Payload
• Douglas Gorman
Rendezvous Robotics has raised $20 million to develop technology for satellites launched in separate pieces that can assemble themselves in space. The effort targets a different approach to spacecraft deployment, with the company developing the technology needed to make on-orbit assembly possible.
Satellite
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Rendezvous Robotics has raised $20 million to develop technology for satellites launched in separate pieces that can assemble themselves in space. The effort targets a different approach to spacecraft deployment, with the company developing the technology needed to make on-orbit assembly possible.
ABS Jets has joined Starlink’s authorized dealer network and completed its first installation, equipping an Embraer Legacy 650 with the satellite connectivity service. The announcement marks the business aviation provider’s entry into Starlink installations; the available report does not specify the system’s performance, pricing or rollout plans.
The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency says counterspace weapons, strategic cooperation and growing reliance on commercial satellites are increasing threats to space security. The assessment highlights how military capabilities and commercial infrastructure are becoming central to the security risks facing the orbital environment.
Dr. Volker Pötzsch of the Bundeswehr’s Cyber and Information Domain Service discusses how space-based sensing can inform military decisions, the role of AI-driven data fusion and the human constraints in turning information into action. The interview frames data-to-decision capability as a central challenge for the German Armed Forces.
Ukraine’s HIMERA and Denmark’s GomSpace have begun operating OBRIA NANO, a test satellite for a planned sovereign communications network. The effort comes as Kyiv faces disruption to Starshield services and as Ukraine also looks to secure satcom capabilities from Iceye and Nokia; Russia is pursuing its own satellite communications alternative.
NASA’s systems engineering team has detailed the mission architecture for the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a planned effort aimed at finding Earth-like worlds beyond the solar system. The work comes as exoplanet research has advanced substantially since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1995.
A new Defense Intelligence Agency assessment says China has tripled its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet since 2018 and is expanding systems to track and target U.S. and allied forces. The report also reviews China’s reusable spaceplane and warns of growing Chinese and Russian counterspace capabilities, including potential directed-energy weapons in orbit.
High activity
Ukrainian defense technology company HIMERA and Denmark’s GomSpace have begun testing an experimental satellite for a communications network Ukraine aims to operate independently. In parallel, the EU is discussing reduced dependence on U.S. providers, while ESA has added four Galileo Second Generation satellites to its procurement plan, bringing the planned fleet to 16.
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