{{First_Name|Explorer}}, welcome back!🚀

Every week, for the last few weeks, we have had an article, a report or a paper about how private megaconstellation projects or launches are destined to ruin the night and/or pollute the environment - this week is no different. Thanks for joining us this week.

⚠️Quick note regarding our last email: If you tried clicking any of the links in the previous issue (Issue 112) and hit a wall, apologies! A temporary coding glitch on the beehiiv platform (that’s the service I’m using to send out the emails) prevented links from opening properly. The problem is now fixed and starting with this issue, the links should lead to intended websites.

Hope you enjoy this Space!

A researcher is expanding the search for extraterrestrial life beyond biosignatures and technosignatures to include “noosignatures,” indicators of non‑technological intelligence. Astrobiologist Julia DeMarines is applying Assembly Theory to identify complex imprints of mind on matter, arguing that artifacts such as early bread production reflect cognitive development long before radio technology.

DeMarines is developing noosemiotics, a proposed framework for detecting pre‑technological intelligence by identifying how a mind leaves traces on matter. It can be described as the search for signatures of cognition that appear before radio or advanced tools, drawing on the concept of the noosphere, which is a planetary sphere of thought originating from the Greek nous and later developed by Vladimir Vernadsky and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

Noosignatures could include atmospheric changes from ancient agriculture, such as nitrogen disequilibrium produced thousands of years before industrialization. The concept also addresses intelligent species that never develop technology, suggesting their influence on planetary systems might still be detectable. Current work focuses on defining measurable thresholds rather than remote detectability, with future studies exploring noosignatures around red‑dwarf planets and tidally heated worlds. DeMarines’ paper is available on the open‑access arXiv repository.

28 July, 2026

China’s Chang’e‑8 mission, slated for 2029, will carry Africa’s first lunar science experiment: the Africa2Moon low‑frequency radio telescope array designed and built across multiple African institutions. The project will deploy three spherical BALLS (Bounced African Low Lunar Spheres) antennas at the lunar south pole, a region reaching below –200°C and targeted for future research bases. Selected by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in 2025, the array will conduct below‑20‑MHz observations inaccessible from Earth due to ionospheric distortion and could become the first fully successful lunar surface radio astronomy experiment.

Led by the Foundation for Space Development Africa with support from SANSA (South African National Space Agency), SARAO (South African Radio Astronomy Observatory) and universities across the continent, hardware was manufactured and assembled in 2026 for delivery to China for testing. The trio will serve as a pathfinder for a planned 55‑antenna far‑side array representing all African nations. Signals will route through the Chang’e‑8 lander to Earth, with future expansion dependent on renewed Chinese partnership.

Engineers have used the Jodrell Bank radio telescope in the U.K. to track high‑altitude space debris as part of the NATO and U.K. Space Agency‑backed Long Baseline Multistatic Radar (LBMR) project, marking the first real‑time radar reception of GEO‑altitude debris with a single radio antenna. The effort targets objects at 36,000 kilometers / 22,500 miles, where conventional radar is ineffective and optical systems miss smaller fragments.

LBMR broadcasts from MIT Lincoln Laboratory, with reflected signals captured by U.K. dishes and processed in real time. Researchers spent seven years synchronizing trans‑Atlantic assets and have now demonstrated distance and velocity measurements for individual debris pieces. The next phase will test multi‑telescope reception to enable full three‑dimensional tracking.

NASA has advanced plans for the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment or CAPSTONE 02, a 2027 mission that will fly two 400‑kilogram / 882-pounds spacecraft in formation in lunar orbit to test rendezvous, proximity operations (RPO) and autonomous navigation in the Moon’s three‑body gravitational environment. Building on the 2022–2026 CAPSTONE demonstration, the mission will validate techniques needed for Orion’s future docking with lunar landers under Artemis and Moon Base. Terran Orbital, the Lockheed Martin owned satellite bus developer, will build the two identical spacecraft, while Advanced Space, the aerospace software company, will lead the cislunar navigation design, operations, and mission execution.

The probes will alternate chaser and target roles while using ground‑based tracking, celestial navigation, optical sensors and an imaging payload from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. CAPSTONE 02 will also serve as a testbed for three NASA navigation software suites, including the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System navigation software, supporting development of scalable cislunar infrastructure and commercial services.

28 July, 2026

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration proposed a rule to waive what it described as “unnecessary” environmental requirements from commercial space launch and reentry licensing, a change industry backs and conservation groups oppose. Announced July 28 and published in the Federal Register July 30, the rule would let the transportation secretary waive requirements from 13 federal laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, and parts of the Clean Water and Clean Air acts, after consulting enforcing agencies and finding them unnecessary to protect public health, safety, property, or national security. It opens a 30-day comment period.

The proposal stems from an August 2025 Trump executive order and cites a unanimous 2025 Supreme Court ruling that narrowed NEPA's scope. The order set a 120-day reporting deadline; the FAA did not explain the nearly year-long delay in publishing the rule. The FAA authorized a record 204 commercial operations in fiscal 2025, more in five years than the prior three decades, and forecasts up to 4,288 over the next decade. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the U.S. can win a second space race only by cutting red tape. The Commercial Space Federation called reviews costly and duplicative; the Center for Biological Diversity said the move guts safeguards to enrich the wealthy.

Sphinx Defense, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, All Points Logistics and K2 Space won Space Force awards for nuclear-comms software, missile-defense launch, national security launch, satellite processing and optical links, while 15 firms including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems joined a $981 million orbital test-and-training program.

27 July, 2026

The U.S. Space Force awarded Sphinx Defense a $287 million Other Transaction Authority agreement July 27 to develop the mission‑planning application for the Evolved Strategic Satellite (ESS) Communications program, the next‑generation system that will replace the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) constellation supporting U.S. nuclear command, control and communications. The software will plan, allocate and manage communications across Boeing‑built ESS satellites, which received a $2.8 billion development award last year.

Space Systems Command said the prototype effort will prepare the ground segment to manage complex global scenarios and provide jam‑resistant, survivable links for national leaders. Sphinx Defense specializes in ground‑system software, including mission planning and network optimization. The award is expected to advance both the satellite and ground segments toward AEHF replacement.

Rocket Lab received a $266 million U.S. Space Force contract for up to 18 suborbital missile‑defense missions, its largest launch award to date, and will establish a new launch site at the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak, Alaska. The agreement, announced July 21 and confirmed July 27, covers 12 launches with options for six more starting no earlier than late 2026.

Missions will primarily use the Electron‑derived HASTE vehicle, which has flown nine times since debuting in 2023 and supports hypersonic and missile‑defense testing. The award expands Rocket Lab’s national‑security launch role alongside existing sites in New Zealand and Virginia. The Pentagon is seeking increased test cadence amid limited infrastructure, while Kodiak continues hosting military suborbital flights and emerging commercial operations.

29 July, 2026

Meanwhile, SpaceX received two U.S. Space Force launch task orders worth $1.6 billion to conduct 18 Falcon 9 missions from Vandenberg Space Force Base through 2027, the largest publicly announced set of awards under National Security Space Launch Phase 3. The launches will support the Space Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which includes the Space Development Agency’s Tracking Layer, the Space Data Network Backbone and the Space‑Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator constellation, which are all programs for which SpaceX is also building major satellite systems under earlier multibillion‑dollar contracts.

The award follows the Space Force’s decision to raise the Phase 3 Lane 1 ceiling to $17 billion and will require roughly monthly launches, highlighting SpaceX’s unique ability among seven eligible providers to sustain that cadence.

The U.S. Space Force on July 29 awarded All Points Logistics a $250 million contract to expand satellite processing capacity at Vandenberg Space Force Base by 2029, the largest award to date under the service’s Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) initiative. The company will design and build a commercially owned processing center in Vandenberg’s Mission Development Zone, adding high and low‑bay areas, dual encapsulation bays, hazardous‑fueling capability, secure mission spaces, conditioned storage and advanced monitoring systems.

The investment follows earlier CSO awards of $77.5 million to Astrotech and $78.25 million to Blue Origin as the Space Force seeks additional infrastructure to support growing military and commercial launch demand. Vandenberg remains the primary U.S. site for polar‑orbit missions, where limited processing access has become a bottleneck.

31 July, 2026

Separately, the Space Force on July 30 selected 15 companies for NITE‑STAR, a six‑year, $981 million contracting vehicle to develop satellites, sensors and ground systems for the National Space Test and Training Complex. The indefinite‑delivery, indefinite‑quantity program will issue task orders through 2032 for capabilities that replicate adversary behavior in orbit and simulate cyberattacks, jamming and other threats.

Vendors include Amentum, BAE Systems, Boeing, CACI, Firefly Aerospace, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pacific Crest Alliance, Parsons, Redwire, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Viasat and York Space Systems. The effort supports the Space Force’s push for “live, virtual, constructive” training environments to replace classroom instruction and aging range systems, enabling realistic exercises without risking operational satellites.

The U.S. Space Force on July 31 also awarded K2 Space a $22.9 million contract to demonstrate laser terminals capable of transmitting data directly between satellites. K2 will procure, integrate, launch and operate two Enterprise Space Terminals as hosted payloads on separate company‑built satellites, with the flight test scheduled to conclude by 2028.

The award does not specify which vendor will supply the terminals; CACI, General Atomics and Viasat are Phase 3 suppliers under the broader Enterprise Space Terminal program. The demonstration is funded by the Space‑Based Sensing and Targeting portfolio, which oversees optical‑link architectures and missile‑warning data transport. K2 was selected through the FreeSol Broad Agency Announcement and previously joined the Pentagon’s OPIR Space Modernization Initiative.

This development comes at the heel of K2 Space raising $500 million in a Series D round announced July 30, valuing the Torrance‑based manufacturer at $6.8 billion as it scales production toward building up to 100 large satellites annually. The company now reports more than $1 billion in signed commercial and government contracts and over $1 billion in total capital raised. K2 is developing Mega‑class and Giga‑class platforms capable of carrying multi‑ton payloads and generating tens to 100 kilowatts of power, with the first Giga spacecraft planned for 2028.

Its Gravitas Mega‑class satellite, launched in March under a STRATFI agreement, is demonstrating high‑power electric propulsion. K2 is supplying platforms for SES, Anduril’s Golden Dome interceptor effort and the Space Force’s Protected Tactical Satcom‑Global program. Its next mission, Trinity, is slated for 2027.

31 July, 2026

Spain will invest €1.6 to €2 billion / $1.8 to $2.3 billion to develop a national multi‑orbit military satellite communications constellation that could integrate with the European Union’s planned IRIS² system, the government announced July 29. The funding will cover the space segment, ground control infrastructure and lifetime operations, forming part of 15 new special modernization programs for 2026 and a National LEO Capability effort in 2027.

Spain’s commitment follows Poland’s recent pledge of 2.8 billion złoty to build six MEO and six LEO satellites and a gateway station for IRIS². The €10.6 billion IRIS² program is planned to include 292 satellites across multiple orbits and reach full operational capacity by 2030. Spanish officials highlighted industrial growth and rising space‑sector employment.

31 July, 2026

The Space Force Association demonstrated the first prototype of the National Spacepower Center (NSpC) on July 21 at simulator firm Sedaro's Arlington, Virginia, offices, an industry-backed, unclassified simulation environment meant to make orbital military operations comprehensible to lawmakers and the public, and help them visualize military operations in orbit. The unclassified system integrates orbital tracking data, spacecraft engineering models, command‑and‑control software and immersive displays to depict how satellites maneuver and how adversaries could interfere with missile‑warning and tracking systems.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman and his expected successor, Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess, watched a "space dogfighting" scenario in which an adversary spacecraft in a highly elliptical orbit maneuvered toward and jammed a U.S. missile-tracking satellite supporting a South China Sea operation, before a friendly satellite intercepted it.

The prototype compresses maneuvers that unfold over hours or days while preserving orbital physics. Five consortium members built it in under four months using internal funds: COMSPOC supplied tracking data and maneuver analysis, Sedaro the simulation platform, Redwire spacecraft engineering models, OpenC3 command-and-control software, and TigerVision the curved 4K display. Chief executive Damon Feltman said the idea grew from a conversation with Saltzman over a year ago. The center has no permanent location, sustained funding, or disclosed Space Force sponsorship; the association hopes the service eventually adopts it. Organizers, wary of appearing to lobby for budgets, cast the effort as educational. Officials discussed applications in training, mission analysis, experimentation and acquisition. The association is seeking additional participants.

27 July, 2026

ORBES, a California startup developing robotic spacecraft for in‑orbit servicing, has unveiled Exo‑ORB, a 12U, sub‑26‑kilogram free‑flying inspection satellite designed to operate 10 to 20 meters from host spacecraft. The vehicle will use cold‑gas thrusters, iodine propulsion and reaction wheels for collision avoidance, GNC (Guidance, Navigation, and Control) and close‑range maneuvering. The company eventually plans to add robotic arms and passive sensors for environmental monitoring, repairs and component replacement.

Founded in 2024, ORBES also builds ORB, an internal free‑flying robot, designed with astronaut input, intended to work inside pressurized stations, with an ISS validation mission planned for early 2027. The company announced its first commercial agreement, a letter of intent with Symphony Space to fly Exo‑ORB on the Adagio platform’s demonstration mission in late 2027 or early 2028. Symphony Space, the "Space-as-a-Service" provider, was established in 2025 and expects to build autonomous space stations and reusable orbital infrastructure. It also intends to fly Exo‑ORB on Prelude, its full‑scale uncrewed station slated for launch in 2029.

ORBES is also pursuing an Exo‑ORB mission with the U.S. Space Force and plans upgraded servicing variants beginning in 2028.

27 July, 2026

Intel is preparing to enter the market for satellite processors with Starfire, a space-grade system-on-chip the company expects to make available to customers by year's end. The internally funded chip adapts commercial architecture for orbit, combining CPU, graphics, neural and image processing to run onboard AI workloads such as image analytics, object detection, sensor fusion, alongside routine functions like telemetry and command sequencing. Intel will sell two variants: a sub-10-watt model for spacecraft with tight power budgets, where every added component draws power and adds heat and mass, and a higher-performance version trading efficiency for capability. Starfire runs Ubuntu Linux on Intel's x86-based chip, as a way to ease development, since engineers already know the tools and can port compatible software, though flight code still requires qualification.

Radiation testing should conclude before the end of the third quarter, and Intel is discussing an experimental flight with U.S. agencies this year. Components sourced partly overseas will be assembled, screened and qualified domestically, amid Washington's push to expand U.S. chip manufacturing. including an $8.9 billion federal stake in Intel. Starfire enters a field that includes competition such as BAE Systems, Microchip, AMD and European suppliers.

27 July, 2026

Xingchen Daohe, a Beijing startup founded in 2024, raised nearly 100 million yuan / $14.8 million to develop its Guanlan space‑situational‑awareness constellation, adding momentum to China’s expanding commercial SSA sector. The funding round included Beihang Tianhui, multiple venture firms and state‑linked Changsha Chengfa, and the company will relocate to Beijing’s “Satellite Town.” The constellation is designed to support collision avoidance, orbit planning and space‑traffic management for both civil and military satellites.

The move follows intensified SSA activity across 2025–2026, including Geovis Insighter’s planned 156‑satellite constellation, Kaiyun United’s Spacemapper catalog and 108‑satellite network, Qingbo Kongtian’s debris‑warning software and 2026 test satellite, and Aotian Technology’s July 24 launch of Gande‑1, China’s first dedicated commercial debris‑monitoring satellite. These developments align with China’s goal to localize two‑line‑element tracking data by 2028 and SSA priorities in the 15th Five‑Year Plan.

29 July, 2026

ispace, the Japanese lunar exploration and robotics company, has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H3 rocket to launch Mission 3 in 2028, establishing what the companies described as Japan’s first privately led lunar transportation system. The mission will debut ispace’s new Ultra lander, marking the first time a Japanese startup flies a payload on H3 after earlier Falcon 9 launches in 2022 and 2025. H3 has launched eight times with two failures, including one in December 2025, before returning to flight in a new configuration.

Executives said that the agreement is part of larger plans to build domestic lunar infrastructure, citing the rocket’s capacity, loading flexibility and confirmed compatibility with the lander. ispace acknowledged H3’s mixed reliability record but noted its recent return to flight. Days earlier, ispace‑Europe secured a €65 million ESA Phase 2 contract for the MAGPIE rover, slated to fly on Mission 4 in 2029 to study regolith and potential water‑ice deposits at the lunar south pole.

29 July, 2026

U.S.-based Fortastra, the orbital defense and on-orbit security company, and manufacturing firm Hadrian signed a memorandum of understanding July 29 to apply precision subtractive and additive manufacturing to Fortastra’s satellite programs aimed at defending on‑orbit infrastructure. Under the agreement, Hadrian will join design reviews of Fortastra satellite buses, conduct manufacturability and feasibility assessments, identify risks and develop manufacturing roadmaps, while Fortastra provides expertise in qualifying hardware for space environments.

The partnership is intended to reduce cost and mass, accelerate production and improve structural performance for national security missions. Hadrian, which is building autonomous factories for aerospace and defense, recently established an additive manufacturing division and added senior leadership, including former Robinhood chief security officer Caleb Sima and former Voyager strategy chief Wallis Laughrey.

The national security agreement is also directly tied to supply-chain sovereignty, national security, and a broader push to re-industrialize the U.S. to counter China’s manufacturing dominance.

30 July, 2026

Sophia Space and Caltech received a U.S. patent July 14 for a modular, passively cooled architecture for large space‑based data centers, drawing on earlier Caltech’s Space-based Solar Power Project (SSPP), and JPL work in space‑solar‑power deployable structures. The design uses solar energy for computing and radiates waste heat into deep space, enabling scalable on‑orbit processing.

The patent lists seven inventors from JPL, Caltech and Sophia Space. Sophia Space, founded in 2023 and backed by $22 million, plans to launch its first TILE (Thermal Integrated LEO Edge) compute module in 2027 on an Apex Nova bus and is raising additional funding. The company also signed a new sponsored research agreement with Caltech to advance lightweight deployable structures and thermal‑management technologies for future orbiting data‑center systems.

Despatch Out. 👽🛸