Ars Technica
• Stephen Clark
A Chinese company has successfully landed a reusable rocket booster and says it will return the vehicle to service for another flight as soon as possible. The milestone points to an active effort to demonstrate booster reuse and accelerate commercial launch operations.
European Spaceflight
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Stoke Space has completed first-stage engines and conducted second-stage fit checks for Nova, its fully reusable medium-lift launch vehicle. The milestones, including vehicle mating, mark further progress toward the startup’s potential 2026 maiden launch as attention remains focused on SpaceX’s Starship program.
ATMOS Space Cargo has completed an initial study for its Phoenix 3 spacecraft, while the inaugural flight of Phoenix 2 has been delayed until 2027. The parallel program activity signals continued development of the company’s spacecraft portfolio despite a later-than-planned first mission.
SpaceX approached Cognition AI, the developer of an AI coding platform, about a potential acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter. The deal would have marked SpaceX’s second large takeover in recent months as Elon Musk’s space company seeks to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence.
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A Chinese company has successfully landed a reusable rocket booster and says it will return the vehicle to service for another flight as soon as possible. The milestone points to an active effort to demonstrate booster reuse and accelerate commercial launch operations.
Europe is emerging as a laggard in the global effort to move data centers into orbit, trailing the United States and China. The competitive gap highlights a developing strategic contest over space-based computing infrastructure and the technologies needed to support it.
America’s space economy is growing faster than the industrial base needed to support it, making supply chain resilience the industry’s next major challenge. The mismatch places manufacturing capacity, supplier depth and production scalability at the center of continued expansion across the sector.
Intuitive Machines’ $853.3 million acquisition of Maxar Space Systems remains unproven, but a three-satellite order and potential orbital data-center applications strengthen the strategic rationale. The transaction gives Intuitive Machines exposure to large-satellite manufacturing while adding possible growth beyond its existing space businesses.
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Firefly Aerospace will carry Zeno Power’s radioisotope heating unit aboard an upcoming Blue Ghost lunar lander mission, targeted for 2028 or later. The NASA-supported demonstration is intended to keep spacecraft components operational through the lunar night, testing nuclear-heating technology for longer-duration lunar missions.
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