News
What returning to lunar space means for human health
1+ hour, 19+ min ago (308+ words) NASA intends to solve the health effects of lunar dust through engineering by minimizing exposure of the humans to it, but it is likely that exposure will not be completely eliminated. As NASA astronauts venture" beyond low Earth orbit (LEO)…...
Portal Space Systems raises $50 million to accelerate spacecraft development
1+ hour, 19+ min ago (793+ words) WASHINGTON " Space mobility company Portal Space Systems has raised $50 million to scale up development of its highly maneuverable spacecraft. The company announced April 9 it closed a Series A round led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33. Several other investors participated in the…...
Albedo prepares second VLEO mission for 2027 launch
3+ hour, 19+ min ago (416+ words) SAN FRANCISCO " Albedo, the former Earth-observation startup now focused on satellite manufacturing, announced plans April 9 to send its second spacecraft into very low-Earth orbit (VLEO). Vicinity, scheduled to launch in 2027, will deploy solar arrays to provide far more power than…...
Space Force taps 14 firms for $1. 8 billion GEO surveillance program
2+ hour, 52+ min ago (392+ words) WASHINGTON " The U. S. Space Force selected 14 companies to compete for contracts under a new $1. 8 billion procurement of satellites and supporting technologies to monitor activity in geosynchronous orbit. The program known as Andromeda is structured as a $1. 8 billion, 10-year contracting vehicle managed…...
Apex to develop larger satellites for missile defense, space-based computing
5+ hour, 19+ min ago (441+ words) WASHINGTON " Apex, a Los Angeles'based satellite manufacturer, is moving to build larger and more powerful spacecraft less than a year after introducing its biggest platform, signaling a shift in demand toward energy-intensive missions such as orbital computing and missile defense....
Improved thresholds and SSA accuracy can reduce most satellite collision risk
18+ hour, 3+ min ago (545+ words) WASHINGTON " Improving the accuracy of space situational awareness (SSA) data and using tighter thresholds for potential conjunctions can help retire most of the risk of satellite collisions in low Earth orbit, a new study concludes. Research presented April 8 at the…...
Space Sovereignty Is No Longer Optional
20+ hour, 28+ min ago (403+ words) A Critical Infrastructure Under Strain Sovereignty, Capability and the New Space Reality For allied countries, particularly those often described as middle powers, this creates an uncomfortable dilemma. These are nations with meaningful space assets and growing security responsibilities, but without…...
Tracking the next SDA challenge
1+ day, 19+ min ago (622+ words) A flurry of commercial innovation has left the U. S. government with no shortage of sensors and AI-driven insights to monitor the increasingly packed and contested space environment. The challenge is turning this abundance of data into an operational space domain awareness…...
April 30: Opportunities for On-Orbit Computing
23+ hour, 47+ min ago (210+ words) Orbital data centers have quickly moved from hypothetical to seemingly inevitable, and opportunities and challenges are coming into focus fast. As players raise millions to drive the race to establish off-planet computing, join Space News on April 30 in Washington, D. C. , for…...
Preparing for the next NASA budget battle
20+ hour, 19+ min ago (648+ words) When Congress passed a fiscal year 2026 "minibus" appropriations bill in January, much of the space community breathed a sigh of relief. Congress had rejected the steep cuts proposed by the Trump administration, including a nearly 25% reduction in the agency's overall…...