AI News

Bloomberg

SpaceX builds 130-plus-company network to expand enterprise adoption of Grok AI

SpaceX is partnering with more than 130 companies, including Apollo Global Management, Nvidia, Snowflake, Databricks and Bain, to deploy and improve its Grok AI systems. The network is intended to bolster business adoption of Grok, extending SpaceX’s AI efforts beyond its own products and operations.

Universe Today

High activity

Europe’s €15.6B Iris2 constellation puts schedule, performance and cost risk on public and private partners

Europe’s Iris2 secure-connectivity constellation is a €15.6 billion ($18 billion) multi-orbit program, described as the continent’s largest space capital-expenditure effort. ESA says its delivery model shares responsibility for schedule, performance and cost across the public sector and private partners, including satellite builders Aerospacelab and SES.

Via Satellite

OXG Space raises ₹17 crore for orbital connectivity network; Atombeam secures $18.3 million for satellite and defense networking

Bengaluru-based OXG Space raised ₹17 crore in a round led by Aum Ventures’ India Innovation Fund II to build a satellite connectivity network in orbit. Separately, U.S. startup Atombeam raised $18.3 million to accelerate adoption of networking software for satellite, defense and commercial links, taking its total funding to $55 million.

AINonline

Levo and Portside launch quoting tool for Avianis operators

Levo and Portside have launched a quoting capability for operators using Avianis. The AI-powered integration is intended to expedite the quoting process, though the announcement provides no details on pricing, availability or measured time savings.

SpaceNews.com

SpaceNukes wins DARPA agreement to ground-test autonomous nuclear reactor controller

Space Nuclear Power Corporation, also known as SpaceNukes, says DARPA awarded it an Other Transaction Agreement under the Fast Capacitance (Fat Cat) program. The work will support a ground test of an autonomous nuclear reactor controller; the announcement provides no schedule, funding amount or further technical details.

Breaking Defense

Army tech chief discusses autonomy, acquisition and the future of drones

Army CTO Alex Miller spoke with Breaking Defense’s Carley Welch about the service’s unmanned initiatives, covering autonomy, acquisition and the future of drones. The interview brings together the technology and procurement dimensions of the Army’s plans for unmanned systems.

SpaceNews.com

Software-defined spacecraft need defenses that unite cyber, failure and environmental risks

As spacecraft become software-defined and more autonomous, conventional protection tools can miss how cyberattacks, equipment failures and environmental hazards overlap in orbit. A defense approach that treats these risks together could better address threats that may present similar symptoms to operators.

Payload

HPE’s Spaceborne Computer-4 to ride Astrolab’s FLIP rover to the Moon

Hewlett Packard Enterprise plans to send its Spaceborne Computer-4 AI-compute module to the Moon aboard Astrolab’s FLIP rover. The mission is scheduled to launch this year, putting onboard computing technology on a lunar surface mission.