World’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite set for launch aboard SpaceX rocket

Nano Tritium battery: Citi Labs By Mrigakshi Dixit, Published by Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026 Miami-based City Labs is all set to launch the world’s first commercial nuclear-powered satellite into orbit.  Solar panels have some challenges. When a satellite slips into the shadow of the Earth, hits a permanently dark

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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

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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

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UK startup Applied Atomics to enter US market with focus on military space mobility

Rendering of Applied Atomics “Star Reacher Network” satellite architecture that allows multiple spacecraft equipped with multimode propulsion to work in tandem. Credit: Applied Atomics By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 10 June 2026 Company opens Virginia office, announces $4 million pre-seed funding WASHINGTON — U.K.-based startup Applied Atomics has

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NASA’s plan to put a nuclear reactor on a Mars-bound spacecraft by 2028 sounds impossible — until you realize the agency is quietly stitching together two programs that were never supposed to meet

By Space Daily Editorial Team, 9 June 2026 Building a nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft typically takes a decade. NASA is trying to do it in roughly two and a half years — and the only way the math works is by welding together two programs that were never designed to talk

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Rocket goes boom, satellite cameras zoom: Explosive Blue Origin damage is visible from space

By Josh Dinner, Published by Space.com, 1 June 2026 New Glenn's launchpad is so cooked, satellites can see the char from orbit. The dust has settled in the aftermath of last week's giant New Glenn rocket explosion, which shook Florida's Space Coast and the space industry itself. Blue Origin was

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