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European Spaceflight • Andrew Parsonson

Isar Aerospace to launch Astroscale ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator

Astroscale has selected Isar Aerospace to launch its ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator, with liftoff scheduled no earlier than 2028. The contract advances a commercial demonstration of active debris‑removal techniques in low Earth orbit and sets a concrete near‑term flight timeline.

2026-03-13T05:39:37.066113-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Kazakhstan at a crossroads: Baikonur could make it Eurasia’s space‑tech broker or a geopolitical pawn

2026-03-13T06:09:22.797260-07:00

SpaceNews.com

China resumes launches, deploying nine GuoWang LEO internet satellites and second Shiyan-30 pair

2026-03-13T04:01:18.954554-07:00

Financial Times

Musk's push for up to 1 million orbital AI data centres underpins $1.25T SpaceX–xAI merger and alarms astronomers

2026-03-12T21:17:57.395115-07:00

News Timeline

SpaceNews.com

Kazakhstan at a crossroads: Baikonur could make it Eurasia’s space‑tech broker or a geopolitical pawn Kazakhstan must decide whether to commercialise and leverage Baikonur’s launch and infrastructure assets to position itself as an independent Eurasian hub for space technology and services, or cede influence to larger powers and be sidelined in the intensifying global space competition.

2026-03-13T06:09:22.797260-07:00

Kazakhstan at a crossroads: Baikonur could make it Eurasia’s space‑tech broker or a geopolitical pawn

European Spaceflight

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Isar Aerospace to launch Astroscale ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator Astroscale has selected Isar Aerospace to launch its ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator, with liftoff scheduled no earlier than 2028. The contract advances a commercial demonstration of active debris‑removal techniques in low Earth orbit and sets a concrete near‑term flight timeline.

2026-03-13T05:39:37.066113-07:00

Isar Aerospace to launch Astroscale ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator

Payload

African states engage China on space cooperation while avoiding supplier lock‑in African states are engaging China on space cooperation while deliberately avoiding alignment with a single supplier, according to Mustapha Iderawumi of Space in Africa. That pragmatic stance leaves countries open to Chinese partnerships without excluding other international providers or vendors and preserves procurement flexibility.

2026-03-13T05:38:18.899539-07:00

African states engage China on space cooperation while avoiding supplier lock‑in

SpaceNews.com

China resumes launches, deploying nine GuoWang LEO internet satellites and second Shiyan-30 pair China ended a month‑long launch hiatus with two separate missions from Hainan and Xichang. A Long March‑8A carried GuoWang Group‑20, deploying nine low‑Earth‑orbit internet satellites, while a Long March‑2D placed a second pair of Shiyan‑30 technology/EO satellites into orbit.

2026-03-13T04:01:18.954554-07:00

China resumes launches, deploying nine GuoWang LEO internet satellites and second Shiyan-30 pair

SpaceWatch Global

Spire records first-light data from HyMS hyperspectral microwave sounder demonstrator Spire Global received first-light data from its Hyperspectral Microwave Sounder (HyMS) demonstrator satellite, delivering the initial measurements from the payload. The company reports the HyMS demo has now returned operational data from the instrument, marking the payload's first successful data delivery.

2026-03-13T03:58:10.794428-07:00

Spire records first-light data from HyMS hyperspectral microwave sounder demonstrator

Payload

Laurent Jaffart outlines ESA's plan to harden space resilience as Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity Laurent Jaffart, ESA's Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity, sets out his strategy to harden the agency's defensive posture across navigation, secure communications and connectivity. In a Payload Q&A he explains near‑term priorities, capability gaps to address and how ESA will accelerate defence‑oriented space services for Europe.

2026-03-12T22:38:30.742389-07:00

Laurent Jaffart outlines ESA's plan to harden space resilience as Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity

Financial Times

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Musk's push for up to 1 million orbital AI data centres underpins $1.25T SpaceX–xAI merger and alarms astronomers Elon Musk is pushing to host AI compute in orbit—reports say SpaceX and xAI plan up to one million orbital data centres as part of a $1.25 trillion merger strategy—prompting alarm from astronomers and regulators over debris, spectrum use and impacts to observations.

2026-03-12T21:17:57.395115-07:00

Musk's push for up to 1 million orbital AI data centres underpins $1.25T SpaceX–xAI merger and alarms astronomers

Via Satellite

U.S. must end strategic ambiguity and strengthen space domain awareness to secure space dominance Space is already a contested domain, and Washington must eliminate strategic ambiguity while investing in robust space domain awareness (SDA) to preserve U.S. space power. The piece links policy clarity to improved sensing, attribution and operational readiness — arguing those elements are essential to deterrence and resilient on‑orbit operations.

2026-03-12T12:23:09.208417-07:00

U.S. must end strategic ambiguity and strengthen space domain awareness to secure space dominance

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Satellite News

Isar Aerospace to launch Astroscale ELSA‑M orbital debris‑removal demonstrator

Kazakhstan at a crossroads: Baikonur could make it Eurasia’s space‑tech broker or a geopolitical pawn

China resumes launches, deploying nine GuoWang LEO internet satellites and second Shiyan-30 pair

Musk's push for up to 1 million orbital AI data centres underpins $1.25T SpaceX–xAI merger and alarms astronomers

News Timeline