Not beating the X-37B being a weapon allegations with these kinds of comments: "Now that’s just one example of orbital warfare from Mission Delta 9,” Gagnon said... “A second one was last year’s maneuvers by the X-37B orbital test vehicle.” www.twz.com/space/chinas...

Me: "I think a little more transparency would help fill in some of the blanks, because otherwise, people tend to just imagine the worst-case scenario". Looking at you, X-37B, as well as the Shenlong www.space.com/space-explor...

$5.6B through FY29 for "Development, procurement, and integration of space-based and boost phase interceptor capabilities" for Golden Dome seems...low www.newspacenexus.org/wp-content/u...

"The Defense Department document, however, shows that as much as $14 billion in spending for space capabilities relevant to Golden Dome are “pending approval” from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which releases federal funds." foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/23/g...

TL/DR: jamming, PNT services, space surveillance defensescoop.com/2026/02/22/s...

SSA companies, I would like to hear more about this: "we were surprised to find that Iranian satellites were capable of performing relative manoeuvres with each other, a technique that few countries have mastered to date." www.polytechnique-insights.com/en/columns/s...

Oof, what a read. The TL/DR takeaway: "For many, the key intelligence lesson from Ukraine was stark: do not rule things out, just because they might once have seemed impossible."

"Ukraine’s reliance on commercial space services has revealed critical vulnerabilities. Single-provider dependence, exposure to electronic warfare, geofencing risks, and adversarial adaptation have turned space into a contested operational domain" www.ifri.org/fr/etudes/ca...

"Farrar: xAI is reportedly burning $1 billion of cash per month. SpaceX’s cashflows were reportedly $1 billion-$2 billion last year, so it is clear SpaceX can’t fund xAI itself. That means an IPO to raise tens of billions of dollars is even more important" www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026...

Would be great if there was, say, a published architecture for Golden Dome somewhere that could be looked at to see if/where Canada would fit in breakingdefense.com/2026/02/cana...

🚀 SWF is launching a new policy program with @councilonstrategicrisks.org & GCSP to strengthen the Outer Space Treaty and deter nuclear weapons in space. The Dialogue will raise awareness, advance verification tools & convene global experts to reinforce Treaty obligations.🔗 Learn more:bit.ly/4rVbNQm

"After Iranian authorities smothered mounting unrest in January by killing thousands of protesters and severely cutting internet connectivity, the U.S. smuggled roughly 6,000 of the satellite-internet kits into the country" www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Diane Howard: “Not all data is created equally and the idea of having a neutral or governmental ability to evaluate the data and vet it from an outside perspective can help.” spacenews.com/spacexs-unve...

"For space, the government is looking at the following prioritized sub-sectors: Space-Based Intelligence; Surveillance and Reconnaissance; Space Domain Awareness; Satellite Communications; and Space Launch." spaceq.ca/space-identi...

"Hecate in the ancient Greek pantheon is a guardian who protects the entrances to households and cities, as well as travelers passing through dangerous places. She is associated with the night, the Moon, witchcraft, doorways and crossroads." breakingdefense.com/2026/02/proj...

My @swfoundation.bsky.social colleague Ian Christensen: "I’m hopeful it will contribute to the political conditions necessary to see further improvements in space safety information sharing between those two countries" [US and China] breakingdefense.com/2026/02/new-...

"The group said they collected 2,420 data packets related to Russian-used terminals...The group also said it received $5,870 from Russian soldiers seeking to restore connectivity which it is donating to fundraising efforts for Ukrainian drones." kyivindependent.com/using-starli...

"Researcher Angelo Gueta, based in the Philippines, disclosed the finding to SpaceX, which offered him a $6,000 reward through its bug bounty program" www.pcmag.com/news/researc...

And we're circling back to blast fragmentation warheads for missile defense. Everything old is new again spacenews.com/startup-bets...

So people are lending OpenAI money that doesn't exist to buy components that dont exist for a business that doesn't make money. It's magical.🫠

Looks like some ISRO rocket parts came down in the Maldives sauvees.com/58762/

This article is by far the best explainer on this issue that I've read lately and I've had to read a lot of them

This resonates far beyond Greenland. For Canada, Arctic security and NORAD modernization depend on consent, cooperation, and trust. Treating allied territory as leverage undermines the foundation North American defence actually rests on.

New analysis by SWF’s @vsamsondc.bsky.social and Krystal Azelton pushes back on claims that the U.S. needs to acquire Greenland for missile defense. They argue that it would weaken NATO alliances, isn’t required for Golden Dome, risks undermining space security partnerships. 👉https://bit.ly/46EK6TJ

Krystal Azelton and I argue that "forcibly annexing Greenland does nothing to bolster U.S. national security" and that "Golden Dome is problematic for many reasons...Don’t let it be used to justify the annexation of a NATO ally’s territory as well." www.militarytimes.com/opinion/2026...

Good piece by @scientistsorg.bsky.social that argues to streamline mission authorization in a manner that "maintains the reputation of the United States government and American companies as responsible actors in the outer space environment." fas.org/publication/...

"Direct-entry recruitment will open on Monday for a Space Operations Officer and a Space Operations Specialist with the ADF" www.news.com.au/technology/s...

"The launch comes approximately 519 days after the previous mission ended with a landing at Lop Nur landing site in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The gap between mission 1 and mission 2 was 697 days, and 220 days between missions 2 and 3" spacenews.com/china-launch...

I think @charityweeden.bsky.social's take sums up my feelings about this: "Leaders can be replaced; institutional knowledge cannot." NASA lost a tremendous amount of institutional knowledge last year and for...what exactly? spacenews.com/exodus-the-s...

Excited about a paper session at #IAC2026 dedicated to space security issues. IAC-26/E9/5/, "Mitigating threatening actions in orbit: How to enhance and strengthen space security," will be chaired by myself, Wang Guoyu, & Agnieszka Lukaszczyk. Be part of the convo! www.iac2026.org/call-for-pap...

"State news agency Xinhua described the latest launch as another planned round of 'technology verification' for China’s reusable spacecraft programme" and that "The experiment will provide technical support for 'the peaceful use of outer space'" www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

"Measuring just four metres long (13 feet) and weighing only five tonnes, it is compact enough to be mounted on trucks, warships, aircraft or even satellites." 🤨 www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

I'm back on Substack with reflections on today's very interesting reveal of what appear to have been previously classified U.S. intelligence conclusions about alleged Chinese nuclear-testing activity at Lop Nur panda.substack.com/p/china-us-i...

"For determined adversaries, that combination can make space systems low-hanging fruit: high-value targets with uneven protections, complex supply chains and the promise of strategic leverage." www.aspistrategist.org.au/hack-proofin...

"Traut stressed that it is still unclear which European country is responsible for defending Europe’s interests in space. Next to Germany, France and Spain maintain military space command centres, and Italy is in the process of establishing one." www.euractiv.com/interview/ge...

Rendezvous and Proximity Operations sit at the intersection of sustainability and security. In a new article, SWF’s @vsamsondc.bsky.social explains why RPOs can be destabilizing, how recent activities raise risks, and what pathways forward could reduce miscalculation. 👉 https://bit.ly/4qD8nRD

Deep, deep sigh. Only 88,000 satellites this time though www.pcmag.com/news/data-ce...

The US statement to COPUOS is uh something: it warns "We must also avoid the lengthy debates on language" but then says "the United States rejects the term “developing countries” in favor of the term “countries in special situations.” vienna.usmission.gov/u-s-national...

"the Astro-Future Institute is looking to deploy dedicated data centers into a 700 to 800-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit, set for the first half of the 2030s. Those would not be many in number, but would be quite large, with concepts of a sixteen-spacecraft constellation"

FCC Fast-Tracks SpaceX's Plan for 1M Satellites. And It Wants Your Thoughts | PCMag share.google/LQ9auxNsuuDz...

This is kind of astonishing: "The official expressed concern that sensitive information — notably command data for European satellites — is unencrypted, because many were launched years ago without advanced onboard computers or encryption capabilities." www.ft.com/content/cd08...

Whiting said "that while space operations are “ideally suited” for synthetic training, live training is also “vital” and should include the use of refuelable satellites that can be used for training but repurposed if needed for real-world missions." breakingdefense.com/2026/01/spac...

"Cantwell said the provision could set a 'bad precedent' for satellite systems. 'I’m very anxious about a process, particularly with interference, that just says negligence by the FCC gets you your permits for a million satellites,' she said." spacenews.com/senate-commi...

"The Pentagon appears poised to spend enormous amounts of money only to end up where it started: with an ineffective mid-course defense. Policymakers must beware of the promise of high-priced fixes that solve nothing." www.defenseone.com/ideas/2026/0...

"Tomorrow, the world lurches toward an age of international uncertainty and increased nuclear-weapons spending. New START is expiring...One expert told me arms control was slipping into a coma. Another said it was on life support." www.axios.com/newsletters/...