{{First_Name|Explorer}}, welcome back!🚀
Last week, The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said that US space weapons deployment will spark international arms race in space. All evidence, however, tells us that the arms race has been going on for the better part of this decade. Now is when it has come out of stealth.
Meanwhile, fresh details about U.S. military space strategy from last week's Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Plus: new funding and in-orbit demos along with interesting updates in science.
Having trouble with links? Click the link below to read the unclipped publication.↓
Dive in.
IMAGES
Star-forming region IC-348 : James Webb Space Telescope
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured a new infrared image of the IC 348 star‑forming region, a cloud of gas and dust about 1,000 light‑years away. The scene shows cold molecular hydrogen collapsing into young stars, with diffraction‑spiked suns scattered across the field. One of its largest public images to date of the region, it revealed brown dwarfs as small as twice Jupiter’s mass, the least massive yet identified.
The observation supports a program searching for brown dwarfs, objects too small to ignite hydrogen fusion. Using NIRCam imaging in 2024 and NIRSpec spectroscopy in 2025, researchers confirmed these extremely low‑mass objects and detected hydrocarbon absorption features seen only in the coolest brown dwarfs, suggesting a potential new spectral class. The image also highlights numerous protostars and Herbig–Haro outflows, underscoring the region’s active stellar formation. (Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb))
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope released a detailed collage of the IC 348 star‑forming region, highlighting embedded stars, reflection nebulae, shock‑heated outflows, Herbig–Haro jets, and distant background galaxies. The cutouts illustrate how stellar winds sculpt gas and dust, how protostars generate narrow jets, and how deeply embedded young stars glow at longer infrared wavelengths.
1. Embedded stars: Two young stars sit in dense dust, glowing brightest at long infrared wavelengths.
2. Central cluster: Winds carve a large loop of gas, forming a bright reflection nebula.
3. Outflows: Shock arcs near two stars mark fast stellar outbursts.
4. Herbig–Haro jets: Multiple protostellar jets collide with surrounding gas.
5. Gravitational lens: A foreground galaxy distorts a more distant one.
6. Background spirals: Galaxies millions to billions of light‑years away appear behind the nebula.
(Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb))
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, K. Luhman, C. Alves De Oliveira, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)
Shallow pits on a Martian mountain : Curiosity Rover
NASA’s Curiosity rover documented unusually broad, shallow pits in Mount Sharp bedrock, prompting MAHLI and Mastcam stereo imaging to map their structure. ChemCam, MAHLI (Mars Hand Lens Imager) and APXS analyzed nearby layered outcrops and gray resistant rocks, while additional RMI and Mastcam mosaics targeted the Cordillera, Tolhuaca and Potosí buttes for mineralogy and cross‑bedding. Environmental teams monitored a potential regional dust storm that later dissipated. All activities were completed despite losing a planning day to a missed downlink. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)
Cygnus performs an orbital reboost for ISS : NASA
Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft performed an orbital reboost of the International Space Station on Aug. 27, firing its engines while docked to the Unity module to position the station for the arrival of Progress 96, the uncrewed Russian cargo spacecraft. The maneuver ensured proper rendezvous conditions ahead of the Russian resupply mission, which continues a cargo‑delivery line dating back to 1978. (Credit: NASA)
Purple haze, auroras : Astronaut Jessica Meir
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir photographed purple, red and green auroras from the International Space Station on Sept. 7, 2026, during a G1 geomagnetic storm driven by high‑speed solar wind and recent CMEs. The ISS, orbiting 255 miles above Kyrgyzstan, captured long‑exposure views showing auroral glow mixed with star trails, moonlight and city lights. The colors resulted from excited oxygen and nitrogen at varying altitudes, with purple hues appearing where emissions blended. (Credit: Jessica Meir, NASA)
Credit: Jessica Meir, NASA
SCIENCE
Moon water may not last long enough to lunar sustain a city
An artist rendering of future astronauts working alongside lunar construction tools on the Moon. (Credit: ICON/BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group)
14 September, 2026
Even under the most generous assumptions, a lunar city of one million people would exhaust the Moon's water supply within about a century, according to a study in Frontiers in Space Technologies by Dr. Martin Elvis and Dr. Jonathan McDowell. Water ice has pooled in permanently shadowed polar craters, deposited by asteroid impacts roughly four billion years ago and preserved by temperatures below 110K that prevent sublimation for billions of years. Its presence has been confirmed since 2013 through a series of lunar orbiter missions. That discovery has fueled ambitions from Jeff Bezos, who envisions moving heavy industry to the Moon, and Elon Musk, who has spoken of "self-growing cities" there.
Using a once-estimated billion tons of polar ice and 98% ISS-level water recycling, researchers found just over 100 years of sustainability for a million-person city. Current estimates put the supply about 30 times lower, meaning a small city would run dry within a decade. Villages of 1,000 to 10,000 people, however, could last centuries. Power poses less of a constraint: crater rims near the poles sit in near-permanent sunlight, nicknamed "peaks of eternal light," and could generate three gigawatts via kilometer-tall solar towers, potentially enough to support lunar AI data centers. Proposed fixes for the water shortfall include improving recycling efficiency, reducing consumption through methods like vertical farming, importing water from asteroids, or finding more of it. Current surveys can't detect water more than a few meters underground, while the regolith extends tens of meters deep and may hold reserves.
Scientists propose searching moon dust for microscopic signs of alien technology
Earth’s Moon (North Polar Mosaic), captured by the Galileo spacecraft. (Credit: NASA, JPL, USGS)
A new SETI Institute study proposes searching the Moon's surface for microscopic "technosignatures," durable engineered particles that may have traveled from other star systems and become embedded in lunar regolith over billions of years. Led by affiliate scientist Lewis Pinault, the study, posted on arXiv in August and under review at the International Journal of Astrobiology, offers the first quantitative framework for testing whether such traces could survive in the Moon's stable, geologically inactive surface.
The researchers propose examining roughly one cubic meter of regolith, about the size of a refrigerator, using microscopy, tomography, spectroscopy and AI-assisted imaging, tools now more advanced than those available during the Apollo era, to place limits on how much artificial material technological civilizations may have produced across Milky Way history. The approach complements, rather than replaces, traditional radio and laser SETI searches. Even a null result would establish the first quantitative constraints on how many such civilizations may have existed. NASA's Artemis program and China's Chang'e missions, with China targeting a crewed lunar landing by 2030, could supply fresh samples to test the method.
A new catalyst could convert Martian carbon dioxide into rocket fuel
A concept illustration of a proposed SpaceX base on the surface of Mars. (Credit: SpaceX)
University of Mississippi and Texas A&M researchers have developed a nanometer-scale, nitrogen-doped copper catalyst that converts carbon dioxide into nearly pure methane, a potential path to producing rocket fuel on Mars for return trips to Earth. Mars' atmosphere is 96% carbon dioxide, and the process of electrochemical reduction could let astronauts manufacture propellant on-site rather than hauling heavy fuel supplies from Earth, addressing a key challenge since existing methods produce impure byproducts requiring purification equipment unavailable on Mars.
The study by Ahmed Badreldin and Carter Racine was published in ACS Catalysis in April. Similar methane, already used in rockets like SpaceX's Raptor engines, could also serve Earth applications, replacing fossil-sourced natural gas, though researchers caution the current process is net-zero rather than carbon-negative.
New material made from yeast and gelatin could build houses on Mars
Living building material can be 3D printed under simulated Martian conditions at –30°C and 0.01 atm (left). A microscopic view reveals the material’s porous structure with polymers and engineered yeast highlighted in yellow (right). (Credit: Ning Liu)
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology researchers have developed a 3D-printable building material for Mars combining sand or regolith with gelatin and engineered yeast, according to a study published in Chem Circularity. The yeast, modified to bind tightly and produce adhesive proteins, helps the mixture freeze-dry under simulated Martian cold and vacuum, leaving a light, porous material with compressive strength of 10 to 12 megapascals which is comparable to low-grade concrete.
One of the researchers, Jishen Qiu said the material could support multistory buildings given Mars' lower gravity. Unlike energy-intensive regolith-melting methods, the approach is recyclable: yeast can be recovered and regrown in bioreactors. However, the material hasn't been tested in Martian conditions, isn't airtight or radiation-shielding, and would require cargo shipped from Earth.
Europe's new prototype spacesuit undergoes fit test aboard the ISS , needs work, astronaut says
The EuroSuit prototype, seen above, is designed to be worn by astronauts at the ISS. (Credit: Decathlon)
16 September, 2026
European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot has completed the first fit and dexterity checks of EuroSuit, Europe's prototype intravehicular spacesuit, aboard the International Space Station, giving engineers feedback. "There are still a lot of points that will be improved," Adenot told Space.com. The suit launched aboard SpaceX's CRS-34 Cargo Dragon in May. Testing focused on donning, doffing and dexterity, including handling objects and a touchscreen, rather than life-support systems.
EuroSuit is part of a French Space Agency or CNES-coordinated effort to build European autonomy in human spaceflight, with Spartan Space, French developer of habitation systems for extreme environments, handling overall design, MEDES or the Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology, in Toulouse, contributing biomonitoring, and Decathlon advising on ergonomic textiles. "By relying on the exceptional expertise of our partners, we are prepared to deliver this type of suit when the time comes," said Sébastien Barde, CNES deputy director for exploration and human spaceflight. Future iterations will add pressurization, atmospheric control and communications. "Everything in the design of space systems goes incremental," Adenot said, calling the suit "at the very beginning of its journey."
MILITARY
US Space Force admits to operating weapons in Earth orbit, disclosure raises Outer Space treaty compliance questions
U.S. Gen. Douglas Schiess gives the State of the Space Force address at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on September 15 (Left). U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink speaks with Burt Field, president and CEO of the Air & Space Forces Association, September 14 (Right). (Credit: Air & Space Forces Association)
14 September, 2026
The U.S. Space Force publicly admitted for the first time that it operates active weapons in Earth orbit, offering few details beyond the confirmation itself. Space Operations chief Gen. Douglas Schiess told the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland that Guardians "operate on-orbit weapons" using "non-kinetic fires" and "electromagnetic warfare," while Air Force Secretary Troy Meink made a similarly vague disclosure, declining to detail testing or capabilities. Analysts, including CSIS's Clayton Swope, said the announcements lacked the detail needed to function as an effective deterrent but signaled U.S. intent to match Russian and Chinese counterspace advances, including Russia's 2021 anti-satellite missile test. China, which the Space Force says is also fielding counterspace weapons, has denied the characterization.
Schiess cited the Victus Haze mission, in which Rocket Lab launched an interceptor spacecraft within 17 hours of notice, as evidence of the Space Force's readiness to respond to orbital threats.
The 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which the U.S. has ratified, does not ban weapons in Earth orbit outright: Article IV prohibits only nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction from being placed in orbit or on celestial bodies, and never defines what qualifies as a WMD. That ambiguity leaves electromagnetic and non-kinetic weapons systems in a legal gray zone the treaty does not explicitly address. The disclosures follow Space Force plans to recruit 10,000 new Guardians, Trump's executive order creating a Space Academy, and over $12 billion in recent contracts to SpaceX, Rocket Lab, L3Harris and Boeing.
Pentagon seeks AI to speed up missile threat detection by fusing fragmented sensor data
13 September, 2026
The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is seeking AI software to fuse fragmented sensor data into a continuously updated picture of space and missile threats fast enough to drive decisions, per a solicitation due September 24. The program, called the Space Threat Intelligence Synthesis Engine, would combine video, satellite imagery, radar, geospatial data and classified intelligence reports, using automated correlation to detect patterns beyond human analysis and issue confidence-scored alerts.
DIU wants an open-source system with latency under five seconds, ideally two, and throughput of 20 to 30 megabytes per minute, with bursts to five gigabytes. The effort responds to interceptor shortages amid missile and drone barrages in Ukraine and Iran. Northrop Grumman-Camgian and BAE-Scale AI have partnered on AI-enhanced missile defense.
New US Space Force investments span nuclear power, GEO imaging, satcom upgrades and reconnaissance
New awards worth hundreds of millions of dollars fund Antares' space nuclear reactors, WGS-12 satellite financing from ten US-allied nations, Northrop and True Anomaly's GHOST-R reconnaissance satellites, and Sedaro's mission-engineering software.
A rendering of a nuclear-powered spacecraft. (Credit: Antares)
13 September, 2026
Antares has been selected by the U.S. Air Force's Office of Space Acquisition and Integration for a $161 million Strategic Breakthrough award, the largest current Department of War award in space nuclear power. The startup will conduct a nuclear ground demonstration of its R1-S reactor and integrate it with a spacecraft for flight certification ahead of launch, while also powering a ground-to-space asset with its Mark-1 electricity-producing reactor, set for testing in 2027.
The award follows the June 4 initial criticality of Antares' Mark-0 microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory, making it the first private company to reach criticality under U.S. Department of Energy or DOE's Reactor Pilot Program. It supports Executive Order 14369 and NSTM-3 (National Space Technology Memorandum-3 (Space Policy)) goals for orbital reactors by 2028 and lunar reactors by 2030.
Ten allied nations, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland and the United Kingdom, have committed $302 million to complete funding for the Space Force's WGS-12 (Wideband Global SATCOM) communications satellite, covering launch, ground-system upgrades and operations after Congress funded only the Boeing-built spacecraft.
Poland joins as the program's newest partner. The agreement, recently formalized as Amendment Three to the WGS memorandum, was announced alongside remarks by U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, who publicly confirmed the U.S. operates orbital space-control weapons defending military assets, without detailing capabilities. Meink also outlined progress on the Space Force's AMTI (Airborne Moving Target Indicator) tracking constellation, Golden Dome missile-defense interceptors reaching "flight-ready hardware," and the Sentinel ICBM's 2027 test date, amid expanding U.S. launch dominance.
An artist’s rendering shows the GHOST‑R prototype, a GEO reconnaissance satellite developed by the Defense Innovation Unit and Space Systems Command to provide high‑resolution space‑to‑space imaging. DIU and SSC awarded prototype contracts to True Anomaly and Northrop Grumman to reduce costs and speed development. (Credit: Northrop Grumman)
18 September, 2026
The Space Force and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) have selected Northrop Grumman and True Anomaly to build prototype satellites under the GEO High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance or GHOST-R program, aimed at tracking and imaging friendly and adversary spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit using low-cost technology. The satellites are set to launch in 2028, demonstrating high-resolution imagery collection and weekly observations of target objects, with a path to become operational RG-XX, (next-generation, highly maneuverable reconnaissance and surveillance satellites) platforms by 2029.
GHOST-R feeds into the Space Force's $6.2 billion Andromeda consortium. Northrop will use its ESPASat-L bus with optical payloads from TRL 11, while True Anomaly will adapt its Jackal spacecraft and Mosaic ground system, previously demonstrated during the Victus Haze mission. Col. McClain said the approach cuts technical risk and costs while speeding capability delivery.
Mission Thread Analysis dashboard on the cloud-native Sedaro digital engineering and mission simulation platform. (Credit: Sedero)
Sedaro has been selected for a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) opportunity worth up to $45 million to expand its mission-engineering work for the U.S. Space Force. The award pairs SpaceWERX funding with additional government investment led by Space Systems Command's Space Systems Integration Office to scale Sedaro's System-of-Systems Engineering Platform for more programs, organizations and workflows.
Built on open interfaces and Modular Open Systems Approach principles, the platform lets government and industry contributors share models and evaluate how systems from different programs perform together. CEO Robbie Robertson called the award validation of Sedaro's mission-engineering approach. The funding positions the technology for a Phase III transition and sustained non-SBIR funding. SpaceWERX awarded over 300 contracts totaling $510 million in fiscal 2025.
US military officials tout AI-satellite surveillance and cislunar superiority
US Space Force Gen. Douglas Schiess tied AI-analyzed satellite imagery from firms like Danti to claims of battlefield awareness, while the Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. Dan Caine, warns U.S. dominance now extends to cislunar space.
15 September, 2026
President Trump has repeatedly credited the Space Force with letting the U.S. "see everything," including at Iran's nuclear sites. Gen. Douglas Schiess, the Space Force's chief of space operations, speaking at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in Maryland, said September 15 the claim reflects coordination with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's spy satellites. The service is relying on commercial imagery and AI analytics through its Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TacSRT) program, formalized with the intelligence community in May 2025.
Danti, an Atlanta-based AI firm that supported Pentagon analysts during the Iran conflict, had won a $2.1 million contract expansion in 2023. CEO Jesse Kallman said AI tools fuse satellite imagery with maritime tracking, signals and open-source data to flag changes, and can automate intelligence briefings, though human analysts review AI-generated reports before dissemination.
16 September, 2026
The U.S. military's battlefield now stretches "from the seabed to cislunar space," Gen. Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs chairman, said September 16 at the Maryland conference, warning no domain is guaranteed secure. Caine said the Space Force must maintain "unrivaled space superiority" as the U.S. and China race to build bases near the lunar south pole's water ice.
China's Chang'e 4 and 6 missions achieved the first far-side landing and sample return. Caine did not name China or detail cislunar conflict scenarios.
Europe must embrace risk to secure its space assets, European officials say
“Space is indispensable. It is becoming increasingly congested and contested. We are seeing more hostile activity. Cooperation is a fundamental part of our defense program.”
16 September, 2026
Europe must embrace risk to benefit from next-generation space capabilities and secure assets, panelists said at the Space Defence & Security Summit Tuesday. France's Eva Portier said space "has become a domain of war" amid rising congestion and hostile activity, calling cooperation essential. European Commission's Guillaume de la Brosse said Europe must incentivize member states to invest and build agile, plug-and-play capabilities while ensuring EU industry provides sovereign services.
The European External Action Service or EEAS envoy Marjolijn van Deelen said the bloc is shifting from civil to defense-focused space cooperation. U.S. Space Force's Air Marshal Paul Godfrey noted NATO's 2019 designation of space as an operational domain supercharged collaboration. U.S. Space Systems Command's Paul Dragnich said commercial development is outpacing military, urging faster iteration over perfection.
COMMERCIAL
New satellite procurement contracts expand national networks and orbital compute capacity
Saudi Arabia's stc group ordered a dedicated Astranis satellite, Sophia Space and SLI signed a $300 million constellation financing deal, and Vantor tapped EnduroSat and CACI for its Pulse fleet.
Credit: Astranis
12 September, 2026
Saudi Arabian telecom provider, stc group has ordered a dedicated GEO satellite for secure national communications, from Astranis. The spacecraft will give the Kingdom full control over payload configuration and coverage with data kept in-region under enterprise-grade security, expanding redundancy alongside the Kingdom’s fiber network and broader digital‑infrastructure investments.
The satellite will fly on Astranis' Block 3, a dedicated Falcon 9 launch targeted for the first quarter of 2027, taking the slot of one of two satellites Mexican provider Apco Networks ordered in 2023, a feature of Astranis’ flexible manifest‑shifting model. Apco's second satellite shifts to a later block. Block 3 also carries satellites for Thaicom, Chunghwa Telecom and MB Group, all now in assembly and testing. It's Astranis' second Middle East deal, following a similar order from Oman's MB Group. CEO John Gedmark said the deal reflects countries' need for "national control over critical networks and data."
14 September, 2026
Orbital compute startup Sophia Space and aerospace leasing firm SLI set terms for a $300 million asset-financing framework to build a 10-satellite edge computing constellation, applying financing models long used in aviation and shipping to orbital infrastructure. Under the non-binding agreement, SLI would fund and purchase the 10 TILE spacecraft, then lease them to Sophia's customers under a long-term operating lease with fixed payments.
Launches could begin as early as 2028, delivering capacity equivalent to 240 edge servers for uses including Earth observation, weather analytics and ISR. The framework converts once Sophia closes its final financing round. The company has raised $22 million so far, and no customers have yet committed to a lease. SLI, backed by Libra Group’s $15 billion asset‑financing experience, is expanding its space portfolio, following prior GEO and ground‑segment leasing agreements.
A rendering of Vantor’s Pulse satellite. (Credit: Vantor)
17 September, 2026
Vantor selected Bulgaria-based EnduroSat and U.S.-based innovation and national security provider CACI to build the first satellites in its planned 24-satellite Pulse fleet. The 40 cm-class satellites together will revisit the same location every 15 minutes, feeding Vantor's Tensorglobe platform and cueing targeted collection from its WorldView Legion satellites. EnduroSat will supply buses and integration, CACI the optical payloads, with satellites deploying between 2027 and 2029 after U.S.-based integration and testing.
Pulse's multi-sensor architecture can accommodate electro-optical and radio-frequency payloads for sovereign customers. Vantor also unveiled Vantage, a 20 cm-class high-resolution satellite line, with two expected as early as 2029. The announcement follows EnduroSat's $205 million funding round to build a U.S. manufacturing facility, and a contract to build 40 satellites for TrustPoint's PNT constellation.
Emerging space platforms expand close‑range inspection and space manufacturing
Australia's HEO completed a second satellite-based inspection of a noncooperative rocket body using its Continuum-1 satellite, while Luxembourg's Space Cargo Unlimited booked a dedicated SpaceX Starfall reentry mission to scale in-orbit manufacturing to one tonne.
Image dates, starting top left to bottom right: Aug 13, Aug 14, Aug 14, Aug 14, Aug 14, Aug 15, Aug 16, Aug 16. (Credit: HEO)
14 September, 2026
Australian non-Earth imaging provider HEO completed a second Rendezvous and Proximity Operations campaign around a noncooperative CZ-2C rocket body, using its in-orbit Earth observation satellite Continuum-1 for sustained close-range inspection. The campaign, conducted with Satellogic and UNSW Canberra Space and funded through Defence Trailblazer's Advanced Innovation Fund, ran two proximity periods: August 12-16, approaching to about 40 kilometers at 8 cm-per-pixel resolution, and August 30-September 4, closing to 27 kilometers at up to 7 cm per pixel.
Continuum-1 spent roughly 78 hours within 100 kilometers of the target and 12 within 50, producing over 50 imaging missions and thousands of frames revealing the object's exterior, payload adapter and tumble rate. CEO William Crowe said the mission proves value from satellites "already flying."
A rendering of Starfall. (Credit: SpaceX)
16 September, 2026
Luxembourg-based Space Cargo Unlimited has signed a contract for a dedicated mission on SpaceX's Starfall reentry vehicle, launching aboard Starship in 2028, boosting the company's manufacturing capacity from 100-kilogram-scale missions to 1000 kilogram / one tonne. CEO Nicolas Gaume said Space Cargo has already sold a third of Starfall's capacity and is in talks with more than 100 potential customers, about 40% in life sciences, driven by pharmaceutical and biotech demand for microgravity research ahead of the ISS's retirement. Its standardized BentoBox payload will fly across these platforms, while Starfall’s larger volume and power enable significantly expanded in‑orbit processing.
The deal adds to a broader portfolio including seven flights on ATMOS Space Cargo's Phoenix vehicle, missions on Dassault's VORTEX and ElevationSpace's ELS-R, and a flight on ESA's Space Rider. Space Cargo is also developing its own REV1 reentry vehicle with Thales Alenia Space. Space Cargo aims to build a scalable fleet of orbital factories to support commercial‑scale microgravity production.
Space Cargo Unlimited arranges and operates the reentry logistics, i.e., booking capacity on vehicles like Starfall, ATMOS's Phoenix and ESA's Space Rider, and supplying its own standardized BentoBox payload platform, that let pharmaceutical, biotech and materials companies manufacture products in microgravity and get them back to Earth without having to manage spaceflight operations themselves.
D2D satellite deals surge as Space42, Viasat, SES and Elveo expand plans
Space42 and Viasat committed up to $1 billion to launch Equatys, while SES expanded its Elveo partnership in Europe, and Elveo partnered with Apex on U.S. manufacturing.
15 September, 2026
Space42 and Viasat signed a binding agreement Monday to formally establish Equatys, a shared satellite-and-ground infrastructure venture for direct-to-device connectivity, to extend mobile coverage worldwide, in areas underserved by terrestrial networks. Both have committed up to $1 billion combined, $400 million each initially, plus an additional $200 million from Space42 tied to a future funding round for third-party investors.
Viasat is expected to serve as prime technology contractor, pending regulatory approval. Equatys will use a "tower company" model, letting mobile operators share satellite and spectrum costs rather than build independently. Its initial constellation is designed to scale to 2,800 satellites across 60 orbital planes, with service starting in 2029. The founders together hold agreements with over 400 mobile operators and access to more than 100 MHz of coordinated MSS spectrum. The companies signed binding agreements at World Space Business Week.
SES and Elveo Mobile expanded their partnership to accelerate direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity across Europe, with SES deploying Elveo's D2D technology to enable mobile roaming for European consumers, businesses, governments and defense users. The companies will establish LEO D2D satellite manufacturing and supply-chain capabilities in Europe, using Elveo’s patented D2D bus, payload and software stack, to be combined with SES's GEO and MEO fleets into a multi-orbit architecture serving European governments and institutions, including NATO.
Elveo brings 2 GHz S-band spectrum rights and market access covering more than a billion people. Elveo Mobile was formed from August's merger of Lynk and OmniSpace with SES as a major investor.
Separately, Elveo Mobile has partnered with spacecraft manufacturer U.S.-based Apex to establish a dedicated factory in the United States for Elveo's planned low-Earth-orbit direct-to-device constellation, using Apex's vertically integrated Factory X model to rapidly scale production.
Along with Europe and U.S., Elveo plans to apply the same approach to expand manufacturing into Asia with regional partners, building a global supply chain. Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said the partnership could deploy Elveo's constellation years ahead of traditional bus-supplier timelines. Elveo's network will feature patented satellite technology compliant with 3GPP non-terrestrial network standards, with payloads offering advanced on-board processing and networking designed to serve the roughly 8 billion mobile phones already in use, meeting operators' evolving needs.
Space companies raise over $1 billion combined in funding rounds for manufacturing, mobility, Earth‑observation networks
Open Cosmos raised €300 million and hit a $1 billion valuation, Impulse Space extended its Series D to $808 million, and EnduroSat secured $205 million.
Credit: Open Cosmos
15 September, 2026
European satellite manufacturer Open Cosmos raised a €300 million ($346 million) funding round, announced Monday, led by European investors Lightrock, ETF Partners, Institut Català de Finances, Entrepreneurs First and two major international pension funds, with backing from U.K. government investors. The round pushes Open Cosmos past a $1 billion valuation, making it Europe's newest space unicorn, with total funding now exceeding $390 million.
The company, which builds one satellite a day across four European factories, will use the funds to scale manufacturing and grow its ConnectedCosmos secure-communications constellation, OpenConstellation Earth-observation network and DataCosmos imagery platform, cutting EO data delivery from 48 hours to 30 minutes while adding onboard AI processing and inter-satellite links. The 11-year old company employs about 400 people across the U.K., Spain, Portugal and Greece, holds Ka-band spectrum access, and has accumulated more than $370 million in customer contracts since 2022. Demand for its disaster alerts has surged amid climate‑driven floods and wildfires, helping the company book about $175 million in contracts last year.
A Mira spacecraft built by Impulse Space. (Credit: Impulse Space)
16 September, 2026
Impulse Space raised a $308 million extension to its Series D round, bringing the round's total to $808 million and building on a $500 million tranche in June that valued the company at $4.26 billion. Existing investors including 137 Ventures, DFJ Growth, Lux Capital and Valor Equity Partners participated, reflecting strong investor demand, President Eric Romo said.
The in-space mobility company, founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller, has more than doubled headcount to over 600 employees and named its first CFO, Adam Townsend, formerly of VIZIO. Recent wins include a National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract for its Helios kick stage, a $28 million VICTUS SALO extension, and a sold-out Caravan rideshare manifest through 2028. Recently, two Mira vehicles closed to within 200 meters of each other in orbit this summer, Impulse's second such rendezvous demonstration after last year's Remora mission.
17 September, 2026
Bulgarian satellite manufacturer EnduroSat raised $205 million (€178 million), pushing European NewSpace funding this month above €1 billion. The round, led by Riot Ventures and Atreides Management, is EnduroSat's second raise in under a year, following a $104 million round in October 2025. Funds will support a new U.S. manufacturing facility and expansion in Europe, including converting the former Dobroslavtsi airbase near Sofia into a space and defense hub.
It follows a September surge across PLD Space, HyImpulse, The Exploration Company and Open Cosmos, bringing new funding since Sept. 1 to roughly €1.03 billion. EnduroSat also secured two constellation orders this month: 40 satellites for TrustPoint's PNT constellation, and satellite buses for Vantor's 24-satellite Pulse Earth-observation fleet.
Germany becomes first government to buy Planet's satellite services
An artistic rendering shows a Planet’s “Pelican” Earth-observation satellite in orbit. (Credit: Planet)
15 September, 2026
Planet Labs Germany has been awarded a Satellite Services tender by Germany's Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), making Germany the first civil government to acquire Planet's dedicated Constellation Services and setting a precedent for public-sector space procurement. Under the deal, worth up to €25 million ($28.8 million) over five years, the Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) will coordinate high-resolution tasked imagery, nationwide Planet Mosaics and geospatial analytics for German civil authorities, delivered via a cloud-native platform hosted on European infrastructure to meet EU data-privacy standards.
The award builds on Planet's relationship with BKG since 2021, which supports more than 400 federal institutions. Planet's European headquarters in Berlin will also relocate this fall to a new campus unifying satellite manufacturing and operations.
NASA awards SpaceX three more crew missions to ISS worth $946 million
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft launches NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station on March 14, 2025. (Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
18 September, 2026
NASA has modified SpaceX's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract to add three additional missions, Crew-15, Crew-16 and Crew-17, in a deal valued at $946 million. The firm-fixed-price award brings SpaceX's total CCtCap missions to 17 and the contract's cumulative value to $5.92 billion, with a period of performance extending through 2030. Mission readiness dates are set for 2027 and 2028.
SpaceX remains NASA's only currently active Commercial Crew provider flying astronauts to the International Space Station; Boeing's Starliner, the program's other contracted vehicle, has yet to be certified for routine crew rotations. Crew-12 is currently docked at the station, with Crew-13 expected to launch in early October. NASA plans to retire the ISS in late 2030 or early 2031.
Despatch Out. 👽🛸
