Space

Isar Aerospace has set Jan. 21 as the “not before” launch date for its Spectrum rocket as the German startup also aims to reach orbit as part of the effort to recover from last year’s failed test mission.

Lockheed Martin has unveiled initial details of a comprehensive hypersonic missile defense system developed under a secretive initiative dubbed Pitch Black.

The U.S. Senate on Jan. 15 joined the House of Representatives in passing a fiscal 2026 budget for NASA that nearly matches its current spending levels.

An unspecified but nonemergency concern has prompted an early end to the SpaceX Crew-11 mission.

Mitsubishi Corp. has increased its investment in the Starlab Space commercial space station joint venture.

Voyager Technologies plans to test aboard the International Space Station this spring a new method for growing crystals.

MaiaSpace has signed an accord with Eutelsat to be a key partner in deploying the sat service provider’s next wave of 440 OneWeb broadband sats.

NASA head Isaacman met with SpaceX and Blue Origin officials to get a better sense of how to speed up the timelines around efforts to return to the Moon.

Planet Labs is trying to get a new satellite production facility in Germany operational before year-end, though timing is somewhat linked to securing approvals.

Following a banner year of satellite launches and two reusable launch attempts, China appears poised to demonstrate more cutting-edge tech on orbit in 2026.

NASA completed the early return of International Space Station astronauts when the SpaceX Crew-11 Dragon Endeavour capsule splashed down Jan. 15 in the Pacific Ocean off the San Diego coast.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 Dragon Endeavour capsule undocked from the International Space Station on Jan. 14 for a scheduled Jan. 15 splashdown and recovery.

The National Reconnaissance Office expects to launch its first mission of the year as early as Jan. 16, the office said Jan.14.

Nearly nine months after the Trump administration released its fiscal 2026 budget proposal to slash NASA funding by 24%, Congress is poised to reject the cuts.

SkyFi, a space startup that specializes in satellite imagery and analytics, raised $12.7 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round.

CNES is transforming the Guiana Space Center (known as CSG, under its French acronym) into a hub where multiple operators offer launch services.

France has yet to find a ride to space for its twin-nanosatellite “Yoda” demonstration program for geostationary patrol against potential unfriendly spacecraft.

Airbus plans to test a software-defined satellite to underpin efforts to develop non-terrestrial 5G connectivity infrastructure.

Open Cosmos received Ka-band spectrum rights through Liechtenstein as the European space tech company prepares to deploy an LEO broadband satellite system.

Editors are joined by Russ Matijevich, space industry veteran and a judge in the Space Tech Challenge Awards. Nominations are now open—could your solution be a winner?

Startup sees space-based radar as cheaper than aircraft-based AWACs.

Startup Array Labs is attempting to develop formation-flying radar satellites to study the feasibility of conducting “persistent, wide-area” airborne moving target indication missions from space.

Firefly Aerospace plans to introduce upgrades to its Alpha rocket after the company suffered several mishaps with the launcher.

Axiom Space has revealed new details of its space station assembly plan.

NASA plans to seek ideas to help advance concepts around bringing crewmembers to Mars and providing a power grid for missions to the planet or the Moon.