NASA Spaceflight
• John Sharp
The first full week of August features six missions on the global launch calendar, with activity spanning Asia and the United States. SpaceX accounts for three Falcon 9 flights—two Starlink missions and one deploying satellites for AST SpaceMobile—alongside multiple Chinese missions.
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The first full week of August features six missions on the global launch calendar, with activity spanning Asia and the United States. SpaceX accounts for three Falcon 9 flights—two Starlink missions and one deploying satellites for AST SpaceMobile—alongside multiple Chinese missions.
ETL Systems has acquired Amphinicy Technologies, a developer of software for satellite communications and Earth-observation markets. The deal is intended to help ETL address more complex ground-segment requirements and broaden its end-to-end offering; financial terms were not disclosed.
K2 has been selected to test satellite-to-satellite optical communications for the U.S. Space Force, a technology central to planned missile-warning and tracking networks. The capability is also expected to support the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile-defense architecture.
Xona Space Systems has received federal approval to broadcast commercial navigation signals from a planned constellation of more than 250 satellites, removing a key regulatory hurdle as the startup prepares to begin deployment. The authorization advances Xona’s effort to develop a commercial space-based navigation network.
The cluster brings together LATAM Airlines’ $505 million aircraft financing and a multi-orbit connectivity agreement covering its Airbus and Embraer fleet, alongside SES–Starlab communications work, Eutelsat’s IRIS² cooperation with Poland and a Thales D-TACAN contract for Spain.
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SpaceX heads into its first post-IPO earnings report as employee and insider lockups expire, creating a fresh test for its private-market valuation. Short interest has reached an estimated $23.6 billion, exceeding Tesla’s, while investor enthusiasm around Elon Musk’s companies faces renewed scrutiny.
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Planet is expanding its headquarters into the BERLIN DECKS innovation campus in Berlin, acquiring space for its first European production facility. The site will add manufacturing capacity to the satellite company’s European presence and marks a significant expansion of its headquarters footprint.
Earth observation companies increasingly present defense and security applications as a second market alongside climate and commercial work. But framing the capability as “dual-use” may leave governments controlling when and how it is deployed—potentially pushing commercial customers behind state priorities when strategic demands intensify.
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