Commercial Space Industry (New Space) News

NASA • Jessica Taveau

Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA's 15th administrator after Senate 67–30 vote

The U.S. Senate confirmed commercial astronaut and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as NASA's 15th administrator Wednesday, approving his nomination 67–30 after President Trump renominated him following an earlier withdrawal of support. Isaacman was sworn in Thursday by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly during a ceremonial oath.

2025-12-18T10:11:06.248552-08:00

Reuters

SpaceX Starlink satellite 35956 tumbles after in‑orbit anomaly at ~418 km, ejects small debris cloud

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

Ars Technica

How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable

2025-12-18T04:22:48.441868-08:00

rocketlabcorp.com

Rocket Lab launches STP‑S30, deploys four DiskSat test buses from Wallops

2025-12-17T22:43:11.938064-08:00

Commercial Space Industry (New Space) News Timeline

Bloomberg

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Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect NASA’s Artemis program and direct plans for a Moon outpost, reaffirming U.S. commitment to return astronauts to the lunar surface and build a sustained, permanent lunar presence as agency teams advance mission milestones.

2025-12-18T13:18:46.282079-08:00

Trump signs executive order to protect Artemis and direct plans for a lunar outpost

Via Satellite

Spire Global Q3 2025 revenue plunges 56% after maritime divestment and U.S. government shutdown delays Spire Global reported Q3 2025 revenue declined nearly 56% year‑over‑year, a drop the company attributed to divesting its maritime business and to U.S. government contract timing pushed into 2026 by the federal government shutdown. Results cover the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025.

2025-12-18T12:42:56.820961-08:00

Spire Global Q3 2025 revenue plunges 56% after maritime divestment and U.S. government shutdown delays

NASA

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Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA's 15th administrator after Senate 67–30 vote The U.S. Senate confirmed commercial astronaut and entrepreneur Jared Isaacman as NASA's 15th administrator Wednesday, approving his nomination 67–30 after President Trump renominated him following an earlier withdrawal of support. Isaacman was sworn in Thursday by District Judge Timothy J. Kelly during a ceremonial oath.

2025-12-18T10:11:06.248552-08:00

Jared Isaacman confirmed as NASA's 15th administrator after Senate 67–30 vote

Reuters

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SpaceX Starlink satellite 35956 tumbles after in‑orbit anomaly at ~418 km, ejects small debris cloud On Dec. 17, 2025 SpaceX reported Starlink satellite 35956 suffered an in‑orbit anomaly at roughly 418 km, cutting communications and releasing a small number of trackable, low‑relative‑velocity objects. The vehicle is tumbling and is expected to re‑enter and burn up.

2025-12-18T09:55:24.907042-08:00

SpaceX Starlink satellite 35956 tumbles after in‑orbit anomaly at ~418 km, ejects small debris cloud

SpaceNews.com

HawkEye 360 acquires Innovative Signal Analysis to broaden defense SIGINT capabilities HawkEye 360 has acquired Innovative Signal Analysis, expanding its defense-facing signals intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities. The acquisition broadens HawkEye 360's defense footprint and positions the commercial RF geolocation and analytics operator to supply enhanced SIGINT products and services to military and intelligence customers.

2025-12-18T09:23:08.719729-08:00

HawkEye 360 acquires Innovative Signal Analysis to broaden defense SIGINT capabilities

Scientific American

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window falls to 5.5 days; solar storms could compress it to ~2.8 days The CRASH Clock study finds the average low‑Earth‑orbit collision‑avoidance window shrank to 5.5 days in June 2025 — down from 164 days in January 2018 — and warns an extreme solar storm could reduce expected time to first collision to about 2.8 days, sharply raising operational risk.

2025-12-18T06:14:12.772671-08:00

CRASH Clock: LEO collision-avoidance window falls to 5.5 days; solar storms could compress it to ~2.8 days

Payload

2025: Over a Dozen Companies Advance Orbital Reentry and Payload‑Return Vehicles The orbital‑reentry sector surged in 2025: more than a dozen companies passed development milestones advancing vehicles designed to return payloads from orbit. The cluster of successes marks concentrated progress across commercial and institutional efforts to field near‑term orbital return capability.

2025-12-18T05:52:30.322548-08:00

2025: Over a Dozen Companies Advance Orbital Reentry and Payload‑Return Vehicles

Ars Technica

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How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable After its first Falcon 9 launch failure, SpaceX executed a comeback that culminated in a successful booster landing — a moment the company described as "epic." That recovery proved routine first-stage reuse was technically feasible and established the basis for operationally reusable launches.

2025-12-18T04:22:48.441868-08:00

How SpaceX's Comeback After Its First Falcon 9 Failure Made Reusable Launches Viable

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