Missions & Constellations
HEO and UNSW Partner for Australia’s First Active Propulsion RPO Mission
CANBERRA — In a major advancement for sovereign space capability, HEO and UNSW Canberra Space researchers have partnered to execute Australia’s first Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) mission featuring an active propulsion system. Supported by funding from the Defence Trailblazer’s ...
SPARC AI Integrates ML Optimization into Overwatch to Mitigate Drone Telemetry Drift
VANCOUVER, B.C. — In a technical release on Friday, February 13, 2026, SPARC AI Inc. (CSE: SPAI) announced a significant upgrade to its Overwatch platform, introducing machine learning (ML) models designed to continuously calibrate and correct drone telemetry data in ...
Geopolitical Analysis: China Challenges SpaceX Dominance with Massive LEO Governance Strategy
CANBERRA — In a comprehensive analysis published Thursday, February 19, 2026, Monique Taylor via the East Asia Forum detailed how China is pivoting from technical catch-up to a sophisticated "regulatory flooding" strategy in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). As earlier SatNews ...
SpaceX Unveils ‘Stargaze’ System to Revolutionize Space Traffic Management
Addressing the critical challenge of increasing orbital congestion, SpaceX has officially unveiled "Stargaze," a novel Space Situational Awareness (SSA) system designed to enhance the safety of the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment. Stargaze utilizes the existing hardware on the Starlink ...
Loft Orbital and SmartSat CRC Partner to Deploy Edge-AI Wildfire Detection Application
On February 18, 2026, Loft Orbital (Loft) announced a strategic contract with the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (SmartSat CRC) to deploy a software-defined wildfire detection application onto Loft's existing on-orbit AI-enabled satellites. This high-tech demonstration marks a shift toward near ...
BlackSky Secures Eight-Figure International Contract for Sovereign Gen-3 Satellite Solution
BlackSky Technology Inc. announced the signing of a significant eight-figure international contract to provide a sovereign space-based intelligence solution to a global defense customer. The agreement includes the sale of a single high-resolution Gen-3 satellite, multi-year on-orbit operations, and subscription-based ...
Kepler Communications Names NanoAvionics as Preferred European Bus Provider for Optical Relay Missions
On February 17, 2026, Kepler Communications announced the selection of Kongsberg NanoAvionics ("NanoAvionics") as its preferred European satellite bus provider for upcoming hosted payload initiatives. The partnership targets spacecraft with a mass of up to 500kg and focuses on integrating ...
The Hybrid Architecture Is No Longer Theoretical
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. If there was any doubt that the center of gravity in the commercial space sector has shifted from venture capital speculation to kinetic necessity, that doubt was shattered by the final session, Smallsats at the Tactical ...
Compliance Becomes the New Gatekeeper for Space Startups
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. The SmallSat Symposium traditionally showcases hardware and orbital mechanics, but this year a different theme emerged. As the commercial space sector deepens ties with the Department of Defense, the focus is shifting from pure innovation to ...
SmallSat Launch Prices Rise as Competitors Stall on the Pad
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. The era of cheap, plentiful, and diverse access to space was supposed to be here by now. Instead, the industry arrived at the 2026 SmallSat Symposium only to find itself trapped in a bottleneck of its ...
The Benign Era is Over: Why the Commercial Space Sector Just Woke Up on the Front Lines
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. For the past decade the SmallSat industry operated under a comforting delusion that low Earth orbit was a sanctuary where commercial operators could move fast, break things, and prioritize automotive-grade electronics over military-grade hardening. Dr. Paul ...
The New Space Playbook Faces a Physics Cliff at the Moon
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. For the past decade, the commercial space sector has benefited from a benign era defined by a quiescent sun and the protective magnetosphere of Low Earth Orbit (LEO). This stability allowed companies to prioritize speed and ...
From Sandbox to Shield: The SmallSat Industry Grows Up
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium. If the mood at past SmallSat Symposiums was defined by exuberant experimentation, this year feels different. The energy has not vanished, but it has matured. During the session Engineering the Future Spacecraft, a clear signal emerged ...
From SmallSat Gold Rush to Fortress: The Militarization of Commercial Space
Dispatch from SmallSat Symposium: The era of the slide-deck billionaire is dead. Attendees entering the Small Satellites: Trends and Opportunities session expecting standard futurism about connecting the unconnected or democratizing the stars were likely disappointed. The mood at SmallSat Symposium ...
Kepler Communications’ next-generation optical data relay constellation launched
Kepler Communications has successfully launched the first operational tranche of its next-generation optical data relay constellation. The mission, carried out aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, successfully deployed ten 300-kilogram-class satellites into a Sun-Synchronous Orbit ...
Space: Disproving the Known
By early 2026, the data streaming back from our expanded orbital neighborhood has moved beyond merely filling in gaps in our knowledge; it is fundamentally challenging long-held scientific certainties. From the earliest moments of the universe to the chemical makeup ...
Expanding Beyond our “Urban” Satellite Congestion
The Yogi maxim "No one goes there anymore, it’s too crowded," matches a massive strategic shift in the space industry. The "crowded restaurant" of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is driving a significant expansion into what experts call the "Expanded Neighborhood" ...
Space Is Hard But It’s Always Sunny in Orbit
That "always sunny" optimism is exactly what's fueling the most audacious pivot in the space industry right now. It's certainly true that as of early 2026, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have become much more than just entrepreneurs. They are ...
Muon Space ramps up multi-mission satellite constellations
On February 4, 2026, Muon Space announced a major transition from executing discrete satellite missions to the sustained deployment of multi-mission constellations. This strategic shift follows a period of rapid growth for the Silicon Valley startup, which reported a 100 ...
OHB Hellas’ Versal Orbital HPC hardware collaboration with Parsimoni’s Satellite App Store,
On February 4, 2026, OHB Hellas and Parsimoni announced a strategic joint project to launch a secure, sovereign in-orbit software platform designed to accelerate value creation for European space missions. This collaboration integrates OHB Hellas’ Versal Orbital HPC hardware with ...
