An order for Oman’s first geostationary communications satellite has lifted the global tally for this year to six, matching all of 2024 with a month still to go but still well below the industry’s former double-digit annual pace.

The post Oman brings GEO orders level with 2024 as larger spacecraft regain traction appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA has revised its commercial crew contract with Boeing, reducing the number of Starliner missions to four, the first of which will carry only cargo.

The post NASA to fly only cargo on next Starliner mission under modified contract appeared first on SpaceNews.

Amazon has unveiled the final production version of Leo Ultra, the company’s highest-performing enterprise terminal for the satellite broadband constellation it aims to bring into service next year.

The post Amazon unveils production-ready gigabit-class Leo Ultra broadband terminal appeared first on SpaceNews.

Star Wars is back in vogue with President Trump’s executive order to establish the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield. It will feature an ambitious space-based boost-phase interceptor program in addition to terrestrial systems. While admittedly the holy grail of defense against ballistic missiles, the obstacles that plagued its discontinued predecessor, “Brilliant Pebble,” under the Strategic […]

The post Star Wars redux: the false promise of space-based missile defense appeared first on SpaceNews.

China conducted a pair of launches last week, adding new spacecraft to its opaque TJS and Shijian satellite series.

The post China launches TJS-21 towards Molniya orbit, lofts trio of Shijian-30 spacecraft appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this episode of Space Minds, Senior Staff Writer Jeff Foust moderates a panel at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, the next installment of the Center’s Discovery Series.

The post Science fiction and innovation in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Col. Brian Chatman: The volume is here to stay. The next step is making sure the infrastructure can keep up

The post Florida Space Coast tops 100 launches as Space Force pushes for range upgrades appeared first on SpaceNews.

A new German military space policy outlines the ambitions the country has fueled by tens of billions of euros of new spending over the next several years.

The post Germany outlines military space priorities in new strategy appeared first on SpaceNews.

A member of the European Parliament said there is widespread support there for the proposed European Union Space Act, while acknowledging that the draft released this summer can be refined.

The post European Parliament member sees support for EU Space Act there appeared first on SpaceNews.

The first booster in the new generation of Starship vehicles suffered significant damage during a Nov. 21 test, adding to doubts about the vehicle’s development schedule.

The post First next-generation Starship booster damaged in testing appeared first on SpaceNews.

The company is pitching Blue Ring as a workhorse for military missions that demand aggressive maneuvering in orbit

The post Blue Origin advances Blue Ring spacecraft toward 2026 national security mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

Europe must move quickly to craft a large-scale strategy for space-based data centers or risk ceding a potential pillar of future digital infrastructure to global competitors, according to the European Space Policy Institute.

The post Think tank urges Europe to scale up space-based data center efforts appeared first on SpaceNews.

WARSAW, Poland — Finnish SAR constellation operator Iceye and Japan’s aerospace and defense company IHI Corporation recently signed a deal to develop an Earth observation satellite constellation for security, civilian and commercial use.  Under the latest deal, IHI Corporation ordered four satellites and an associated image acquisition system from Iceye, with the option to purchase […]

The post Finland’s Iceye secures Japanese contract as it advances international expansion, new satellite ranges appeared first on SpaceNews.

MILAN — The European Space Agency has tapped a consortium led by Thales Alenia Space Italy to develop its Argonaut lunar lander and has outlined a division of labor for the program across several European firms. Thales Alenia Space Italy will act as the Lunar Design Element (LDE) prime contractor and ensure that all subsystems […]

The post ESA unveils Thales Alenia Space-led consortium for its Argonaut lunar lander appeared first on SpaceNews.

Starlab Space has secured funding from an investment group as development of its proposed commercial space station reaches a critical phase.

The post Janus Henderson invests in Starlab Space appeared first on SpaceNews.

A week after successfully launching and landing the current version of New Glenn, Blue Origin announced a series of upgrades to the vehicle.

The post Blue Origin announces New Glenn upgrade plans appeared first on SpaceNews.

Rocket Lab launched a payload for an undisclosed commercial customer Nov. 20, just hours after the company announced plans for the launch.

The post Electron launches confidential commercial satellite appeared first on SpaceNews.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman says work on the service’s “objective force” analysis is nearly complete, publication likely in 2026

The post Space Force roadmap set to define what the service needs and why appeared first on SpaceNews.

Humanity is losing the genetic diversity that sustains life on Earth at a pace that should alarm every nation. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, about 75% of the world’s crop varieties have disappeared in the last century. According to Marie Haga, former Executive Director of the Global Crop Trust, it’s closer to […]

The post The ultimate backup: why humanity needs a lunar seed vault — now appeared first on SpaceNews.

The deal strengthens domestic access to energetics and propellants at a time of rising demand for munitions

The post Voyager Technologies acquires Estes Energetics appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss sits down with Marshall Smith, CEO of Starlab Space for a fireside chat at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, the next installment of the Center’s Discovery Series.

The post Reimagining space stations for the commercial age appeared first on SpaceNews.

With ESA members set to decide on the agency’s budget for the next three years, all eyes on how much Germany will offer to support an ambitious series of programs.

The post Industry expects Germany to increase ESA contributions appeared first on SpaceNews.

Swedish Space Corp. has rolled out a new ground station service designed to provide streamlined support for operators of small satellites and constellations.

The post SSC introduces streamlined ground station service appeared first on SpaceNews.

WARSAW, Poland — Italian-Dutch company Revolv Space has its first customer for the company’s next-generation solar array drive assembly (SADA) for medium-sized platforms and constellations, a product known as MARA. Filippo Oggionni, the chief commercial officer and co-founder of Revolv Space, told SpaceNews that the company has sold 10 units of MARA, which Revolve launched […]

The post Italian-Dutch space company Revolv Space launches new, larger solar array drive assembly appeared first on SpaceNews.