Wall Street Journal
• Juliet Chung
Harvard University’s endowment rose 27% in fiscal 2026 to a record $68 billion, its strongest 12-month return since 2021. Gains from equities and venture-capital investments, including SpaceX and other AI-related bets, helped drive the result; other university endowments have also reported returns above 20%.
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The publicly traded fund, which invests in privately owned early-stage space companies, gained 119.4% in the year ended June 30. Seraphim called satellite-imaging company Iceye its brightest portfolio performer, while saying several other holdings also recorded explosive growth.
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Harvard University’s endowment rose 27% in fiscal 2026 to a record $68 billion, its strongest 12-month return since 2021. Gains from equities and venture-capital investments, including SpaceX and other AI-related bets, helped drive the result; other university endowments have also reported returns above 20%.
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Voyager Technologies says its Griffin-1 lunar lander has completed acceptance testing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The spacecraft is planned to launch in late 2026 on a mission to the Moon’s south pole, marking a readiness milestone ahead of its scheduled flight.
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SpaceX’s CRS-35 mission, its 35th flight under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program, sent a cargo Dragon toward the International Space Station. The spacecraft was due to rendezvous with the station on Oct. 15 after a two-day journey, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of cargo.
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Oklahoma officials and Dawn Aerospace have broken ground on a mission control facility and spaceplane hangar at Infinity One Oklahoma Spaceport in Burns Flat. The $7.5 million project is intended to support Dawn’s spaceplane operations and advance the state’s efforts to develop a commercial spaceflight hub.
Barclays analysts outlined two possible timings for an announcement of a Tesla-SpaceX merger: alongside Tesla’s Dec. 6 annual general meeting or separately beforehand. The reports describe the prospect as a possibility, not a confirmed transaction; no deal terms or further details are provided.
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Rocket Lab has delayed the debut of its Neutron rocket again, targeting 2027 after identifying manufacturing problems with the first stage’s forward propellant dome and other carbon-composite components. CEO Peter Beck said the company would not accept a merely possible success as its standard for the vehicle’s first flight.
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