Ars Technica
• Eric Berger
Virgin Galactic has revealed a new spacecraft (“new ship”), but reporting indicates it may not have sufficient cash reserves to sustain a prolonged test campaign. The update raises near-term pressure on remaining integration, flight-readiness milestones, and the timing of any return toward commercial suborbital service.
SpaceNews.com
• Sandra Erwin
By SpaceNews.com: GTON — President Donald Trump has nominated Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess for promotion to four-star general and selected him to become the next chief of space operations, positioning a career operator to lead the U.S.
Air & Space Forces Mag
SpaceNews.com
• Jason Rainbow
By SpaceNews.com: Starcloud is looking to raise at least $200 million in a deal that would double the two-year-old orbital data center startup’s valuation to about $2.2 billion, a source close to the situation confirmed.
By Spaceflight Now: SpaceX is kicking off the month of May by launching a batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Friday afternoon.
Payload
• Douglas Gorman
By Payload: The space nuclear industry, sees the FY27 budget bill as potentially kick-starting their wildest dreams, with funds towards multiple missions.
SpaceNews.com
• Jeff Foust
By SpaceNews.com: DARPA has awarded contracts to three companies to study concepts for a lunar mission to search for water ice in very low orbits.
European Spaceflight
• Andrew Parsonson
By European Spaceflight: ESA has completed sterilisation of the ExoMars parachute that will slow the Rosalind Franklin rover’s descent for a safe touchdown on the Red Planet.
SpaceWatch Global
• Torsten Kriening
By SpaceWatch Global: Torsten Kriening on the EU Space Act after Colorado Springs: competence questions, equivalence failures, and a narrowing window before the Irish presidency.
SpaceNews.com
• Debra Werner
