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/...

🤔 aviationweek.com/space/satell...

I'm Italian-American and I absolutely don't want any association with this monster whatsoever wapo.st/3MpvQaF

They warned: "Trump’s desire to create such a Herculean feat in three years has been further hampered by inconsistent communication to industry. And they noted some of the technological and logistical hurdles facing the program are likely insurmountable." www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

Traut: "'There is a broad range of possible effects in the electromagnetic spectrum, in the optical, in the laser spectrum, and even some active physical things like inspector satellites...You could even go after ground segments of a space system'” www.reuters.com/science/germ...

Mega constellation news so far in 2026: - China applies for 200,000 satellites - SpaceX dodged 300,000 Starlink collisions in 2025 - FCC approves 7,500 new Starlink satellites - Blue Origin announces 5,000-satellite constellation - SpaceX applies for one million satellites

Me on this: “This is beyond what’s been proposed by any constellation" Ruth Pritchard-Kelly on this: "It’s gobsmackingly large"

Understatement of the century by me: “This is all happening really fast" arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/s...

and there you have it: www.spacex.com/updates#xai-...

Singapore announced that it's creating a space agency, partially to focus on SSA; they aren't wasting any time in doing so analyticsindiamag.com/ai-news/diga...

It looks like China's spaceplane-shaped Reusable Experimental Spacecraft may begin its fourth mission soon, but little remains actually known about the vehicle Details -> www.china-in-space.com/p/what-do-we...

Whiting introduced "SPACECOM’s nascent “Apollo Maneuvers” exercise concept...These exercises would involve Guardians undertaking large-scale satellite movements, responsive launch activities, and “spectrum maneuvering” operations" breakingdefense.com/2026/01/spac...

Per Guillot, head of NORTHCOM and NORAD: "Space Forces Northern will bring crucial capabilities to the homeland defense mission, including...the capacity for orbital and electromagnetic warfare" www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article...

Space-based data centres are the CCS of big tech. They'll just be perpetually around the corner, there will be a handful of flimsy demonstration projects, and the concept will just suck up gov't subsidies for decades while serving as a rhetorical tool to fend off real regulation of industry

It’s 2026. There is a measles outbreak in the prison for babies

"“Analysis based on our Tianzhi mega-constellation research platform shows that Starlink satellites at an altitude of 560km experience an average daily orbital decay of about 101 metres, compared with about 267 metres at 485km,” the researchers wrote." www.scmp.com/news/china/s...

Interesting piece from @carnegieindia.bsky.social's Tejas Bharadwaj; among other things, this jumped out at me: "None of the Indian companies insured their satellites aboard C62 due to a lack of cost-friendly insurance schemes." carnegieindia.org/india/posts/...

One MILLION satellites www.pcmag.com/news/spacex-...

"Soldiers will be expected to deny, disrupt, and degrade adversarial operations through electromagnetic means, and counter space domain threats during a crisis." payloadspace.com/us-army-puts...

Not clear what caused this; maybe an impact from a piece of debris (although I thought the whole point of being in a graveyard orbit was that you were out of the way?) or maybe it didn't complete its fuel passivation at its end of life?

🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 JOB JOB JOB JOB Who wants to join the SWF team? We're looking for someone to work on space law and regulation. Must be able to work in the US and willing to be located in the DC area. Check it out below!

"Protest is not insurrection. Journalism is not sabotage. ... the message from Washington is unmistakable: compliance will be enforced, truth will be whatever the President says, and no accountability will be forthcoming." This whole editorial is 🔥🔥🔥 www.caledonianrecord.com/opinion/edit...

"“Unfortunately because of the intel threat, we can only brief you at the classified level on what the architecture is,” Guetlein said." So the Pentagon can release unclassified document after document about the threat to our space assets but when it comes to GD, they go silent?

Golden Dome will be composed of missile defense systems that ALREADY EXIST, how can its architecture be classified? And if the US starts putting SBIs in space, that cannot be hidden either. It really seems like it's classified to keep it from oversight www.reuters.com/business/aer...

did Italy not have enough fascist police themselves or something

"On Friday, commercial spacecraft developer InterstellOr, which plans to tap the space tourism market, announced its first group of space tourists: an 84-year-old power grid expert, a young actor and a humanoid robot." www.china.org.cn/china/Off_th...

From the new US National Defense Strategy: "The Department will prioritize efforts to develop President Trump’s Golden Dome for America, with a specific focus on options to cost-effectively defeat large missile barrages and other advanced aerial attacks." media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/23/...

This is a jaw-dropping assertion. Per Guetlein, “By the summer of ‘28 we will be able to defend the entire nation against ballistic missiles as well as other generation aerial threats" spacenews.com/golden-dome-...

"a company could launch a LEO satellite in the seventh year of the initial window, and then use the following seven years to gradually bring its full constellation online...This could result in 14 years where spectrum is warehoused by the applicant." www.policytracker.com/blog/weekly-...

Saw this and it’s just wild

"Reflecting on the “high-north, low-tension” cooperation enjoyed historically by Arctic nations, Jones acknowledges there are signs of strain, but she remains hopeful that cooperation will still be possible" via NATO and the Arctic Council interactive.satellitetoday.com/via/january-...

Track DC's snowplows here: citizeninsights.geotab.com#/dcsnowgov

"They say they're coming to save us from some evil? They're talking about our neighbors who take care of us ... Alex was murdered while he was helping. Mr Rogers said look for the helpers, & right now the helpers have a target on our forehead ... Mr Rogers would be here right now too, so I'm here."

Interesting partnership by civil and military space orgs here: "ISRO and partnering firms will launch these satellites using indigenous launch vehicles. Once operational, the satellite constellation will be managed by the Defence Space Agency (DSA)." indianmasterminds.com/news/india-2...