Ars Technica
• Eric Berger
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company is “feeling pretty good” about Starliner’s prospects for a this-year launch, signaling improving confidence in the program’s timeline and readiness posture after ongoing development work.
Space.com
• Mike Wall
By Space.com: SpaceX plans to launch a secret reconnaissance mission for the U.S. government early on Thursday morning (July 30), and you can watch the action live.
Bloomberg
• Loren Grush
By Bloomberg: The heat shield that protects SpaceX’s Starship vehicle as it plummets back to Earth may prove to be a substantial roadblock to Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s path to designing a rapidly reusable rocket, according to three former NASA researchers and experts in the field.
European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
By European Spaceflight: MaiaSpace has dropped plans for a suborbital test flight, moving ahead with an inaugural orbital launch attempt in the second half of 2027.
Wall Street Journal
• Ashley Cai, Chun Han Wong
By Wall Street Journal: Beijing chips away at American space power and gains better view of U.S.
Bloomberg
• Sana Pashankar
By Bloomberg: Satellite operators have long relied on hitching rides on SpaceX’s workhorse rocket.
SpaceNews.com
• LatConnect 60
By SpaceNews.com: PERTH, Western Australia — LatConnect 60 (LC60) is executing on a multi-geography industrial plan to accelerate its SWIRSAT constellation, anchoring core technology development and payload manufacturing in Western Australia while expanding its manufacturing presence in Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates as additional locations for broader spacecraft production.
SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
By SpaceNews.com: Japanese lunar lander developer ispace has selected the H3 to launch its next mission in 2028, creating Japan’s first private lunar transportation system.
The Daily Debrief
One concise daily briefing across aviation, defense and space—key developments, corroborating sources, and the context leaders need to act.
SpaceNews.com
• Andrew Jones
Associated Press
• Marcia Dunn
