Firefly plans late summer launch of first Alpha Block 2 rocket Firefly Aerospace plans to debut the upgraded version of its Alpha rocket late this summer as it sees strong demand for the vehicle, particularly for national security applications.

Ireland and Malta sign the Artemis Accords Two European countries signed the Artemis Accords May 4 as part of a surge of countries joining in the wake of the Artemis 2 mission.

Quantum Space hires Bridenstine as CEO Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is joining Quantum Space as its chief executive as the company pursues emerging opportunities in national security space.

Another day, another Artemis Accords signing ceremony as Ireland becomes the 66th country to join (Malta was the 65th, earlier today.)

Lawsuit claims Starship launches damage homes As SpaceX prepares for the first flight of version 3 of Starship, the company is facing a new legal challenge from local residents who claim launches damage their homes.

Interlune wins NASA contract for helium-3 extraction payload Interlune, a startup with plans to harvest helium-3 from the moon, has won a NASA contract to develop a payload to test ways to extract the isotope from lunar regolith.

Artemis 3 plans remain uncertain as schedule slips More than two months after NASA announced revised plans for the Artemis 3 mission, the agency has provided few details about the mission amid signs its schedule may be slipping.

The US Space Force identifies six satellites after a secretive Russian launch on April 17. Two objects are determined to be debris, possibly resulting from an anomaly. DETAILS, CONTEXT: russianspaceweb.com/spacecraft-m...

NASA to increase value of CLPS contract to support surge of lunar lander missions NASA is planning to increase the total value of a contract for robotic lunar lander missions to support a proposed surge in flights for the agency’s moon base plans.

Starship Flight 12 NET May 12, 22:30 UTC / 17:30 CDT An advisory has appeared on the CADENA Operational Information System. - NEW Trajectory - Afternoon Launch Window 🗺️ CADENA Operational Information System The window spans 22:30 - 00:43 UTC, which is 17:30 - 19:43 Starbase local time.

DARPA selects three companies for lunar orbiter studies The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded contracts to three companies to study concepts for a lunar mission to search for water ice in very low orbits.

Trump nominates Schiess as next Space Force chief Career space operator would succeed Gen. Chance Saltzman atop military space branch

Starcloud seeks more orbital data center funding shortly after unicorn status 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.

Next up on Electron will be the "Viva La StriX" mission, our ninth dedicated launch for Synspective to deploy their Earth-imaging constellation in LEO. The mission is set to launch NET May 22 from Launch Complex 1.

House appropriators keep NASA funding flat A House appropriations subcommittee advanced a spending bill April 30 that would keep overall NASA funding at 2026 levels, rejecting a 23% cut proposed by the White House.

Morocco signs the Artemis Accords Morocco signed the Artemis Accords April 29, becoming the third country to do so in the last 10 days.

Canadian Space Agency cancels Spire satellite contract The Canadian Space Agency has canceled a contract it awarded last year to Spire Global to construct a fleet of wildfire-monitoring smallsats.

ISS module cracking still unresolved despite stopping air leaks While leaks in a Russian section of the International Space Station have stopped, engineers still don’t understand how the cracks formed.

Appropriators reject NASA budget proposal House and Senate appropriators criticized a NASA budget proposal for fiscal year 2027 that includes significant cuts, suggesting they may instead use last year’s spending bill as a guide.

The draft House CJS appropriations bill would keep overall NASA funding flat in FY27 (versus a $5.6 billion cut proposed by the administration) but moves some funding around compared to 2026: a little less for science, a little more for exploration. appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

You can now buy your own "official" Artemis II moon mascot as sold by the NASA Exchange. The $25 plush, which reproduces the look of the zero-g indicator, includes many of the features of the flown-to-the-moon doll, including its Earth cap.

At the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium meeting this afternoon, where people who have spent the last six years studying the infrastructure needed for a lunar base are having their moment.

Good morning! It's time for another NASA appropriations hearing, this time in the Senate.

Corrosion problem affects Gateway and commercial space station modules A manufacturing issue involving a European company has resulted in corrosion in modules produced for both the lunar Gateway and Axiom Space’s commercial space station.

An optical satellite image follow-up to this situation at Blue Origin's Florida site. Sourced White-lable Imagery.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is back on Capitol Hill for a budget hearing by the House CJS appropriations subcommittee.

Overview Energy to provide space-based solar power for Meta data centers Overview Energy, a startup developing space-based solar power systems, announced an agreement to provide energy for data centers operated by Meta.

An update from the Rocket Factory Augsburg: They have submitted its application for the marine license for Test Flight 1 from the SaxaVord Spaceport. The application also specifies a potential launch window, which will open no earlier than July 1, 2026 (this not a launch date yet!). 📸 RFA

NASA reserves science payload space for Mars telecommunications mission NASA is reserving a small amount of space on a Mars telecommunications spacecraft for science, which could be one or more cubesats.

FAA to begin collecting user fees for commercial launches and reentries The Federal Aviation Administration is ready to begin collecting user fees for the first time for commercial launches and reentries, which could generate millions of dollars annually.

Jordan signs the Artemis Accords Jordan is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords as NASA works to attract more countries to its lunar exploration efforts.

Jordan becomes the 63rd country to sign the Artemis Accords—and the second this week—at NASA HQ this morning.

Atmos Space Cargo raises $30 million for reentry missions Atmos Space Cargo has raised 25.7 million euros ($30.1 million) to fly a series of reentry vehicle missions and work on a larger spacecraft.

Electron launches Japanese cubesats A Rocket Lab Electron launched a set of cubesats sponsored by the Japanese space agency JAXA April 22 on the company’s second dedicated mission for the agency.

House Science Committee pans NASA budget request Members of the House Science Committee rejected a proposed fiscal year 2027 budget for NASA because of sweeping cuts as the agency’s administrator argued it could do more with less.

The European Defence Agency and @esa.int have launched a joint study to strengthen Europe’s Earth observation capabilities and develop a long-term roadmap in support of security and defence. www.esa.int/Newsroom/Pre... @esaearth.esa.int @josefaschbacher.esa.int

A House Science Committee hearing on NASA's FY27 budget proposal is now underway, with Administrator Isaacman testifying.

Northrop Grumman takes $71 million charge on Vulcan booster issue Northrop Grumman said April 21 it took a $71 million charge in its fiscal first quarter linked to an anomaly with a solid rocket booster that has grounded ULA's Vulcan.

Commerce Department budget proposal would halt work on TraCSS The Commerce Department is proposing to halt work on its space traffic coordination system while it develops a “new operating and financial structure” that may include user fees.

NASA sets early September launch date for Roman Space Telescope NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is now scheduled for launch in early September as agency officials hail its early completion despite ongoing budget uncertainty for its science programs.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope at its media day at NASA Goddard.

Artemis spacesuit development risks further delays New spacesuits for Artemis lunar missions and the International Space Station may not be ready until after the end of the decade, a report by NASA’s inspector general warns.

Latvia joins the Artemis Accords Latvia is the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords as part of a new push to use the Accords to foster cooperation on NASA’s lunar exploration ambitions.

Latvia becomes the 62nd nation to sign the Artemis Accords in an event at NASA HQ this morning.

A second orbit dataset from SpaceForce for the BlueBird-7 sat shows it in a 265 x 485 km x 43.0 deg orbit, indicating that the upper stage delivered about 1000 m/s, mostly changing orbital inclination. This is about half the dV that would have been needed for the target orbit

Evidently that future lunar base will even have a Ferris wheel, but you’ll have to pay in crypto to ride it.

AST SpaceMobile, the customer for today's Blue Origin New Glenn launch that placed the payload in an "off-nominal" orbit, says the satellite "is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will de-orbited." www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...

Third New Glenn launch suffers upper stage malfunction Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a malfunction of its second stage on the rocket’s third flight April 19, stranding its payload in an “off-nominal” orbit.

From Blue Origin: "We have confirmed payload separation. AST SpaceMobile has confirmed the satellite has powered on. The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit. We are currently assessing and will update when we have more detailed information."

BlueBird 7 separation from the New Glenn second stage was scheduled for T+75 minutes, according to the timeline published before launch. But no updates from Blue on payload deployment or the earlier second burn of the upper stage.