Commercial Space News

Space.com

SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 from California

A Falcon 9 lifted off from California overnight on Oct. 27, carrying 27 additional Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The launch adds another batch to SpaceX’s constellation, extending its deployment cadence through a mission launched in the early morning hours.

AINonline

High activity

eVTOL and hybrid-electric developers advance aircraft and funding, while defense startup raises $20M for counter-drone intercept

Skyfly secured a $10 million seed round to scale production, while North Vector Dynamics raised more than $20 million in a Series A valuing it above $90 million to develop counter-UAS interceptors. Separately, Electra demonstrated a 150-foot takeoff in Manhattan, and Brazil’s Moya Aero completed a full transition flight with its autonomous cargo eVTOL prototype.

Payload

Cowboy Space unveils Big Iron rocket with orbital data-center upper stage

Cowboy Space has revealed Big Iron, a launch vehicle whose upper stage is designed to remain in orbit and operate as a megawatt-class data center. The concept links launch vehicle architecture with orbital computing infrastructure, making the vehicle’s upper stage part of its intended on-orbit mission.

FlightGlobal

High activity

NASA and two lunar-lander providers revise plans to accelerate 2028 landing

NASA says the designs and flight plans for two commercial crewed lunar landers have changed as it works toward a 2028 landing. The agency will choose which provider lands astronauts first, tying the sequence of the missions to the providers’ plans and progress.

SpaceNews.com

Flexell Space establishes French subsidiary to support European customer and production talks

Flexell Space has created FLEXELL SPACE FRANCE SAS in Paris, establishing a local base to support ongoing contract and volume-production discussions with European customers. The company says the entity will handle engagement ranging from technical reviews to supply planning.

SpaceNews.com

Pentagon conditionally commits $150 million to Stoke Space for second Cape Canaveral launchpad

The Pentagon has conditionally committed $150 million in financing to Stoke Space to build a second launchpad at Cape Canaveral. The commitment links federal support to the startup’s launch-infrastructure expansion, though the announcement provides no further details on the conditions or project timeline.

SpaceNews.com

MP Space raises $16 million to scale standardized satellite power systems

The Australian startup, founded by two former Tesla engineers, raised $16 million in seed funding to expand production of standardized satellite power and energy-storage systems, it announced Oct. 26. The financing targets manufacturing scale-up for components serving satellite operators and builders.

SpaceNews.com

Former Tesla engineers raise $16 million for satellite battery startup