SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Intuitive Machines was selected by JPL to provide the spacecraft platform and system integration for the FALCON-RADAR Earth science mission planned to launch in 2029. Despite successes of Otter Pup prototypes, Starfish Space lost contact with its first full-scale Otter spacecraft, prematurely ending a $15

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Jared Isaacman announced NASA has cut the Artemis III assembly and integration schedule in half and gave more specific finalized operational details of the mission.  Virgin Galactic’s Delta-class spaceplane, Apeiron, undergoing testing ahead of planned commercial suborbital flights in 2027. Kratos will receive $33.6 million

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA is testing Astrolab’s CLV-1 and Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus crewed rover mockups while finalizing the VIPER rover for the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander 2027 mission. Firefly Aerospace passed its preliminary design review for Elytra, clearing it for a late 2028 mission to deploy drones

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Voyager Lunar Systems’ (formerly Astrobotic’s) Griffin-1 lander passed environmental testing and is heading back to Pittsburgh for its final assembly and late 2026 launch. Rocket Lab’s Neutron debut launch is delayed to 2027 due to composite manufacturing issues.  First woman around the Moon, Christina Koch, will

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA is hiring new flight directors, taking applications for a short 10-day window until Oct 12. With SpaceX phasing out commercial Falcon 9 flights, Rocket Lab’s launch backlog has surged to $2.36 billion as satellite operators seek alternatives. Artemis II lunar science data archive was

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA and Boeing announced they are targeting Dec 2026 or Jan 2027 for the uncrewed Starliner 1 validation flight to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Starship Flight 14 reached orbit for the first time & deployed 26 Starlink satellites, but an engine problem cut the

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced that the Artemis 3 vehicle is on track for Nov 2026 fueling tests while opening national bidding for the new U.S. Space Academy. SpaceX to receive up to US$950 million from NASA for three additional crewed flights to ISS running

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Rocket Lab has fully financed its pending acquisition of Iridium, expected to close in mid-2027, through a $1.944B equity program. SpaceX Starship Flight 14 was pushed to September 28; for this flight, the upper-stage will attempt its first true orbital insertion maneuver. Intuitive Machines states

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA has requested proposals to develop surface technologies, including power, oxygen extraction and manufacturing needed to build a sustainable lunar South Pole base. Founded in 2019, Stoke Space has raised $2.3 billion in total capital, following a recent $1 billion Series E financing round to

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Blue Origin won US$700M contract to build Mars telecommunications orbiter; and broke ground at new Cape Canaveral payload processing facility that aims to support up to 16 missions annually. NASA is modifying its lunar spacesuit requirements for a simpler, lighter “Sortie Suit” variant with Axiom Space

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Over a 2-year period starting in 2027, SpaceX plans to build Starbase Louisiana, a $100 billion spaceport serving as a Starship launch hub.  Issued by the White House, a memorandum outlined a new National Space Transportation Policy, establishing goals to achieve over 1,000 annual launches

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Firefly awarded Spacecraft Processing Operations Contract from NASA, allowing the company to compete for task orders to support missions launching from Vandenberg.  Intuitive Machines will design and manufacture a multi-satellite communications infrastructure—likely three geostationary craft—for an undisclosed customer in a deal valued at over $600

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Blue Origin is constructing LC-36B at Cape Canaveral to support New Glenn 9×4 (9 boosters and 4 upper-stage engines) launches, while New Glenn 7×2 will launch from LC-36A after its rebuild.  Virgin Galactic opened public voting to name its new “Delta-1” SpaceShip vehicle, which is

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE NASA and Northrop Grumman are repurposing Gateway HALO technologies into three Lunar Infrastructure Demo (LID) missions to tackle extreme temperature swings at the lunar South Pole. SpaceX stock has fallen significantly from its post-IPO peak above $200, though the company’s 2026 second-quarter revenue hit $7.8

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE The upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will impact the Moon, creating a flash of light and plume of ejecta, on August 5 at 06:34:33 UTC near the Einstein and Bell craters (the Earth-facing edge around the 10 o’clock position). Rocket Lab was

SPACE UPDATE NASA & NEWSPACE Highly anticipated SpaceX Starship Flight 13 achieved many mission successes: Super Heavy hard splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, deployed 20 Starlink satellites, Starship soft landing in Indian Ocean. Astronauts and engineers increasingly question whether a safe, practical landing at the lunar south pole is

SPACE UPDATE NASA & COMMERCIAL PARTNERS SpaceX Starship Flight 13 automatically aborted as multiple raptor engines failed to ignite. May attempt flight as early as July 20. NASA and Draper cancel lunar lander CLPS CP-12 contract – this mission was the Team Draper Commercial Mission 1 (aka ispace Mission 3) to

SPACE UPDATE NASA & COMMERCIAL PARTNERS Fire on the Moon combustion experiment, recently detailed by astronaut Butch Wilmore, is expected to be among the payloads aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 mission launching in late 2026. NASA’s CAPSTONE spacecraft concluded a successful extended mission testing lunar technologies, serving as a cost-effective testbed for

SPACE UPDATE NASA & COMMERCIAL PARTNERS Another round of awards, totaling nearly $600 million, to be given to NASA commercial partners for lunar missions (Astrobotic $297.9M, Firefly Aerospace $144.2M, Intuitive Machines $148.3M). Engineering model of Perseverance rover (dubbed “Promise”) may be repurposed for lunar mission with multi-mission radioisotope thermoelectric generator.

LUNAR NEWS NASA & ARTEMIS NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to discuss the next set of lunar lander missions and awards this Tuesday 30 June. Eric Berger reports the work for the Lunar Gateway’s planned Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) has ceased. A NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) analysis indicates aging infrastructure will need $1

LUNAR NEWS Chang’e-6 lead isotope data shows that a massive impact, rather than just the early Lunar Magma Ocean, heavily modified the lunar crust in the South Pole–Aitken region. | Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander is to be sent to JPL later this month for environmental testing, in preparation for its launch

LUNAR NEWS Falcon 9 upper stage (4,000 kg dry) now expected to impact lunar surface at 06:35 UTC on August 5, 2026. | Artemis III test mission set for 2027, names 4 crew members. | The details of Japan’s SLIM lander deploying a baseball-sized rover (LEV-2) on the lunar surface

LUNAR NEWS SpaceX likely will go public at a multiple of the combined market capitalization of all other space companies. | FAA requires an investigation into uncontrolled landing of SpaceX Super Heavy booster on Starship Flight 12. | Blue Origin mission schedule is said by others to be set back

June 1-7, 2026 | Vol 45, Week 22 | Hawai`i Island, USA NASA Personnel Announce Timeline for USA on the Moon, Project Awards, Moon Base Website Live-streamed and recorded NASA news conference May 26 on Moon Base plans featured Jared Isaacman, Lorie Glaze and Carlos García-Galán. Isaacman restated the intention