Payload
• Victoria Woodburn
Amazon has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to operate a direct-to-device network in low Earth orbit, targeting a constellation sized at more than 5,000 satellites. The filing signals Amazon’s entry into the direct-to-device satellite communications race and escalates competitive pressure in LEO broadband.
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Amazon has filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission to operate a direct-to-device network in low Earth orbit, targeting a constellation sized at more than 5,000 satellites. The filing signals Amazon’s entry into the direct-to-device satellite communications race and escalates competitive pressure in LEO broadband.
The U.S. Space Force has awarded Rocket Lab a $266 million multi-launch contract for suborbital missile-defense testing under its Rocket Systems Launch Program. The deal covers 12 missions over three years, with an option for up to six additional launches, starting no earlier than late 2026 from a new launch pad at Kodiak, Alaska.
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ESA has awarded ispace-EUROPE an execution contract for the second phase of the MAGPIE (Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration) program. The agreement advances ESA’s lunar polar ice exploration efforts through the next development and delivery step under the broader MAGPIE contract structure.
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Roscosmos and NASA confirmed the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft returned safely on July 26, 2026, bringing Expedition 74’s joint U.S.-Russian crew—NASA astronaut Chris Williams plus Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev—down to Kazakhstan after 241 days aboard the ISS. Expedition 75 is set to run into spring 2027.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California Tuesday—one day after a rare abort scrubbed a prior liftoff attempt during engine ignition. A week that also included another Starlink-related Falcon 9 abort underscores the pace and risk of high-cadence LEO deployment.
NASA has selected SpaceX to deliver laser communications capabilities for the Artemis III mission using Starlink. The contract supports ship-to-ship communications in low Earth orbit, aiming to improve how Earth-based observers view and monitor planned in-orbit activity in the 2027 timeframe.
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SpaceX launched 21 satellites for the Space Development Agency (SDA) aboard a Falcon 9 on July 16, resuming the Pentagon’s first operational low-Earth-orbit military data network after a months-long pause. SDA cited software and hardware issues discovered on in-orbit units and delayed launches to address known problems.
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