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• Sandra Erwin
The U.S. Space Force is expanding its use of commercial satellites to detect and locate GPS jamming and other electronic interference worldwide. The initiative moves beyond an experiment, creating a standing operational role for commercial space systems in monitoring contested electromagnetic environments.
Commercial Space
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The U.S. Space Force is expanding its use of commercial satellites to detect and locate GPS jamming and other electronic interference worldwide. The initiative moves beyond an experiment, creating a standing operational role for commercial space systems in monitoring contested electromagnetic environments.
SpaceX will account for 2.82% of the Nasdaq-100 when the index’s quarterly rebalance takes effect Monday, more than doubling its current 1.28% weighting. The change reflects the growing market value and public-market relevance of the privately held commercial space company.
Rocket Lab launched a radar-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective on Sept. 18, marking the fifth Electron mission in roughly six weeks. The flight underscores the company’s accelerating launch cadence as it supports commercial Earth-observation customers with dedicated small-launch services.
Germany’s DLR is preparing to launch the MAPHEUS-17 suborbital research mission from Esrange Space Center in Sweden as early as Oct. 1. The flight will support DLR’s ongoing use of suborbital missions for scientific and technology research, although no further payload or schedule details were provided.
ViaSat said its third and final terabit-class ViaSat-3 broadband satellite has entered service over the Americas. The milestone came days after SpaceX launched the final three satellites for SES’s O3b mPower constellation, marking the completion of both operators’ major network deployment campaigns.
High activity
NASA is discussing a potential block of 10 or more low-Earth-orbit missions with Boeing’s Starliner, despite risks encountered during its 2024 crewed test. At the same time, NASA is extending SpaceX’s Crew Dragon contract by three additional ISS missions worth about $950 million.
Space Cargo Unlimited has secured a dedicated mission on SpaceX’s new Starfall reentry vehicle, booking roughly one-third of the vehicle’s available capacity. The commitment signals early commercial demand for Starfall as a platform for microgravity research and recurring in-space payload opportunities.
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