SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
SpaceX launched its Transporter-18 rideshare mission on Oct. 1, carrying 130 spacecraft and underscoring the scale and flexibility of its recurring launch service. The mission comes as the industry confronts the impending end of such rideshare opportunities, increasing the significance of available shared-launch capacity.
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Google has launched a satellite carrying several of the company’s AI chips, beginning an effort to determine whether advanced computing can operate in orbit. The mission will test the performance and practicality of running AI hardware in the space environment.
SpaceX launched its Transporter-18 rideshare mission on Oct. 1, carrying 130 spacecraft and underscoring the scale and flexibility of its recurring launch service. The mission comes as the industry confronts the impending end of such rideshare opportunities, increasing the significance of available shared-launch capacity.
Two companies pursuing space-based solar power systems have secured agreements to advance their development, signaling continued commercial and institutional interest in generating and transmitting energy from orbit. The contracts could help move the concept from long-term vision toward further technical maturation.
The U.S. Space Force has retired a Cold War-era missile-warning satellite constellation following its final maneuver exercise. The move closes the operational chapter for a legacy space-based warning capability and marks a significant transition in the systems supporting strategic missile detection.
Satellite hardware providers Anywaves, CesiumAstro, Dcubed, Orbion and ThrustMe are confronting supply chains that are struggling to keep pace with the current market boom. The capacity crunch raises questions about whether suppliers are confident enough in demand to invest in additional production capability.
High activity
European governments are preparing to invest as much as €24 billion ($27 billion) in a joint military space project spanning satellite communications, surveillance and missile warning. The initiative would also establish shared tracking data, deepening cooperation across Europe’s defense-space capabilities.
China completed its ninth and tenth orbital launches of September, placing Guowang and Yaogan-40 satellites into orbit. The missions underscore an intense launch tempo and set the stage for a crowded fourth-quarter manifest as Beijing expands its satellite infrastructure and space activity.
Researchers say they have spent eight years probing satellite systems and recently demonstrated that a commercial satellite could be compromised in orbit. The finding is part of a broader body of work aimed at showing the space industry where cybersecurity weaknesses may threaten spacecraft and mission operations.
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