Officials insist there are no plans to deploy troops in orbit, but commercial infrastructure and cislunar ambitions are reshaping the debate

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British mobile operator Virgin Media O2 said it started offering satellite-to-smartphone connectivity in the United Kingdom Feb. 26, marking the first commercial deployment of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell service in Europe.

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MILAN – Two of Europe’s largest primes, Airbus and Leonardo, reported increased revenues in their respective space businesses from last year. The results, which were announced earlier this week in separate earnings reports, come as the two companies are in discussions with Thales on a joint venture named Project Bromo. Neither discussed the topic on […]

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The founder and sole investor behind Canadian launch startup NordSpace has invested in Earth observation operator Wyvern with a new venture arm focused on advancing Canada’s sovereign space capabilities.

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Founder Fatih Ozmen, who was interim CEO, remains board chair

The post Sierra Space names Dan Jablonsky CEO appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – CesiumAstro announced the acquisition Feb. 26 of Vidrovr, a startup that specializes in artificial intelligence for multimodal signals analysis. Terms of the transaction, which closed in late 2025, were not disclosed. CesiumAstro acquired Vidrovr to accelerate its campaign to embed AI in space telecommunications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance infrastructure, enabling radio-frequency […]

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Remnants of Vector Launch have made it back to one of its original architects after Phantom Space bought launch assets that were sold off in 2020 during the small rocket developer’s bankruptcy.

The post Phantom Space reclaims former Vector launch technology appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke said he was the crew member whose medical issue prompted the early return of the Crew-11 mission from the International Space Station last month.

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China’s Tianwen-2 spacecraft is operating normally on its way to a near-Earth asteroid ahead of sampling later this year, according to a rare official update.

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Ken Bowersox, NASA’s associate administrator for space operations, is retiring from the agency after the release of a report critical of NASA’s handling of the Starliner crewed test flight.

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Delay complicates ULA’s push to accelerate launch cadence

The post Space Force halts Vulcan missions pending investigation into solid rocket issue appeared first on SpaceNews.

Seraphim Space announced Feb. 25 it has completed fundraising for its second private early-stage venture fund, after exceeding its $100 million target to back young space technology startups.

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Leaders of U.S. Space Command, U.S. Strategic Command and U.S. Northern Command closely involved in Golden Dome planning

The post Golden Dome to require unprecedented coordination between U.S. combatant commands appeared first on SpaceNews.

India’s space agency says a valve failure prevented a navigation spacecraft launched more than a year ago from raising its orbit.

The post Valve malfunction blamed for failure of Indian satellite to raise its orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.

A recent SpaceNews opinion article argued that it is time to “take astronomy off Earth.” The suggestion is straightforward: If satellite constellations and commercial space activity threaten ground-based astronomy, perhaps astronomers should simply move their work into space. As current, incoming and past presidents of the American Astronomical Society, we feel impelled to respond. As […]

The post The future of astronomy is both on Earth and in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

As the number of satellites in orbit grows, one emerging challenge is the difficulty some satellite operators have contacting counterparts to avoid potential collisions.

The post In space traffic coordination, the biggest challenge may be coordination appeared first on SpaceNews.

Europe’s investment arm is lending Luxembourg-based OQ Technology 25 million euros ($30 million) to expand its direct-to-device constellation, bolstering the continent’s push to compete with U.S.-led efforts to connect smartphones from space.

The post OQ Technology secures $30 million from Europe for satellite-to-smartphone expansion appeared first on SpaceNews.

Reconciliation boost lifts 2026 totals, but sustainability questions loom for missile defense and Space Development Agency

The post A banner year for military space funding— with an unclear path beyond appeared first on SpaceNews.

GPS IIIF features, including regional spot beams, will ‘change the calculus’ for adversaries

The post Lockheed Martin presses case that GPS upgrade will counter jamming threats appeared first on SpaceNews.

February 24, 2026 – Washington, DC – The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is proud to announce the release of a new paper titled “Perfecting Public-Private Partnerships: The Future of Government […]

The post The Commercial Space Federation Releases New White Paper “Perfecting Public-Private Partnerships” appeared first on SpaceNews.

Hegseth contrasts “builders” with Beltway primes as administration leans into procurement overhaul

The post At Colorado space firms, Hegseth casts Pentagon bureaucracy as the enemy appeared first on SpaceNews.

LambdaVision, a company that has used microgravity experiments on the International Space Station to develop an artificial retina, has booked space on a planned commercial successor.

The post LambdaVision books space on Starlab commercial space station appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – Sophia Space raised $10 million in seed funding to accelerate development of space-based edge computers and orbital data centers. “The $10 million round is a validation that we are progressing from slideware to hardware,” Rob DeMillo, Sophia Space CEO and co-founder, told SpaceNews. “And it’s evidence that capital is shifting towards orbital-compute […]

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SAN FRANCISCO – Before uploading a large language model to space-grade hardware, Boeing Space Mission Systems engineers sought guidance from the hardware manufacturer. “They told us it wasn’t possible, but we are skilled engineers who were going to figure out a pathway to make it happen,” Arvel Chappell III, Boeing Space Mission Systems AI Lab […]

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