Private space pilots are flying orbital missions for the US Space Force

Victus Haze Mission By Tim Fernholz, Published by Tech Crunch, 2 July 2026 Militaries routinely send satellites to fly by rival vehicles and suss out their capabilities, but scaling up this kind of reconnaissance is increasingly seen by the U.S. military as a challenge best handled by the private sector.

Read More

NASA makes moves to dodge costly delays on its path to build a $30 billion moon base

A concept for a later phase of NASA's proposed lunar base. Credit: NASA By Jackie Wattles, Published by CNN, 30 June 2026 NASA’s moon base plans, conceptualized just a few months ago, are rolling out in earnest as the space agency maps out a strategy to deliver landers, rovers, buggies

Read More

Orbital files plans for 100,000 orbital data centers

Multiple companies are planning to develop space-based data centers, which would greatly increase the number of satellites in Earth orbit. (Image credit: ESA) By Jason Rainbow, Published by Space News, 30 June 2026 TAMPA, Fla. — Five-month-old startup Orbital has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to deploy up

Read More

The Tragedy of the New Space Race

By Samanth Subramanian, Published by New Republic, 29 June 2026 Space exploration is a rapidly growing industry. But its goal is dominance, not discovery. Two versions of history began when, one fall night in 1957, a two-stage rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and deposited a Soviet satellite called

Read More

Rocket Lab to acquire Iridium

Iridium low-Earth orbit commercial satellite constellation: Iridium By Jeff Foust, Published by Space News, 29 June 2026 WASHINGTON — Rocket Lab is acquiring satellite telecommunications company Iridium for $8 billion as part of its effort to become an end-to-end space company. The companies announced an agreement June 29 under which

Read More

House Appropriations Committee approves $55.5 billion for U.S. Space Force

Illustration of Tracking Layer Tranche 3 spacecraft. Credit: Northrop Grumman By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 25 June 2026 Committee urges more competition in satellite communications and criticizes reliance on reconciliation to fund Golden Dome WASHINGTON — The House Appropriations Committee on June 24 advanced a fiscal 2027 defense

Read More