Space.com
• Mike Wall
SpaceX is scheduled to launch three of AST SpaceMobile’s large BlueBird satellites early Wednesday, Aug. 5. The mission will expand AST SpaceMobile’s planned direct-to-cell satellite constellation, with the launch available for live viewing.
Commercial Space
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SpaceX is scheduled to launch three of AST SpaceMobile’s large BlueBird satellites early Wednesday, Aug. 5. The mission will expand AST SpaceMobile’s planned direct-to-cell satellite constellation, with the launch available for live viewing.
Startup Endeavor Optical Networks has emerged from stealth with plans to build an optical satellite network in medium Earth orbit for space-based data transfer. The company’s announcement adds a new entrant to the developing market for high-capacity intersatellite and space-based communications infrastructure.
NOAA will continue evaluating data from Spire Global’s Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder under a $3 million contract extension announced Aug. 4. The agreement extends the agency’s assessment of Spire’s commercial data for potential use in NOAA’s meteorological and environmental observation activities.
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SpaceX is recovering Ship 40 from the Indian Ocean after its soft landing on Flight 13, while Ship 41 moves toward engine testing at Massey’s. Teams are also advancing Pad 2 work, with a potential Flight 14 targeted as early as late August.
SpaceX says its Crew Dragon fleet has a “significant” amount of life remaining, but the company has not committed to how long the spacecraft will stay in service. The uncertainty puts the future of a central platform in commercial human spaceflight under renewed scrutiny.
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Rocket Lab has secured its largest-ever contract, a $266 million multi-launch deal with the U.S. Space Force for suborbital missile-defense launches. Separately, Japan’s iQPS signed for three dedicated Electron missions, underscoring Rocket Lab’s push across defense and commercial launch markets.
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Canada’s Defence Investment Agency awarded Telesat a $1.9 billion service contract and MDA Space a separate $474 million contract to expand the Telesat Lightspeed constellation with 69 additional Ka-band satellites for Arctic security connectivity. The deal increases network capacity by 44%, with most Telesat payments due between 2026 and 2028.
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Spanish startup Kreios Space will demonstrate its air-breathing electric propulsion system in Very Low Earth Orbit, using a microsatellite bus supplied by Kongsberg NanoAvionics. The mission targets the atmospheric-drag constraints that make sustained VLEO operations difficult and is intended to validate ABEP in orbit.
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