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.

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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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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

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With Starfall, SpaceX eyes an edge in global cargo delivery from orbit

Artist's illustration of a Starfall reentry vehicle separating from a satellite in low-Earth orbit. SpaceX's Starship is in the background. Credit: SpaceX By Stephen Clark, Published by Ars Technica, 23 June 2026 The purpose of Starfall is to support the “transport and delivery of goods through space.” A SpaceX Falcon

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Space Development Agency awards $3.5 billion in contracts for missile-tracking satellites

llustration of Tracking Layer Tranche 3 spacecraft. Credit: Northrop Grumman By Sandra Erwin, Published by Space News, 19 December 2025 L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab and Northrop Grumman won contracts to build 72 satellites WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency announced Dec. 19 it awarded about $3.5 billion in contracts

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New Zealanders Get in the Way of the Weaponization of Space

By Deborah Williams, Published by World Beyond War, 8 October 2025 Here is breaking news from my city Ōtautahi Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand. The aerospace industry here started with a simple New Zealand-owned rocket site industry in the North Island named RocketLab operating on Māori land on the Mahia Peninsula.

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