SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
Katalyst Space is wrapping up operations on a spacecraft intended to reboost NASA’s Swift observatory. Although the mission did not achieve its original objective, the vehicle became a technology demonstration for satellite servicing, offering an operational data point for emerging commercial in-space support capabilities.
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Katalyst Space is wrapping up operations on a spacecraft intended to reboost NASA’s Swift observatory. Although the mission did not achieve its original objective, the vehicle became a technology demonstration for satellite servicing, offering an operational data point for emerging commercial in-space support capabilities.
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German launch startup Isar Aerospace is preparing to fly its Spectrum small-satellite launcher from Norway in a bid to become the first private vehicle to reach orbit from European soil. The mission follows months of delays and aborted attempts after Spectrum’s first flight ended in the sea.
ST Engineering iDirect demonstrated a pilot version of its INT3000 user equipment modem at the European Space Agency’s 5G NTN Forum. The multi-waveform 5G New Radio Non-Terrestrial Network device is intended to extend iDirect’s satellite networking technology into the broader 5G ecosystem, including aircraft connectivity applications.
Planet’s revenue increased nearly 60% year over year in the second quarter of 2026, while the satellite-imagery company narrowed its net loss. The results point to growing momentum in sovereign agreements with governments worldwide and continued demand for commercial Earth-observation services.
Sparkle and Hellas Sat have demonstrated a quantum-safe satellite connection linking Greece and Cyprus, extending their earlier work securing a terrestrial connection between two Greek data centers. The test highlights efforts to protect satellite-enabled communications against future quantum-computing threats.
Chinese reconnaissance satellite Yaogan-50 (02), launched into an unusual retrograde orbit earlier this year, has apparently fragmented, creating a field of orbital debris. The event adds a new object and debris-generation incident to an increasingly complex space environment, although the cause and full extent of the breakup remain unclear.
A private spacecraft came within nine miles of NASA’s Swift Observatory, an aging mission described as doomed, and captured images during an attempt to assess or enable a rescue. The close approach marks a rare effort to intervene with an operational scientific spacecraft in distress.
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The U.S. does not have enough engineers, technicians and assemblers to rapidly rebuild military satellites and other space assets destroyed in a conflict with China or Russia, according to a RAND report, highlighting a workforce constraint in national space resilience.
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