Civil

Isaacman: Commercial Won’t Solve Every NASA Problem

“If the objective is to force an economy out of every NASA endeavor, then NASA should probably sit inside the Department of Commerce,” Isaacman wrote in a lengthy post on X late Wednesday night. “But NASA is an independent agency with a broader mission.”

Polaris

Trump Orders Study To Establish US Space Academy

Is the US about to add a new service-academy rivalry to college football Saturdays?

VC/PE

Diffraqtion Adds to Pre-Seed Round for Quantum Camera Tech

The investments from Lockheed Martin Ventures and Sumitomo Corporation’s Presidio Ventures bring the startup’s total funding to $10M+.

BusinessMilitary

LeoLabs Wins $20.68M Space Force Award for Scout

LeoLabs is applying its radar tech to national security missions under a new contract with the Space Force, announced Wednesday.

InternationalISAM

Exclusive: OrbitAID to Launch RPO Demo in 2027

“Most RPO demonstrations to date have qualified a single piece of the sequence, either far-range inspection or close-approach maneuvering, in isolation,” he said. “OrbitAID’s mission is designed to prove the entire satellite life extension in a single flight.”

BusinessLaunch

Portal Books Dedicated Falcon 9 Amid Constrained Launch Market

While Thornburg said Portal is expected to take up about half of the fairing with its own spacecraft, it’s working with launch integrator Maverick Space Systems to sell the other half to customers looking for rideshare opportunities in a turbulent market.

DebrisLEO

Slingshot’s Portal Adds New AI-Powered Missions

Slingshot Aerospace announced it is adding new capabilities to its Portal platform to help operators better monitor that crowded environment.

BusinessGEO

Astranis Unveils Perceptor, an SDA Product for GEO

Astranis found problems with existing SDA tech while operating in GEO—so it built a tool to fix it. 

Military

Guetlein: CR Could Mean ‘No Golden Dome…No Funding’

“I will tell you, if they don’t figure it out, there is no Golden Dome—because there’s no funding,” he continued. 

MilitaryPolaris

Bill Spotlight: Space Superiority Readiness Act

A bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill last week aiming to ensure the US military is prepared for conflict with Beijing in orbit. 

Polaris

FL Governor Candidate Launches Space Race Policy

“Right now, other states and other countries are competing for the launches, the investments, and the high-paying jobs that belong to our workers, our graduates, and our families. We are going to change that,” Donalds said at a press event.

Payload Pioneers 2023Payload Pioneers 2024Payload Pioneers 2025

Payload Pioneers: Where Are They Now?

Since 2023, the Payload Pioneers program has recognized 90 young stars of the space industry. After three years, we wanted to check in on where some of our 30-under-30s are today. 

EuropeVC/PE

SWISSto12 Closes $70M Series C

European space company SWISSto12 has raised a $70M Series C, which will help it scale to meet the global demand for sovereign hardware in orbit.