International
Stories around the biggest global space news, including from Europe, India, and Japan.
ispace Crashes on the Moon in Second Attempt
Officials said the lander failed to slow down enough for landing, likely crashing into the lunar surface, but the root problem is unclear.
China Says Golden Dome Could Spark Space Arms Race
“The project will heighten the risk of turning the space into a war zone and creating a space arms race, and shake the international security and arms control system.”
ICEYE and Rheinmetall Form Sat Production Partnership
The new venture, called Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions, will split ownership 60/40 between Rheinmetall and ICEYE, respectively, and expects to begin production of SAR sats in the second quarter of next year.
MDA Space is Safe From Trump Tariffs, Budget Cuts
MDA Space posted its Q1 2025 financial results yesterday, showing a strong quarter with revenues ($351M CAD/$252.3M), backlog ($4.1B CAD/$2.95B), and net income ($37.2M CAD/$26.7M) all up compared to the same period last year.
International Partners Wrestle With Skinny Budget Fallout
The effects of the White House’s top level budget proposal are starting to ripple around the world.
Europe’s Space Defense Industry Sees Opportunity in Discord
European governments have unshackled budget rules and funded a five-year rearmament plan.
New Report Values the Space Industry at $944B by 2033
The report, released yesterday, predicted that the global space economy will reach $944B by 2033.
Op-ed: A Resilient Europe Means Learning from the US Model
Amid shifting global power balances and an ongoing war on European soil, it’s more important than ever for Europe to quickly address its fragmented, painfully slow, and overly cautious procurement process—or risk permanently lagging behind those who want to do it harm.
China Shares Moon Rocks, Steps Up Space Collaboration
China announced that it will share lunar samples with international researchers and fly other nations’ payloads aboard future Moon and Mars missions—a giant leap for Beijing’s space diplomacy efforts.
Europe’s New Spacecraft to Map World’s Forests in 3D
Europe will launch a satellite to map the world’s forests in 3D, to hunt down illegal logging and track climate change by mapping how forests store carbon.
US and Korean Space Officials Push For Closer Collaboration
Officials from the two countries’ civil space programs met in Washington, DC on Monday for the fourth US-ROK Civil Space Dialogue, which culminated in a bilateral commitment to increase collaboration on civil, military, and commercial space missions.
NATO Considers Reopening Space Policy Ahead of Schedule
“It’s not supposed to be even touched until 2027. Now they’re saying that’s probably too long. So let’s talk about—is now the time, based on what’s happening in the world,” Col. Jonathan Whitaker told Payload on the sidelines of Space Symposium.
Lunar Cubesat Constellation to Search for Ancient Cosmic Signal
Blue Skies Space, a UK-based startup, will design a Moon-orbiting cubesat constellation to search for the oldest signal from the ancient universe.