NASA Spaceflight
• John Sharp
A relatively light launch manifest this week is led by SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9, with China’s ZhuQue-2E also scheduled to fly. The preview points to a quieter cadence rather than a major shift in launch activity; no mission dates, payload details or other launch providers are specified.
Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation
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A relatively light launch manifest this week is led by SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9, with China’s ZhuQue-2E also scheduled to fly. The preview points to a quieter cadence rather than a major shift in launch activity; no mission dates, payload details or other launch providers are specified.
Varda Space Industries is currently operating two spacecraft in Earth orbit and plans eight additional missions in the coming year, signaling a rapid expansion of its in-space manufacturing and reentry cadence. The plans put execution, spacecraft availability and recovery operations at the center of the company’s next phase.
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SpaceX is proposing to scale up Starship operations at its Starbase facility in South Texas to 456 launches and landings annually. The plan is under U.S. government review, including a request for FAA approval, and would mark a major increase in the site’s planned flight activity.
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The Martian Moons eXploration mission is scheduled to launch from Tanegashima Space Center aboard an H3 rocket at 04:41 JST on Oct. 20, 2026. MMX aims to collect material from Phobos and return it to Earth, a first for a mission to a moon of Mars.
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SpaceX’s planned acquisition of up to 14 MHz of paired 800-MHz spectrum from Grain Management has sharpened investor focus on its satellite-to-phone ambitions. Piper Sandler downgraded AST SpaceMobile to Neutral and cut its price target to $54 from $98, citing deployment uncertainty in 2026–27; Bernstein also downgraded AT&T over SpaceX competition.
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A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 6:33 a.m. EDT on NASA’s 35th commercial resupply mission, carrying more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and hardware to the International Space Station. The launch also deployed GHGSat’s Eleanor and Aidan satellites, expanding its methane-monitoring constellation.
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Global investment in the space economy is projected to exceed $100 billion in 2026 for the first time, with SpaceX’s expected blockbuster IPO, defense spending and infrastructure development cited as key drivers. Separate developments underscore the sector’s widening commercial reach, from Starlink’s spectrum ambitions in U.S. telecom to rapid growth in the UAE’s space economy.
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Norway’s proposed 2027 budget allocates funding for a second orbital launch pad at Andøya Spaceport. The plan would expand the site’s launch infrastructure, though the available report does not specify the amount, schedule or launch vehicles the additional pad would support.
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