Launch vehicles, satellite connectivity, earth observation, orbital infrastructure
Astrobotic's Griffin-1 clears integration, targets Q4 lunar landing
Astrobotic unveiled its fully integrated Griffin-1 lunar lander June 15, positioned as NASA's 'infrastructure-class' cargo workhorse for Moon Base with a 625 kg payload capacity and Q4 2026 Falcon Heavy launch.
NASA Opens Commercial Satellite Data Pipeline to 14 Vendors
NASA expanded its commercial Earth observation procurement to 14 companies across the CSDA On-Ramp 2 contract, structuring long-term federal demand for private satellite data through 2028.
Canada splits C$2.4M ground-segment contracts among three competitors
Canada awarded concept-study contracts to MDA Space, Calian, and Kepler for its next-generation RADARSAT+ ground infrastructure, signaling a competitive down-select before full program spend.
SpaceX goes public as Falcon 9 hits 662 launches, reshaping sector capital
SpaceX listed on Nasdaq June 12, 2026, becoming the first publicly traded vertically integrated launch operator, while simultaneously flying a Falcon 9 mission and executing 69 launches year-to-date.
Pentagon picks Viasat, Intelsat to build military SATCOM swarm
U.S. Space Force awards $437.7M to Viasat and Intelsat for first production mini-GEO satellites, signaling shift from monolithic AEHF constellation to proliferated commercial architecture.
LandSpace's Zhuque-2E Block 2 launches twice in 30 days, China's D2C race accelerates
LandSpace's methane-fueled medium-lift rocket flew its second consecutive Block 2 mission June 9, carrying competing direct-to-cell broadband satellites from China Mobile and SpaceSail, signaling the country's commercial space consolidation around methalox launch infrastructure.
Rocket Lab launches hypersonic test mission for DoD
Rocket Lab flies an Electron-family rocket on a classified military hypersonic test for the Defense Department, cementing its position as the primary small-rocket provider for suborbital DoD missions.
Ariane 6 flies upgraded booster for first time on June 17
Ariane 6's next mission introduces the P160C Block 2 solid rocket booster, adding 2 tonnes of LEO payload capacity and serving as template for 16 of 18 Amazon Leo launches.
SpaceX booster hits 35 flights, shatters reuse record
Falcon 9 booster B1067 completed its 35th orbital flight today, becoming the first rocket booster ever to reach that reuse milestone and validating SpaceX's durability engineering.
Japan's H3 launches zero-booster variant June 10, testing cost-cut path
JAXA's H3-30 maiden flight on June 10 flies without solid rocket boosters for the first time, targeting $50M per launch and reshaping Asia-Pacific competitiveness after December's failure.
Mach breaks the SRM duopoly with $300M and an acquisition
Mach Industries acquires solid rocket motor maker Exquadrum and raises $300M Series C, ending a 30-year two-supplier monopoly that has starved U.S. launch and defense programs of propulsion capacity.
NISAR releases fully calibrated global SAR data, undercutting commercial radar market
NASA-ISRO's NISAR mission released dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar data covering every landmass on Earth every 12 days at 5–10 m resolution, free and open access, directly competing with commercial SAR vendors at medium resolution.
FCC moves to treat Starlink as substitute for fiber in $4.5B rural subsidy
The FCC's May 20 NPRM proposes treating LEO satellite broadband as a sufficient substitute for terrestrial infrastructure in the High-Cost program, potentially redirecting billions in federal subsidies away from fiber and fixed-wireless providers.
Isar Aerospace plants European small-lift on North American soil
Isar Aerospace signed a letter of intent with Canadian spaceport operator Maritime Launch Services to launch its Spectrum vehicle from Nova Scotia, extending Europe's emerging commercial mid-lift to a second continent.
Atlas 5 launches 29 Amazon satellites as New Glenn stays grounded
ULA's Atlas 5 delivered 29 Amazon Leo satellites on May 29, the same day New Glenn exploded, forcing Amazon to rely on four other launch providers to meet a July 30 FCC deadline for 1,618 satellites.
Telenor IoT, Sateliot validate standard NB-IoT over LEO satellites
Telenor IoT and Sateliot completed field tests confirming standard NB-IoT SIM cards work on LEO satellites using 3GPP Rel-17, signaling the first major MNO ecosystem entry into standards-based satellite IoT.
Blue Origin's New Glenn explodes on pad, freezes Amazon's $1.8B contract
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket destroyed in a static fire test at Cape Canaveral on May 28, freezing Amazon's 24-mission Leo constellation deployment and threatening the shared BE-4 engine supply to United Launch Alliance's Vulcan.
Japan clears stripped-down H3 rocket for first flight in June
JAXA greenlights the H3-30 variant for June 10 launch, a three-engine configuration without solid boosters that positions Japan to compete in the low-cost medium-lift segment.
Space Force Fast-Tracks GEO Refueling, Names Four Contractors for 2027 Demo
Space Force publicly named its end-to-end GEO refueling architecture with Astroscale, Orbit Fab, Starfish Space, and Tetra 5, targeting early 2027 launch on Vulcan and explicit operationalization of both vehicles for paying customers.
Starship V3 scrubs on pad mechanics, targets second attempt today
SpaceX's first V3 launch attempt failed due to a hydraulic pin on new Pad 2; Flight 12 reattempts May 22 with redesigned Raptor 3 engines and new Ship architecture.
Avio launches Vega-C solo, reshaping Europe's small-lift market
Avio's first independent launch of Vega-C succeeded May 19, displacing Arianespace and validating Europe's only domestic small-to-mid-lift option against Falcon 9 rideshare competition.
Isar Aerospace targets May launch after four delays
Europe's first private orbital rocket is in active launch window at Andøya after COPV repair; qualification flight carries five CubeSats and defines European commercial spaceflight viability.
Starship V3 launches May 21 with new engines, new pad, new propulsion guts
SpaceX's Starship Flight 12 targets May 21 with Block 3 vehicles, Raptor 3 engines, and orbital Pad 2 debut, the first flight of a clean-sheet upper-stage propulsion system designed for off-Earth refueling.
Sateliot proves satellite IoT handoff with Turkcell in real network test
Sateliot and Turkcell completed a live field demo of seamless 5G NB-IoT satellite-to-cellular handoff in Türkiye, validating the first standards-based LEO constellation designed for unmodified commercial IoT devices.
ULA stacks first Vulcan in new facility as SRB test clears grounding hurdle
ULA hoisted its first Vulcan booster into a newly completed integration facility and confirmed a critical solid rocket booster test passed, signaling technical progress toward resuming NSSL missions grounded since February.
FCC Abolishes 30-Year Spectrum Cap, Clears SpaceX $17B D2D Network
FCC approved SpaceX's $17B EchoStar spectrum buy and replaced decades-old EPFD limits with performance rules, enabling commercial smartphone-to-satellite messaging by late 2026.
Firefly's Alpha Block II Clears Engine Test, Eyes Summer Debut
Firefly Aerospace confirms Alpha Block II engine qualification complete with L3Harris as first customer, positioning the upgraded rocket for summer 2026 launch in NSSL Phase 3 competition.
Cowboy Space raises $275M to build its own heavy-lift rocket
A space data center startup closes $275M Series B to develop dedicated launch vehicle and engine, targeting 2028 first launch as SpaceX and Blue Origin struggle with commercial availability.
NASA fires 120-kW thruster, setting U.S. electric propulsion record
NASA's JPL tested a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic thruster at 120 kilowatts, the highest power electric propulsion system ever fired in the U.S., advancing deep-space mission architecture.
Anduril quietly built hypersonics. Now it's testing them for real.
Anduril Industries is contracting Rocket Lab for three $30M hypersonic test flights with its own capital, confirming a private defense tech firm is now funding independent hypersonic R&D outside government programs.