Falcon 9 launches South Korean satellite and 45 rideshare payloads
Monday, 04 May 2026 00:57
A Falcon 9 launched a South Korean imaging satellite and dozens of secondary payloads May 3, illustrating the continued demand for SpaceX rideshare launches.
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to open programs to more vendors
Sunday, 03 May 2026 19:43
To accelerate adoption of commercial technology, NGA has established a Rapid Capabilities Office
NGA pushes AI adoption as demand grows for ‘always-on’ intelligence
Sunday, 03 May 2026 18:51
Rather than treating automation as a solution in itself, the agency is using it to reduce latency and narrow uncertainty
Artemis 3 plans remain uncertain as schedule slips
Saturday, 02 May 2026 23:42
More than two months after NASA announced revised plans for the Artemis 3 mission, the agency has provided few details about the mission amid signs its schedule may be slipping.
Why Artemis II’s Eclipse Footage Matters More Than Its Engineering
Saturday, 02 May 2026 08:38
No human had ever sat inside the moon’s shadow. When Artemis II’s Orion capsule rounded the lunar far side on April 1, 2026, its four-person crew became the first, witnessing 54 minutes of totality from a vantage point that no Earth-bound observer could match in duration, scale, or perspective. The geometry of Orion’s free-return trajectory […]
The post Why Artemis II’s Eclipse Footage Matters More Than Its Engineering appeared first on Space Daily.
DARPA’s LASSO Bet: Three Companies, One Brutal Orbit, and the Hunt for Lunar Ice
Saturday, 02 May 2026 06:36
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected Benchmark Space Systems, Quantum Space, and Revolution Space to develop competing concepts for a small lunar orbiter capable of hunting water ice from altitudes most spacecraft cannot survive. The agency confirmed the three Phase 1 awards on April 30 for its Lunar Assay via Small Satellite Orbiter […]
The post DARPA’s LASSO Bet: Three Companies, One Brutal Orbit, and the Hunt for Lunar Ice appeared first on Space Daily.
From Bespoke to Build-to-Print: How CLPS Is Engineering Lunar Landers Into a Production Line
Saturday, 02 May 2026 04:38
NASA has moved to raise the ceiling on its Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract from $2.6 billion to $4.2 billion, a 61% jump that signals the agency intends to buy far more robotic Moon landings than its current cadence supports. The increase, disclosed in a procurement filing on SAM.gov, is the contractual scaffolding for an […]
The post From Bespoke to Build-to-Print: How CLPS Is Engineering Lunar Landers Into a Production Line appeared first on Space Daily.
NASA to increase value of CLPS contract to support surge of lunar lander missions
Friday, 01 May 2026 21:43
NASA is planning to increase the total value of a contract for robotic lunar lander missions to support a proposed surge in flights for the agency’s moon base plans.
The opportunity beyond orbital data centers
Friday, 01 May 2026 18:10
Investor attention is starting to shift toward ventures that could be enabled by orbital data centers, even as the massive computing networks proposed by SpaceX and others remain years from reality.
Week in images: 27 April - 01 May 2026
Friday, 01 May 2026 12:15
Week in images: 27 April - 01 May 2026
Discover our week through the lens
Starcloud seeks more orbital data center funding shortly after unicorn status
Friday, 01 May 2026 11:57
Starcloud is looking to raise at least $200 million in a deal that would double the two-year-old orbital data center startup’s valuation to about $2.2 billion, a source close to the situation confirmed.
Trump nominates Schiess as next Space Force chief
Friday, 01 May 2026 11:55
Career space operator would succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman atop military space branch
Amazon Leo passes 300 satellites with Atlas and Ariane launches
Friday, 01 May 2026 11:01
A pair of launches this week pushed the number of Amazon Leo satellites deployed to more than 300, but the company is still far short of a looming FCC milestone.
DARPA selects three companies for lunar orbiter studies
Friday, 01 May 2026 09:53
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded contracts to three companies to study concepts for a lunar mission to search for water ice in very low orbits.
Sentinel-1D goes live: a milestone for Europe’s radar mission
Friday, 01 May 2026 07:32
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite, launched last November, is now fully operational after successfully completing its critical in-orbit commissioning phase.
With all four Sentinel-1 satellites having now been deployed, this achievement marks a major milestone for this flagship radar mission – a journey that began more than a decade ago and that has helped pave the way for the future of Earth observation.