Military
Stories about military and national security missions in orbit.
Exclusive: Viridian Space Signs CRADA Agreement with US Air Force
LEO is getting crowded, but there’s plenty of real estate available closer to home if you can make it work. California-based Viridian Space is aiming to do just that.
York Space Systems IPOs at $4.75B Valuation
The IPO offered a prime opportunity for retail investors looking to ride the wave of US defense spending that’s been buoyed by the Trump administration’s promises of Golden Dome.
US Army Puts Out the Call for Space Soldiers
Space is the ultimate high ground, and the US Army just put out a call for a new type of soldier to keep watch on the walls.
Varda, Stratolaunch to Launch Pentagon Hypersonics
Last week, the Pentagon announced that it had awarded two contracts to Varda Space Industries and Stratolaunch as providers for Task Area 3 of the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program, which focuses on reusable flight concepts for hypersonic missile tests.
Loft Orbital Wins €50M Contract to Build French SAR Sat
The demo is part of France’s DESIR program, which is intended to widen the pool of EO capabilities available to the French defense sector.
Starfish Wins SDA Deorbit-As-A-Service Contract
Starfish says this marks the first contracted mission for end-of-life satellite disposal services, in comparison to typical missions that treat disposal as a one-off or a demo.
Sweden’s Space Spending Aims to Boost NATO Capabilities
The Swedish Armed Forces allocated 1.3B Swedish Kronor (€121.4M) to purchase 10 surveillance satellites, split between Planet and ICEYE.
SDA Awards $3.5B in Tranche 3 Tracking Layer Contracts
The Space Development Agency awarded $3.5B in contracts on Friday to continue building the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA)—-a missile-tracking, military-supporting, multi-layer constellation that’s been several years in the making.
ICEYE, Rheinmetall Land €1.7B German Defense Contract
The joint venture owned by Finnish EO firm ICEYE and German arms maker Rheinmetall has turned on its money-printing machine.
Norwegian, German Firms Partner on New Defense Sats
The two companies announced plans this week to build a sovereign ISR and communications constellation with the goal of deploying by 2029.
Exclusive: Fortastra Lands $8M Seed to Develop Orbital Defense Sats
Military capabilities on orbit are ramping up, but aside from a handful of explosive anti-satellite demos in recent decades, the rising tension has yet to get physical.
NDAA on Golden Dome, Acquisition, Nat Sec Launch
House and Senate negotiators unveiled the compromise fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Bill on Monday, which would codify President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program into law.