Commercial Space Industry (New Space) News

Reuters • Tim Hepher

Thales denies deal as Airbus and Leonardo continue talks to form European satellite manufacturer

Airbus, Thales and Italy's Leonardo are still negotiating a tie‑up to create a pan‑European satellite manufacturer. Thales said on Thursday no agreement has been reached and work remains ongoing, contradicting media reports that an agreement in principle or imminent signing had been secured.

2025-10-16T03:48:09.285995-07:00

Boeing

Boeing and Virgin Atlantic to Upgrade In‑Flight Connectivity Across 787 Fleet

2025-10-15T12:04:38.084034-07:00

Ars Technica

NASA and Lockheed weigh launching Orion on commercial rockets, marking a major Artemis strategy shift

2025-10-15T13:32:47.629701-07:00

Via Satellite

ESA selects Kongsberg NanoAvionics to build large multi‑payload cubesat for EU IOD/IOV programme

2025-10-15T13:06:13.169843-07:00

Commercial Space Industry (New Space) News Timeline

Space.com

Mauve, the first private space telescope, will assess stellar environments for habitable exoplanets Mauve, billed as the world’s first private space telescope, will survey nearby stars to assess their environments and flag stellar activity that could rule out habitability for orbiting exoplanets. Its team says Mauve will identify which stars are most likely to produce life‑damaging conditions and prioritise targets for follow-up.

2025-10-17T07:08:24.721965-07:00

Mauve, the first private space telescope, will assess stellar environments for habitable exoplanets

SpaceNews.com

Investors Pour Cash into Defence — Dual‑Use Technologies Are the Sweet Spot Capital is pouring into defence, but investors and companies are increasingly focused on dual‑use technologies that serve both military and commercial markets. That preference is reshaping funding, partnerships and product strategies as startups and primes prioritise adaptable systems that can scale across defence and civil applications.

2025-10-17T06:05:16.087033-07:00

Investors Pour Cash into Defence — Dual‑Use Technologies Are the Sweet Spot

Payload

Viridian wins $1.7M DoD Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for VLEO satellites Viridian Space Corporation has secured a $1.7 million Department of Defense Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellites. The award will fund maturation of propulsion hardware and testing aimed at countering VLEO’s atmospheric drag to enable longer on‑orbit operations.

2025-10-17T06:04:05.706254-07:00

Viridian wins $1.7M DoD Phase II SBIR to advance air‑breathing propulsion for VLEO satellites

European Spaceflight

Open Cosmos wins contract to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation Spain’s space agency and ESA have selected Open Cosmos over Deimos to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation, with deliveries scheduled by 2027. The award embeds a Spain‑built smallsat package into a wider Atlantic constellation effort and advances national LEO capability.

2025-10-17T01:41:46.724330-07:00

Open Cosmos wins contract to build Spain’s eight-satellite contribution to the Atlantic Constellation

Payload

UK small‑launcher Astron Systems books flights through 2030 Astron Systems, a UK startup developing low‑cost, reusable small‑lift rockets, has booked launch flights through 2030, locking in customer missions across the remainder of the decade. The commitments signal continued commercial demand for dedicated small‑sat access and predictable ride availability.

2025-10-16T21:49:18.423609-07:00

UK small‑launcher Astron Systems books flights through 2030

Space Intel Report

Reznikov assesses Western commercial geospatial imaging satellites' role in Ukraine war Former Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov, speaking in La Plata, Maryland, assessed Western providers' commercial geospatial imaging satellites and their operational use in Ukraine's war effort, outlining the strategic and operational implications of commercial ISR on targeting, transparency and battlefield decision‑making.

2025-10-16T13:35:08.072235-07:00

Reznikov assesses Western commercial geospatial imaging satellites' role in Ukraine war

Via Satellite

SoftBank-led consortium to demo bidirectional optical LEO-to-HAPS links A Japanese consortium led by SoftBank, with ArkEdge Space, Kiyohara Optics and NICT, will demonstrate bidirectional optical communications between LEO smallsats and high‑altitude platforms in the stratosphere. The tests aim to validate high‑bandwidth, low‑latency laser links to bridge satellite and HAPS networks.

2025-10-16T12:38:37.980329-07:00

SoftBank-led consortium to demo bidirectional optical LEO-to-HAPS links

European Spaceflight

HyImpulse raises €45M to accelerate SL‑1 hybrid orbital launcher, targets 2027 maiden flight German startup HyImpulse has secured €45 million to develop its hybrid‑powered SL‑1 small orbital launcher (around 600 kg payload) and accelerate a targeted maiden flight in 2027. The financing round brings new strategic investors, including a high‑profile backer from the Schwarz Group.

2025-10-16T09:02:44.524015-07:00

HyImpulse raises €45M to accelerate SL‑1 hybrid orbital launcher, targets 2027 maiden flight

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