checkout moves Ship 40 a step closer to Starship's 13th fully stacked

Amazon Leo Reaches 396 Satellites, Enough to Begin Broadband Service

Amazon Leo Reaches 396 Satellites, Enough to Begin Broadband Service

Amazon says its low-Earth orbit constellation now carries enough satellites to switch on its broadband internet service, with 396 spacecraft deployed following a launch on July 2. The company states the constellation can now support continuous service across initial latitudes, keeping it on track for commercial availability targeted for

Robotic Servicer Launches to Raise Orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory

Robotic Servicer Launches to Raise Orbit of NASA's Swift Observatory

A Katalyst Space commercial robotic spacecraft called LINK is set to launch no earlier than Friday, July 3, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, tasked with raising the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory satellite. If successful, it will be the first time

France's Vast Deal Triggers Internal Revolt at Space Agency CNES

France's Vast Deal Triggers Internal Revolt at Space Agency CNES

France's agreement to fly two of its astronauts on a commercial space station built by the American company Vast has provoked an unprecedented backlash from within CNES, the French national space agency. Staff and stakeholders inside the agency are objecting to a deal that would route government astronauts

Atlas 5 551 Flies Final Mission, Delivering 29 Amazon Leo Satellites to Orbit

Atlas 5 551 Flies Final Mission, Delivering 29 Amazon Leo Satellites to Orbit

United Launch Alliance launched the final flight of its Atlas 5 rocket in the 551 configuration early Thursday, lofting 29 Amazon Leo broadband satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The predawn liftoff closed a significant chapter for ULA and marked the last Atlas 5 to carry a satellite payload.

Blue Origin Bets on Hybrid Rebuild to Return New Glenn to Flight by Year's End

Blue Origin Bets on Hybrid Rebuild to Return New Glenn to Flight by Year's End

One month after the New Glenn anomaly that severely damaged Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Blue Origin has completed debris removal and begun rebuilding the pad under a new hybrid concept of operations. CEO Dave Limp maintains the company intends to return the vehicle to flight

EchoStar's DISH Units File Chapter 11 to Repay Debt Early After $40 Billion Spectrum Sales

EchoStar's DISH Units File Chapter 11 to Repay Debt Early After $40 Billion Spectrum Sales

EchoStar's satellite TV and abandoned 5G subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 30, advancing a prepackaged restructuring plan designed to repay debt early following spectrum sales to SpaceX and AT&T. DISH DBS said the filing does not affect DISH TV, Sling TV, or

Vera Rubin Observatory Opens Decade-Long Survey With World's Largest Digital Camera

Vera Rubin Observatory Opens Decade-Long Survey With World's Largest Digital Camera

The NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile officially began its Legacy Survey of Space and Time on June 30, 2026, launching a 10-year imaging campaign of the southern sky. The survey aims to create the most comprehensive, cinematic record of the universe in history, capturing everything from

Firefly and SSC Space Target 2028 for First Orbital Launch from Sweden's Esrange

Firefly and SSC Space Target 2028 for First Orbital Launch from Sweden's Esrange

Firefly Aerospace and SSC Space have set 2028 as the target for the first orbital launch from Esrange Space Center in northern Sweden, using Firefly's Alpha rocket. The companies announced the timeline during a press briefing in Stockholm on June 30, citing progress on infrastructure, regulatory agreements, and

Five-Month-Old Startup Orbital Files for 100,000 Data Center Satellites

Five-Month-Old Startup Orbital Files for 100,000 Data Center Satellites

Los Angeles startup Orbital has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to deploy up to 100,000 data center satellites, targeting 10 gigawatts of computing power from space to meet rising artificial intelligence demand. The filings, submitted June 24, build on a constellation the five-month-old venture first

Four Satellite Operators Form NGSO Trade Group as Rocket Lab Moves to Buy Iridium

Four Satellite Operators Form NGSO Trade Group as Rocket Lab Moves to Buy Iridium

Amazon, Iridium, Globalstar and Telesat launched the SpaceConnect Association in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2026, creating a new international trade body for the non-geostationary orbit satellite sector. The group will advocate globally for regulatory frameworks, market access and spectrum allocations specific to NGSO architectures. The launch coincides

SpaceX Alumni Launch Eclipse Space to Build Sovereign Megaconstellations

SpaceX Alumni Launch Eclipse Space to Build Sovereign Megaconstellations

REDMOND, WASHINGTON – Eclipse Space, a startup founded by a group of former SpaceX employees, emerged from stealth mode last week, with a plan to make constellation ownership possible for sovereign governments and enterprises. The company aims to offer customers satellite networks built to their own requirements rather than relying on