Space News

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Spaceflight Now • Will Robinson-Smith

France advances sovereign strike, combat-aircraft and space-intelligence capabilities alongside new Earth-observation launches

France’s DGA has awarded the THUNDART long-range strike contract to Safran Electronics & Defense and MBDA, launched initial Rafale F5 work with four major suppliers, and selected Airbus Defence and Space and Unseenlabs for the Cassiopée intelligence system. Separately, FLEX and Sentinel-3C entered orbit aboard Vega-C.

spaceanddefense.io • Editorial Team

FLEX and Sentinel-3C launched

thalesgroup.com

Earth observation satellites Copernicus Sentinel-3C and Earth Explorer FLEX successfully launched

7 Sources

2026-09-14T21:05:39.811094-07:00

Europe Space Policy & International Cooperation

NEW

Bloomberg • Kate Duffy

Trump Policies Speed European Campaign for Space Self-Reliance

By Bloomberg: For the second week in a row, Paris is presenting itself as the center of the space industry.

1 Source

2026-09-14T21:50:12.819285-07:00

Satellite Space Exploration & Science Missions

Universe Today • Laurence Tognetti

CubeSat Instrument Extends Solar Storm Warnings 10x

By Universe Today: Our Sun is the very reason life exists on our small, blue planet. It provides solar radiation that warms the planet and ignites the intricate biochemical processes like photosynthesis producing oxygen for life to breathe.

1 Source

2026-09-14T19:35:01.944679-07:00

Mars Space Exploration & Science Missions NASA

Ars Technica • Eric Berger

Rocket Lab is seeing red about NASA's decision on a Mars spacecraft

By Ars Technica: NASA’s award decision appears to be inconsistent with the eligibility criteria.".

1 Source

2026-09-14T14:35:52.925073-07:00

Space Force AI Military Aircraft Procurement Space Defense & Militarization Defense Policy

Air & Space Forces Mag • Courtney Albon

Meink Reveals Space Force Has On-Orbit Space Control Weapons

By Air & Space Forces Mag: Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed Sept. 14 the Space Force has "space control weapons" on orbit today, a Pentagon first.

Breaking Defense

Space Force has 'space control weapons' on orbit, Air Force secretary reveals

DefenseNews.com

US Air Force secretary reveals deployment of on-orbit space control weapons

Also: SpaceNews.com, Space Policy Online, Washington Post, Aviation Week, Defense Scoop, lemonde.fr, Euronews, Defense Daily, insidedefense.com and 3 more

16 Sources

2026-09-14T08:35:29.682686-07:00

Satellite Europe LEO ESA Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation Space Exploration & Science Missions Commercial Space

Space Intel Report • Peter B. de Selding

Eutelsat: Recent orders mean we'll have some 1,300 OneWeb satellites in orbit in 2030

By Space Intel Report: PARIS — Eutelsat outlined its plans for refreshing and improving its current OneWeb Gen 1 broadband constellation with successive bulk purchases of Gen-1 refresh, Gen 1.5 models and, by early in the next decade, a full transition of OneWeb customers to the Iris2 network with both commercial and government capacity.

Space.com

Vega C rocket launches 2 European Earth-observing satellites to orbit from South America

Spaceflight Now

Launch preview: Avio to launch spacecraft to monitor plant health and ocean conditions

7 Sources

2026-09-14T10:06:14.180304-07:00

Launch Vehicles & Space Transportation Commercial Space

NASA Spaceflight • Chris Bergin, Eleanor Day

Ship 42 wraps chopsticks tests, Flight 14 moves to NET Sept. 22

By NASA Spaceflight: SpaceX has completed multi-day catch-related testing with unflown Ship 42 at Pad 2, then rolled the vehicle back to the production site for engine installation ahead of Massey’s static fire testing.

1 Source

2026-09-14T10:28:47.457138-07:00

Satellite AI Space Defense & Militarization

Via Satellite • Rachel Jewett

Top Satellite Operators Detail Pivots to Multi-Domain Strategies With Defense and AI

By Via Satellite: PARIS — Satellite operators find themselves at the intersection of sovereign space strategies, capabilities across multiple domains, and integration and collaboration with the tech ecosystem and AI.

1 Source

2026-09-14T09:35:31.093234-07:00

France advances sovereign strike, combat-aircraft and space-intelligence capabilities alongside new Earth-observation launches

FLEX and Sentinel-3C launched

Earth observation satellites Copernicus Sentinel-3C and Earth Explorer FLEX successfully launched

Trump Policies Speed European Campaign for Space Self-Reliance

CubeSat Instrument Extends Solar Storm Warnings 10x

Rocket Lab is seeing red about NASA's decision on a Mars spacecraft

Meink Reveals Space Force Has On-Orbit Space Control Weapons

Space Force has 'space control weapons' on orbit, Air Force secretary reveals

US Air Force secretary reveals deployment of on-orbit space control weapons

Eutelsat: Recent orders mean we'll have some 1,300 OneWeb satellites in orbit in 2030

Vega C rocket launches 2 European Earth-observing satellites to orbit from South America

Launch preview: Avio to launch spacecraft to monitor plant health and ocean conditions

Ship 42 wraps chopsticks tests, Flight 14 moves to NET Sept. 22

Top Satellite Operators Detail Pivots to Multi-Domain Strategies With Defense and AI

Trump Policies Speed European Campaign for Space Self-Reliance

Avio launches pair of climate monitoring European spacecraft to study plants, oceans and atmospheric changes

CubeSat Instrument Extends Solar Storm Warnings 10x

Rocket Lab is seeing red about NASA's decision on a Mars spacecraft

Ship 42 wraps chopsticks tests, Flight 14 moves to NET Sept. 22

Eutelsat: Recent orders mean we'll have some 1,300 OneWeb satellites in orbit in 2030

Thales Alenia Space wins NIGCOMSAT contract to build NigComSat-2A geostationary telecommunications satellite

International Space Summit - Manny Shar of Astrolab on Building a Lunar Rover in 17 Months

You cannot task a changing planet

Satellogic to expand constellation with October launch

Satellite constellation activity accelerates as allies fund military communications and commercial operators expand production

Europe’s commercial launch sector accelerates with Isar, PLD Space advances and a new UK strategy

Vega C set to launch ESA’s Sentinel-3C and FLEX spacecraft from Kourou

HyPrSpace Delays Baguette One’s First Launch to 2027 from French Military Test Site

The day’s aerospace signal, in one email.

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