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• Jeff Foust
A SpaceX executive confirmed that the next Starship flight will carry its first orbital payloads, including Starlink satellites. The mission is expected to advance the company’s direct-to-device connectivity ambitions and provide an initial testbed for future orbital data-center concepts.
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Australian Earth-observation company LatConnect 60 has signed two strategic agreements in India covering satellite mission infrastructure and access to the country’s defense and geospatial-intelligence markets. Announced at the Bengaluru Space Expo 2026, the deals support the company’s expansion of its SWIRSAT business in India.
A SpaceX executive confirmed that the next Starship flight will carry its first orbital payloads, including Starlink satellites. The mission is expected to advance the company’s direct-to-device connectivity ambitions and provide an initial testbed for future orbital data-center concepts.
French launch provider MaiaSpace has secured its first long-term Asian customer agreement with Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS), which plans to use the company to launch a range of synthetic-aperture radar satellites. The deal gives MaiaSpace an anchor customer as it builds its commercial launch business.
Eutelsat has placed major satellite orders with Airbus and Aerospacelab to support service continuity for its OneWeb constellation and Europe’s IRIS² secure-connectivity network. The commitments link commercial broadband operations with Europe’s emerging sovereign space communications infrastructure.
Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft reached NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory but was unable to complete the planned mission to boost the observatory’s orbit. LINK remains operational, allowing the spacecraft to continue conducting operations despite the failed rescue attempt.
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Tomorrow.io has selected York Space Systems as prime contractor for the initial phase of its DeepSky constellation under a $187 million contract. The satellites will combine microwave sounders, GNSS radio occultation and reflectometry receivers, precipitation radars, and optical and infrared cameras for real-time global atmospheric monitoring.
NASA awarded Inversion Space a contract to study aerocapture, a concept that uses a planetary atmosphere to slow an incoming spacecraft. The work could examine a new approach to interplanetary travel by reducing the need for conventional propulsion during spacecraft arrival.
TrustPoint, a startup developing a commercial global navigation satellite system, has selected EnduroSat to build a 40-satellite constellation. The agreement adds a defined spacecraft manufacturing partner to TrustPoint’s plans to establish an alternative commercial GNSS service.
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