The US Space Force is considering launching five satellites into cislunar space by 2029, according to a notice sent to aerospace manufacturers reported by Air and Space Forces. The satellites would orbit the far side of the Moon and serve as reconnaissance 'seed vehicles' to shape a broader strategy for a future satellite network in that region. Major General Stephen Purdy has described the cislunar area as a potential 'warfighting domain' for the military.
futurism.com
· 2026-11-03
A decade after SpaceX first successfully landed a reusable Falcon 9 booster in December 2015, reusable rockets have removed launch access as the industry's main bottleneck. The constraint has shifted toward manufacturing enough satellites, securing sufficient funding, and finding enough paying customers.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-10-29
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk a 'real genius' and said Russia is in close contact with Musk on satellite-related issues. Putin described the contact as part of broader coordination with American partners, without detailing the scope or nature of the cooperation.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-28
SpaceX is reportedly negotiating with Crown Castle, one of the largest US cell tower owners, to gain access to at least 80,000 sites, according to Bloomberg sources. That would cover roughly half of the nation's 158,500 operating cell towers, per Reuters. Crown Castle's CEO declined to confirm specifics but said the company is in talks with multiple parties.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-23
Researchers ran a controlled, blind comparison of multiple satellite-based methane-detection systems against known, undisclosed emission releases. The results showed that most satellites accurately measured methane plumes, supporting confidence in their ability to track real-world emissions. The test was designed to independently verify satellite performance without operators knowing the true emission rates in advance.
nature.com
· 2026-10-14
The Space Force has retired its last two satellites used for monitoring global conflicts, moving them to a designated orbital disposal zone. This marks the conclusion of the satellite program dedicated to early warning and surveillance. The satellites had been operational for several years before their decommissioning.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-10-06
Newly declassified documents detail a secretive US Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office program that launched small 'hitchhiker' satellites—codenamed URSALA, RAQUEL, FARRAH, GLORIA and CARRIE—starting in 1963. These suitcase-sized satellites rode alongside larger spacecraft, including the HEXAGON photo-reconnaissance satellites, and spun in orbit to collect electronic intelligence such as radar signals. Details about the program, including previously secret space shuttle payloads, have only been released in the past two months.
thespacereview.com
· 2026-09-30
SpaceX's 14th Starship test flight reached orbit for the first time on Monday, deploying 26 functioning Starlink satellites and completing a controlled splashdown of its Super Heavy booster. However, engine failures—one on the booster during ascent and descent, and one on the upper stage during ascent—forced SpaceX to cut the planned 10-hour, six-orbit mission short, returning the ship to Earth after about three hours before it exploded on Pacific splashdown.
futurism.com
· 2026-09-29
On its 14th test flight, SpaceX's Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time, despite one of its more than three dozen engines shutting down early. The uncrewed vehicle deployed 26 advanced Starlink satellites before mission controllers cut the planned 10-hour flight to three hours, and the craft splashed down in the Pacific north of Hawaii, tipping over and catching fire.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-28
Florida startup Star Catcher is launching a prototype system on a SpaceX rocket to beam concentrated solar energy via laser to a separate orbiting satellite. CEO Andrew Rush says the system, called power nodes, gathers and refines sunlight into concentrated wavelengths that can then be directed as a laser beam toward satellites needing power.
wired.com
· 2026-09-28
Dr. Tony Phillips of spaceweather.com has built a method to track Earth's upper atmosphere by analyzing orbital decay data from SpaceX's Starlink satellites, along with constellations from Planet Labs, Amazon Kuiper, and Eutelsat OneWeb. He uses the 'B-star' drag term buried in Space Force tracking data to measure how much the atmosphere expands in response to solar activity, finding a roughly two-day lag between solar radio flux changes and atmospheric response.
theregister.com
· 2026-09-25
The BBC reported that the UK's armed forces are actively jamming satellites belonging to other nations as part of efforts to protect Britain's own space-based infrastructure. Health Secretary Wes Streeting, commenting on the reliance on satellite systems, noted that Britain depends on them for weather forecasts, energy supplies, financial transactions, sat-navs, mobile networks and deliveries.
bbc.com
· 2026-09-23
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