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A lot of firsts this week in Science and Research along with new funding surge in Space Commerce. Having trouble with links? Click the link below to read the unclipped publication. ↓

Hope you enjoy this Space!

10 May, 2026

ESA and JAXA signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on May 7 to expand joint planetary‑defense activities, including a dedicated agreement to collaborate on ESA’s Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses). The signing, held at the Italian Embassy in Berlin, follows a 2024 commitment to deepen large‑scale cooperation and comes as ESA prepares OHB Italia to lead spacecraft development.

Ramses will launch in 2028 to rendezvous with the 375‑meter‑wide asteroid Apophis ahead of its unusually close 32,000‑kilometer Earth flyby in April 2029. The mission will track how Earth’s gravity alters the asteroid’s shape, surface, and motion, providing before‑and‑after measurements relevant to future deflection strategies. JAXA will supply lightweight solar arrays, an infrared imager, and H3 rocket launch services.

The agreement builds on ongoing ESA‑JAXA partnerships, including Hera, EarthCARE, and BepiColombo, and aligns with ESA’s broader Space Safety program, which oversees Near-Earth-Observation monitoring and mitigation technology development. Although it poses no impact risk, the flyby is extremely rare, occurring only once every 5,000–10,000 years for an object of this size. Visible to the naked eye for up to two billion people, it offers an exceptional opportunity for science and public outreach.

10 May, 2026

ESA completed a series of high‑velocity tests of a scaled ExoMars landing module as the agency prepares the Rosalind Franklin rover for a 2028 launch to Mars. Engineers fired 20 miniature, 8‑centimeter‑wide replicas of the Entry, Descent and Landing Module (EDLM) from a smooth‑bore gun at more than 4,300 kph, replicating the supersonic aerodynamics a full‑scale capsule will encounter during Mars atmospheric entry.

Each model endured nearly 17,000 g-force of acceleration and carried magnetometers, accelerometers and radar to record movement, trajectory and stability over a 230‑meter / 755-feet flight lasting about half a second. The campaign, conducted at the French‑German Research Institute of Saint‑Louis, provided data on capsule behavior during the most dynamic phase of descent.

The full‑size 3.8‑meter module will approach Mars at roughly 21,000 kph, relying on heat shields, parachutes and retrorockets to deliver the rover to the surface to search for signs of ancient life.

11 May, 2026

Astronomers have produced the largest, most detailed map of the universe’s cosmic web to date, completing James Webb Space Telescope’s largest survey and tracing large‑scale structure back to when the universe was roughly 1 billion years old. The COSMOS‑Web program charts the filaments, clusters and voids of dark matter and gas that define the universe’s underlying architecture and guide galaxy formation.

The survey, the most extensive conducted with Webb, spans structures extending more than 13 billion light‑years and offers resolution surpassing earlier Hubble observations of the same region. Researchers report that features previously blurred or merged now separate into distinct components, revealing early‑era filaments and galaxy groupings that were effectively inaccessible before 2022.

The team attributes the improvement to Webb’s ability to detect far fainter galaxies and measure their distances with higher precision, allowing scientists to place each system in the correct epoch and sharpen large‑scale structure maps. The results, published May 6 in The Astrophysical Journal, enable direct comparisons of galaxy evolution across cosmic time, from early formation environments to structures within about 1 billion light‑years of the Milky Way.

12 May, 2026

A new study in Science Advances finds that wildfire‑driven ground‑level ozone is causing thousands of deaths annually in the United States, adding a significant but previously under‑measured health burden alongside particulate pollution. Using nearly two decades of satellite observations, meteorological data and ozone measurements, researchers identified strong regional impacts in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Florida. They estimate that wildfire‑derived ozone now contributes an average of 2,045 excess deaths per year, about 16% of all mortality linked to wildfire smoke, with annual deaths rising from roughly 100 in 2006 to nearly 10,000 in 2023.

Researchers have long focused on PM2.5, i.e., particulate matter or tiny particles of ash, dust, and carbon less than 2.5 microns wide, when assessing the health risks of wildfire smoke, since these particles are known to worsen heart and lung conditions and directly damage respiratory tissue. But wildfires also generate other hazardous pollutants, including ground‑level ozone, a major component of smog. Unlike PM2.5, which is emitted directly by burning material, ozone forms later when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react with sunlight. Both pollutants can harm the lungs and cardiovascular system, but they arise through different processes, meaning high‑ozone days do not always coincide with high‑PM2.5 days.

The findings indicate that smoke‑generated ozone is eroding gains made under Clean Air Act regulations, even as overall ozone‑related deaths have declined. The study showed additional uncertainties from other fire‑released pollutants, including heavy metals and hydrocarbons. Researchers warn that proposed federal cuts to NASA and NOAA climate‑monitoring programs could hinder future assessments of wildfire‑related health risks.

13 May, 2026

The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and ESA are preparing to launch the joint Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) mission on May 19, marking the first time the two sides have co‑designed, built, launched and operated a spacecraft together. The 2,200‑kilogram observatory (with 1,500 kg of propellant) will lift off on a Vega‑C rocket from Kourou in French Guiana and maneuver into a highly elliptical, 70 degree inclined, 121,000‑kilometer apogee orbit to provide global X‑ray and ultraviolet imaging of Earth’s magnetosphere.

Selected in 2015, SMILE will spend roughly 40 hours of each two‑day orbit observing how solar wind and coronal mass ejections reshape the Sun‑facing boundary of the magnetosphere and drive effects in the ionosphere. Its payload includes a wide‑field soft X‑ray imager with lobster‑eye optics, an ultraviolet imager, an ion analyzer and a magnetometer.

A major geomagnetic storm in 1989 temporarily collapsed Quebec’s power grid, while the far stronger 1859 Carrington Event produced worldwide auroras and disrupted telegraph systems. Scientists warn that a storm of similar magnitude today could threaten satellites, astronauts and modern electrical infrastructure without adequate early warning. The mission intends to study what happens when such solar storms meet the Earth’s magnetic shield, how to predict their occurrence and what causes glitches on the dark side of the Earth.

The mission follows delays tied to export‑control changes, COVID‑19 and a recent Vega‑C subsystem issue. ESA is supplying the launch and payload module, while CAS provides three instruments and mission operations.

13 May, 2026

NASA has launched the Solar Neutrino Astro‑Particle PhYsics CubeSat (SNAPPY), the first space‑based neutrino detector, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission on May 3 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. A two‑year technology demonstration aimed at enabling future solar‑proximal neutrino science, the 3U CubeSat carries a gallium‑ and tungsten‑crystal detector designed at Wichita State University to test whether neutrino interactions can be reliably measured in orbit, where background signals differ from those in terrestrial, deep‑underground observatories.

Neutrinos matter because they carry information from the core of stars, supernovae and other extreme environments that no other particle can escape, giving us a direct probe of otherwise hidden physics. Detecting more of them helps scientists understand how the universe evolves, how fundamental forces work and what processes power the most energetic events in nature.

SNAPPY will operate in a 500‑kilometer polar orbit for roughly two years, collecting data to determine how well the instrument can distinguish true neutrino interactions from background signals. Tens of trillions of neutrinos pass through Earth each second, but their weak interactions normally require massive detectors such as China’s Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory or the IceCube array in Antarctica.

Developed through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts program, the project aims to validate technology for a future mission that could place a detector closer to the Sun, where neutrino flux is up to 1,000 times higher than at Earth. The effort involves NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, JPL, and multiple universities, with 36 students contributing to detector electronics, software and integration.

13 May, 2026

A new study in Nature Astronomy proposes a new method for distinguishing biological from abiotic chemistry by analyzing how molecular families are organized rather than relying on individual biosignatures. Findings report that statistical patterns in organic molecules may offer a more reliable biosignature for planetary missions than identifying specific compounds alone. Researchers analyzed roughly 100 datasets of amino acids and fatty acids from biological, geological, meteoritic and synthetic samples, finding that living systems consistently produce amino acids with higher diversity and more even distributions than abiotic chemistry, while nonliving processes generate more uniformly distributed fatty acids. The team adapted biodiversity metrics commonly used in ecology to distinguish biological from nonbiological material and found that the organizational trends persist even in highly degraded samples, including fossilized dinosaur eggs.

Because the approach relies on statistical organization rather than specialized instruments, the authors say it could be applied to data from current and upcoming missions to Mars, Europa and Enceladus. However, they caution that the technique currently applies only to amino and fatty acids and requires broad molecular inventories, limiting its use for exoplanet atmospheres such as K2‑18b. The approach may be more applicable within the solar system.

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, arriving in 2031, could use its Surface Dust Analyzer to assess organic abundance ratios in Europa’s ice grains and evaluate whether detected molecular families resemble biological or abiotic organization.

12 May, 2026

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published a report on May 12 estimating that a national missile defense system modeled on President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome executive order would cost about $1.2 trillion over 20 years, far exceeding the Pentagon’s public figure of roughly $185 billion. The largest cost driver is a proposed space‑based interceptor constellation, which CBO projects would total $743 billion and require 7,800 satellites in low Earth orbit to engage a 10‑missile intercontinental ballistic missile raid during boost phase. Maintaining that capability would require about 30,000 satellites over two decades because of orbital decay at 300 to 500 kilometers.

Shedding light on the ongoing disconnects between Congress and the administration over program scope, CBO said the Defense Department has not released a detailed architecture, forcing the agency to model a notional system based on the 2025 executive order. CBO concluded that space‑based interceptors would account for 70% of acquisition costs and 60% of total system costs, and that even the modeled system could be overwhelmed by a large‑scale Chinese or Russian attack. Removing the orbital layer would reduce the 20‑year estimate to $448 billion.

Independent analyst Todd Harrison of the American Enterprise Institute said the findings align with his own assessments, arguing that an operational SBI constellation is unlikely. He noted the modeled system’s capacity roughly matches North Korea’s estimated ICBM inventory and said the Pentagon appears to be working within a fixed $185 billion ceiling rather than the executive order’s ambitions. Harrison said the cost per kill for SBIs, i.e., 10 intercepts for $743 billion, is “ridiculously high,” suggesting the layer will remain limited to prototyping. CBO identified lower‑cost alternatives, including $15 billion ground‑based interceptor fields consisting of 60 midcourse interceptors (costing about $410 million annually to maintain) and a $90 billion missile‑tracking satellite layer likely required under any architecture.

14 May, 2026

Responding to the report, Gen. Michael Guetlein on May 14 rejected the estimate, saying that the analysis relies on outdated assumptions and does not reflect the architecture under development. Speaking at the “Inside the Dome” conference, he said CBO extrapolated legacy systems rather than emerging commercial manufacturing and launch models.

Guetlein said affordability remains the decisive issue and noted the Space Force has signed 20 OTA agreements with 12 companies to prototype interceptors. He said the Pentagon has disclosed little publicly for security reasons and is targeting an operational capability by summer 2028. Republican lawmakers also criticized CBO, alleging the estimate mischaracterizes the program.

Funding would support TrustPoint’s C‑band, GNSS‑independent, PNT constellation and Northrop Grumman's GEO prototype testing anti‑jamming and cyber‑resilient communications.

12 May, 2026

SpaceWERX awarded TrustPoint (commercial satellite navigation system developer) a $4 million Tactical Funding Increase or TACFI contract to support an end‑to‑end demonstration of a GPS‑independent positioning, navigation and timing service. The award, fully funded by SpaceWERX without a private‑capital match, will cover four Low Earth Orbit satellites operating in C‑band and four U.S. ground stations. A TACFI is a Space Force mechanism that provides follow‑on funding to mature SBIR technologies for operational use.

TrustPoint, which has flown three single‑satellite tech demos, said the new satellites will validate the full system and are targeted for launch in the first half of 2027. The company plans to use commercial microsatellite buses with in‑house payloads and low‑cost ground terminals roughly the size of a microwave.

The TACFI, jointly funded through SBIR and the Commercial Space Office, aligns with the Space Force’s interest in resilient, GNSS‑independent PNT. TrustPoint said the effort demonstrates government demand for alternative PNT architectures deployable at lower cost than traditional systems.

15 May, 2026

Separately, the U.S. Space Force also awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract to build an Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications‑Prototype (Enhanced PTS-P), a GEOStar‑3 satellite bus-based spacecraft intended to demonstrate anti‑jamming and cyber‑resilient technologies for contested environments. The satellite is slated to launch no earlier than 2030.

The program will test an encrypted communications technology called Protected Tactical Waveform, which uses rapid frequency hopping, encryption and advanced coding to maintain connectivity under electronic attack. Demonstrations will assess in‑orbit performance and integration with ground systems and user terminals.

Northrop previously completed PTS design reviews in 2021, while Boeing developed a hosted PTS‑P payload for two upcoming Wideband Global Satcom satellites.

The effort follows the Space Force’s 2025 decision to cancel a planned $2.4 billion protected tactical constellation and shift to a multi‑phase prototype strategy, including both free‑flyer and hosted payload demonstrations to support operational testing and early use.

11 May, 2026

Northrop Grumman has introduced the LR‑450, a compact navigation unit derived from technologies used on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, as spacecraft operators face weakening GPS coverage beyond Earth orbit. The system enables satellites to determine position, motion and orientation without external signals, addressing navigation needs for lunar missions, military spacecraft and deep‑space probes.

The LR‑450 “a compact and cost-effective space navigation system” incorporates a milli-hemispherical resonating gyroscope (mHRGs), a high‑precision sensor historically used in strategic missiles, submarines and high‑end spacecraft. Northrop said it reduced size, weight and power requirements to under 10 pounds and 15 watts, packaging the technology into a modular unit suitable for mid‑size satellites, .

The company said the LR‑450 can support guidance, control and complementary positioning, continuous navigation and timing architectures intended to reduce reliance on GPS. The design follows Northrop’s 400‑series gyro lineage and is intended for integration across multiple spacecraft platforms without redesigns.

11 May, 2026

Polish space tech startup, Creotech Instruments announced plans to raise $118 million to build a new satellite production facility in Poland by 2029, part of a long‑term strategy to expand annual manufacturing capacity from 10 to about 40 satellites. CEO Grzegorz Brona said the company reached 146 million złoty ($40.4 million) in space‑sector revenue last year and achieved net profitability for the first time. Creotech is seeking to address an order backlog of roughly 600 million złoty, including prime‑contractor roles on the Polish military’s Mikroglob Earth-observation microsatellite program and the government‑funded CAMILA constellation effort.

The €52 million / $61 million) CAMILA program includes a 2028 launch of the 150‑kilogram Seagull synthetic‑aperture‑radar minisatellite platform. Creotech plans to introduce the larger SWAN platform in 2029 and the 500‑kilogram‑class EMU platform in 2032. The company’s portfolio also includes Kestrel nanosatellites and Eagle microsatellites. Creotech is part of a regional consortium developing a hybrid Earth‑observation constellation for the Three Seas region spanning the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas.

Silicon Valley startup, Cowboy Space Corp., formerly Aetherflux, raised $275 million in a Series B round led by Index Ventures to accelerate deployment of its planned “Stampede” constellation of solar‑powered orbital AI data centers. The company said the funding will support development of a homegrown rocket whose upper stage doubles as a 1‑megawatt on‑orbit compute hub, part of a vertically integrated strategy that includes in‑house manufacturing and dedicated launch sites. Cowboy cited long terrestrial grid‑connection timelines and rising AI demand as drivers for shifting compute infrastructure to space.

The funding announcement was followed by a filing with the Federal Communications Commission for a 20,000‑satellite Stampede orbital data‑center constellation. The company said the low Earth orbit network would operate in dawn‑dusk sun‑synchronous orbits between 700–1,000 kilometers, using continuous solar power to avoid land, water and grid constraints facing terrestrial data centers. The design remains unfinished, and Cowboy expects to modify the license before service.

The startup requested multiple waivers because the system would rely primarily on optical links, including relief from deployment milestones requiring half the constellation in orbit within six years. Stampede is smaller than recent filings from SpaceX, Starcloud and Blue Origin. Cowboy has not yet submitted plans for a separate power‑beaming constellation or its in‑development rockets, which fall under FAA oversight.

Cowboy aims to demonstrate power‑beaming and optical links later this year and a computing payload early next year, ahead of one‑megawatt data‑center launches in 2028. CEO Baiju Bhatt and affiliated entities hold about 65% of voting shares. Founded in 2024 by the Robinhood co‑founder, the company previously raised $50 million and initially focused on space‑based solar power. Its engineering team includes veterans of SpaceX, Astranis, Kuiper and NVIDIA, which is supplying an AI‑focused chip platform. Cowboy plans its first satellite launch later this year to demonstrate space‑to‑Earth power beaming, followed by a 2027 optical‑communications mission and a first rocket launch in 2028.

12 May, 2026

Star Catcher Industries raised $65 million in a Series A round led by B Capital, with Shield Capital and Cerberus Ventures, bringing total funding to $88 million as it prepares for its first in‑space power‑beaming demonstration later this year. The Jacksonville‑based company is developing technology to focus sunlight onto satellite solar arrays to supply supplemental power, following ground tests at a football stadium and the former shuttle runway at Kennedy Space Center. CEO Andrew Rush said the company has also validated acquisition and tracking software on a Loft Orbital satellite in late 2025. The company essentially aims to build satellites that provide on‑demand power in space by transmitting energy to other spacecraft using optical beaming.

Star Catcher has $60 million in signed contracts and $3 billion worth of potential future business spanning commercial and government customers, including operators of orbital data centers, direct‑to‑device networks and synthetic‑aperture‑radar satellites. The company plans a second demonstration mission before scaling operations and expects to expand its 40‑person workforce. New board members include retired Gen. Jay Raymond, Jeff Johnson and David Rothzeid.

15 May, 2026

Beijing-based MinoSpace’s (aka Beijing Weina Star Technology Co., Ltd.,) initial public offering application to Shanghai’s STAR Market was accepted May 11, as the Chinese satellite manufacturer seeks $736 million to fund expansion and deployment of the 112‑satellite Taijing remote‑sensing constellation approved by the NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission). The company plans to add an R&D center, develop next‑generation platforms and build a new SAR payload facility.

Founded in 2017, MinoSpace has launched 32 satellites and operates a Wuxi production line rated at 150 spacecraft per year. It reported $57 million in 2025 revenue and a narrowed $26.6 million net loss, with an order backlog exceeding $147 million, including a $115 million Sichuan constellation contract.

The filing follows eased STAR Market rules enabling more commercial space listings, alongside IPO moves by Changguang Satellite and launch firms such as Landspace, CAS Space, Galactic Energy and Space Pioneer, amid a nationwide surge in satellite manufacturing and launch activity.

12 May, 2026

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved EchoStar’s more than $40 billion sale of wireless spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for both companies’ network expansion plans. AT&T will acquire about 50 megahertz of nationwide spectrum for $23 billion to support its 5G buildout, while SpaceX will purchase roughly 65 megahertz for $17 billion to enhance Starlink’s direct‑to‑device services. The FCC said AT&T’s low‑band spectrum will improve rural coverage and that SpaceX will gain exclusive‑use spectrum for terrestrial, space‑based and hybrid architectures.

As a condition of approval, EchoStar must place $2.4 billion in escrow to cover potential claims tied to Dish’s abandoned 5G network buildout. The agency cited filings from tower companies seeking assurance that obligations would be met. EchoStar said it has already settled with hundreds of vendors but called the escrow requirement unprecedented.

The transactions, expected to fully transfer by late 2027, follow recent FCC actions enabling broader D2D competition, including approvals for AST SpaceMobile. EchoStar expects to receive about $22 billion from the SpaceX deal, including stock and interim financing.

13 May, 2026

Varda Space Industries, the aerospace and life sciences company, signed United Therapeutics as its first commercial pharmaceutical customer for in‑orbit drug crystallization, marking a significant step toward repeatable space‑based manufacturing. The El Segundo‑based startup plans to launch versions of United’s pulmonary‑hypertension drugs early next year to study how microgravity affects crystal formation, following prior demonstrations showing that molecules can take on distinct polymorphs in orbit. Varda has flown six spacecraft since 2023 using SpaceX rideshare missions, splitting missions between drug‑related experiments and U.S. Air Force–funded hypersonic research.

The company’s return capsules conduct experiments in orbit before reentering at hypersonic speeds and landing in Australia. Varda, founded in 2021 by Delian Asparouhov and CEO Will Bruey, aims to establish a commercial path for producing high‑value compounds in space as launch cadence and costs improve. United Therapeutics CEO Martine Rothblatt said the collaboration will test whether microgravity yields new, potentially advantageous crystal forms of its medicines.

14 May, 2026

Private Chinese aerospace company, Landspace returned its Zhuque‑2E methane‑fueled launcher to flight from Jiuquan, successfully placing a 2,800‑kilogram inert test payload into a 900‑kilometer polar orbit. The mission demonstrated high‑mass deployment capability and incorporated upgrades including lengthened first‑stage tanks, full subcooled propellant loading, and a three‑ignition second stage enabling orbital disposal.

The flight was the fourth for the Zhuque‑2E and the first since an August 2025 failure traced to a second‑stage voltage issue. Landspace is preparing a second launch‑and‑recovery attempt of its stainless‑steel Zhuque‑3 and continues pursuing a STAR Market IPO targeting $1 billion for reusable‑rocket development.

Meanwhile, the LandSpace development came after China added 18 satellites to the Qianfan broadband megaconstellation as a Long March 6A launched from Taiyuan on May 12, bringing the network to 144 spacecraft and marking its eighth deployment. Another Qianfan launch is scheduled for May 17 from Hainan, following a Lijian‑1 mission set for May 15. The two missions were China’s 28th and 29th launches of 2026, as the country aims for more than 100 orbital attempts this year.

14 May, 2026

Intuitive Machines, the space exploration and infrastructure company, has agreed to acquire UK-based Goonhilly Earth Station and its U.S. subsidiary Comsat for £37 million / $49.6 million to expand its lunar communications network, adding deep‑space antennas in the U.K. and teleports in Connecticut and California. CEO Steve Altemus said the companies have supported IM‑1 and IM‑2 and will anchor Intuitive’s global ground segment as it prepares to deploy lunar‑orbit relay satellites.

The deal, expected to close in the third quarter pending U.S. and U.K. approvals, adds about $14 million in annual revenue but is positioned to support future growth and ESA contracting.

Altemus said NASA’s revised Artemis plan is creating new opportunities, including the CS‑8 Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order that could select multiple landers. Intuitive Machines said it can produce several landers in parallel using Lanteris Space Systems’ (formerly Maxar Space Systems and acquired by IM) manufacturing capacity.

The company also awaits a decision on its revised Lunar Terrain Vehicle proposal and welcomed NASA’s plan to repurpose the Gateway Power and Propulsion Element, built by Lanteris, for the Space Reactor 1 Freedom mission launching as soon as 2028.

Credit: NASA/Arizona State University

15 May, 2026

Meanwhile, NASA transferred management of two key lunar imaging instruments to Intuitive Machines after their principal investigators and science teams joined the company. Intuitive Machines is now prime contractor for operations of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera on LRO and the ShadowCam instrument on South Korea’s Danuri orbiter (aka Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, KPLO) under three‑year contracts worth $15.5 million and $4.5 million.

Both cameras, originally built by Malin Space Science Systems and previously managed by Arizona State University, will have data archived through Texas A&M as part of NASA’s Planetary Data System.

Intuitive Machines said it will integrate LROC’s extensive imagery, which includes more than 2.6 million Narrow Angle Camera or NAC and 640,000 WAC (Wide Angle Camera) images, into its planned lunar data‑relay constellation, combining the dataset with KinetX (an IM subsidiary) navigation capabilities to support future government and commercial surface and orbital operations. The camera’s more than 1.8 petabytes of acquired data are also being used to plan for the NASA’s Artemis landed missions.

14 May, 2026

AT&T, T‑Mobile and Verizon agreed to form a joint venture to pool spectrum and coordinate standards for satellite‑enabled direct‑to‑device services, aiming to simplify coverage expansion and support multiple space‑based operators. Existing carrier‑satellite agreements with SpaceX, AST SpaceMobile and Skylo will remain in place. The move was welcomed by AST SpaceMobile, which counts AT&T and Verizon as anchor partners. SpaceX, which provides Starlink Mobile service with T‑Mobile, criticized the plan. The JV remains preliminary with no operating structure, financial model or regulatory clarity.

The carriers said the JV will invest jointly in D2D technologies, unify specifications and reduce coverage gaps, while enabling more satellite providers to compete. T‑Mobile CEO Srini Gopalan and Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said the effort will expand options for customers and strengthen U.S. infrastructure.

OQ Technology also backed the proposal, citing rising geopolitical interest in D2D services and plans for its own C‑band demonstration this year. Analysts at NewStreet Research and Raymond James said the JV is likely to act as an intermediary or marketing agent rather than hold licenses, adding that existing D2D agreements have delivered limited customer uptake. They said combining carrier and satellite capabilities could improve service in hard‑to‑reach areas while allowing operators to retain influence over the emerging market.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope directly analyzed the surface of the rocky exoplanet LHS 3844 b for the first time, identifying a dark, airless world with dayside temperatures near 725°C / 340 °F.

JWST watched LHS 3844 b pass behind its star three times in 2023–24. When the planet disappears, the drop in total infrared light isolates the heat coming from the planet’s dayside. The heat emitted during three secondary eclipses allowed researchers to compare the signal with terrestrial and lunar minerals. The data rule out a silica‑rich crust and instead indicate basalt similar to the moon or Mercury.

According to the team of researchers, led by postdoctoral researcher and NASA Sagan Fellow Sebastian Zieba of the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard & Smithsonian and Laura Kreidberg, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Director and study PI, the surface may be either young volcanic rock or heavily weathered material, though no carbon dioxide or sulfur dioxide was detected. The tidally locked planet, 30% bigger than Earth (one rotation takes just as long as one revolution) and discovered in 2019, orbits its red dwarf star every 11 hours. The findings were published May 4 in Nature Astronomy.

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