Space Intel Report
• Constellations by Kratos
Rapid expansion in space activity is testing decades-old treaties against modern operations, deep-space ambitions and the growing role of commercial actors. As competition intensifies in orbit, governments face mounting pressure to adapt international governance frameworks to a more crowded and complex space environment.
Space Policy & International Cooperation
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The U.S. Space Force has deployed a second space-surveillance sensor aboard Japan’s navigation-satellite constellation, strengthening its ability to monitor objects in geosynchronous orbit. The bilateral program uses allied spacecraft and launch systems to field U.S. military payloads, broadening surveillance capacity without relying solely on dedicated U.S. platforms.
As commercial and national missions accelerate, experts warn that discarded rocket stages and other hardware could accumulate on the lunar surface without clearer rules. The debate highlights an emerging governance gap around lunar preservation, mission planning and responsibility for objects left behind.
Rapid expansion in space activity is testing decades-old treaties against modern operations, deep-space ambitions and the growing role of commercial actors. As competition intensifies in orbit, governments face mounting pressure to adapt international governance frameworks to a more crowded and complex space environment.
High activity
NASA has invited the Indian Space Research Organisation to collaborate on its planned Moon Base Mission, which aims to establish a permanent crewed outpost near the lunar south pole after 2032. The invitation marks a new phase in U.S.-India cooperation on human lunar exploration.
High activity
The emerging orbital data-center sector is converging on sun-synchronous orbits, intensifying questions over congestion, coordination and operational rules. The development also raises a strategic policy issue for Europe: whether it will help shape the traffic-management framework governing a potentially important new class of space infrastructure.
Starlink has excluded Poland from a 30-country roaming zone without explaining why, reviving tensions between Warsaw and Elon Musk. The decision carries added sensitivity because Ukraine relies on more than 50,000 Starlink terminals for its defense, most of them financed by Poland.
Eutelsat said OneWeb revenue increased 69.5% in the year ended June 30, contrasting with a 6.6% decline in GEO broadband connectivity revenue. The company outlined operations for its first-generation LEO constellation through 2034 and $5.07 billion in planned capital expenditure as Europe advances Iris².
High activity
The European Commission, ESA, EUSPA and the SpaceRISE consortium have completed seven months of negotiations, clearing IRIS² to enter implementation. Eutelsat will lead the €3.39 billion LEO component, HispaSat will serve as ground-segment prime contractor, and SES will advance the constellation’s MEO strategy.
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