Space.com
• Andrew Jones
JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) has arrived at the launch pad for its Phobos sample-return mission. The complex endeavor targets return of Phobos material to Earth in 2031, aiming to clarify the origins of Mars’ two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Payload
• Elizabeth Howell
By Payload: The continuous burn of 300 seconds (five minutes) with one of their two Chakram engine prototypes was one of several tests the company conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.
SpaceWatch Global
• Torsten Kriening
By SpaceWatch Global: Space Symposium 2026 made American supremacy explicit: a lunar base by 2030, the Space Force on the Moon, the Outer Space Treaty under stress.
European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
By European Spaceflight: The Exploration Company has signed an MoU with OCCAM Space to develop a clampband separation system for its Nyx capsule.
Skies Magazine
• Transport Canada Press Release
By Skies Magazine: The Canadian Space Launch Act would enable the government to regulate and oversee space launch and re-entry activities conducted from Canadian territory.
SpaceWatch Global
• Judith Delany
By SpaceWatch Global: Switzerland’s new space command focuses on dual-use capabilities, European cooperation, and maintaining stability in an increasingly contested orbital environment.
SpaceNews.com
• Jason Rainbow
By SpaceNews.com: French startup Univity has raised around $32 million to deploy a pair of 5G demonstrators into very low Earth orbit next year, ahead of plans for at least 1,600 VLEO satellites to help telecom operators extend 5G coverage from space.
By Spaceflight Now: Update Apr. 22, 11:52 p.m. EDT (0352 UTC): SpaceX landed its booster on the droneship.
Satellite Evolution
• Satellite Evolution Group
European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
