Space.com
• Mike Wall
SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Florida’s Space Coast on Aug. 11, marking the 18th mission for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1085. The flight was among 51 Space Coast launches in 2026 by SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin and NASA.
Commercial Space
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Norway’s sovereign wealth fund held a 0.05% stake in SpaceX valued at $1.22 billion as of June 30, marking the first time the world’s largest fund has disclosed the investment in its updated holdings list.
SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Florida’s Space Coast on Aug. 11, marking the 18th mission for the Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1085. The flight was among 51 Space Coast launches in 2026 by SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin and NASA.
SpaceX’s reported move to acquire AI startup Cursor is central to Morgan Stanley’s bullish valuation case, which sees the company’s shares more than doubling. The thesis assigns considerable value to SpaceX’s expansion into artificial intelligence rather than relying primarily on its launch and space operations.
BlackSky has secured a seven-figure, multiyear contract from an international customer for persistent space-based monitoring and on-demand satellite tasking. The announcement expands the company’s disclosed commercial space-intelligence work, though BlackSky did not identify the customer or provide the contract’s exact value.
A retired general who served as deputy commander of U.S. Space Command has joined the board of Lunar Outpost, a company developing lunar rovers. The appointment adds senior military-space leadership to the company as it advances its commercial lunar exploration activities.
A proposal to deploy as many as 1 million AI satellites in orbit could sharply increase rocket-launch emissions and produce concentrated toxic ash as spacecraft reenter the atmosphere. The scale of the data-center constellation raises questions about the environmental limits of orbital computing and satellite disposal.
Proteus Space, an AI-native aerospace company focused on rapid, end-to-end access to space, has appointed retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Kimberly “Kim” Crider to its Board of Directors. Crider previously served as the U.S. Air Force’s first Chief Technology and Innovation Officer.
Teams at SpaceX’s Starbase production site are moving multiple Starship vehicles through assembly facilities as the company prepares them for cryogenic testing and subsequent milestones. The activity signals continued vehicle pipeline development and capacity expansion intended to support a higher future launch cadence.
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