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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Isar Aerospace is preparing a second attempt to reach orbit with its Spectrum rocket from Norway after its first vehicle fell into the sea roughly 30 seconds after liftoff. Separately, India’s GSLV-F17 successfully deployed the 2,367-kg EOS-05 dedicated geo-imaging satellite into geosynchronous orbit.
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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