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Astranis says its fourth launch contract with SpaceX has been upgraded to a dedicated Falcon 9 mission in 2028. The flight is set to carry all satellites in the company’s Block 4 production run, replacing the prior launch arrangement with a mission reserved for the group of MicroGEO spacecraft.
Commercial Space
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Sierra Space has appointed Daniel Gittsovich as chief financial officer, bringing in an executive who most recently held the same role at L3Harris Technologies’ missile solutions unit. The hire comes as the company pursues a shift toward defense, placing financial leadership alongside its strategic repositioning.
Astranis says its fourth launch contract with SpaceX has been upgraded to a dedicated Falcon 9 mission in 2028. The flight is set to carry all satellites in the company’s Block 4 production run, replacing the prior launch arrangement with a mission reserved for the group of MicroGEO spacecraft.
A proposed combination of SpaceX and Tesla hinges on support from the carmaker’s shareholders, according to the report. The companies are described as being in very different positions, making the shareholder question central to whether Musk’s merger vision can advance.
Dr. David Voss describes a “third era of space” in which missions move beyond today’s assumptions toward hybrid architectures, a wider range of phenomenologies and greater reliance on commercial and allied partners. The shift changes how space missions are designed and how capabilities are assembled.
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NASA’s revised Artemis plan moves the Artemis III crewed mission to an Earth-orbit docking test in summer 2027, involving Orion and the SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin Blue Moon landers. A crewed lunar landing is now targeted for Artemis IV in 2028, as Administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledges significant challenges.
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The Japan-linked, San Francisco-based startup secured pre-seed funding to develop a system that would transmit power between satellites using lasers. Zero Industries is targeting an orbital demonstration by 2030; the announcement did not disclose the network’s planned scale or the specific satellites it would serve.
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Elon Musk said SpaceX has closed $40 billion in debt financing to acquire graphics processing units for its artificial intelligence efforts. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the discussions, reported that pricing talks were still ongoing, leaving details of the deal unclear.
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As SpaceX prepares for Starship Flight 15 in November, the company completed a static-fire test at Starbase on Sunday and is seeking to fly Flight 16 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A as soon as possible. The effort also includes a possible expansion at Roberts Road.
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