Aerospace News, Commerce & Government Programs
Updated periodically. Source links use primary announcements where possible.
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Recent News
- China Manned Space Agency announces selection of Pakistani astronaut for short-duration mission aboard space station — Global Times (also: Reuters)
- JAXA’s HTV-X1 cargo vehicle launched on H3 en route to ISS — source
- SpaceX flew another Starlink batch, pushing its annual cadence past the 2024 record — source
- NASA moved to broaden competition for the Artemis III lunar lander amid schedule pressure — source
- Airbus launches SpainSat NG II secure-communications satellite for Spain — Airbus Press Release (also: Euronews)
- U.S. Executive Order signaled streamlined regulation to accelerate commercial space activity — source
- Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales sign MoU to merge space activities into a new European satellite company — Airbus Press Release (also: Reuters; The Guardian; Le Monde)
- United 737 MAX struck by weather balloon at 36 000 ft — cockpit windshield cracked, emergency landing in Salt Lake City; renews calls for unified air-to-orbital collision tracking. The Weather Channel (also: The Independent; NDTV)
- JWST detects complex organics (COMs) in ice around protostar ST6 in the Large Magellanic Cloud — University of Maryland (also: ScienceAlert)
- SpaceX sets new annual launch record; latest Starlink batch deployed — SpaceX Updates (also: Reuters)
To see older items go to Recent News — Archive below.
📑 Process & Compliance 📑 FAQ 🛰️ Space Ops & News
Government Programs Driving PPP
- NASA Artemis: Artemis II assembly and mission status — Mission page, Status update
- ESA/EU: Ariane 6 commercial cadence; IRIS² secure connectivity — Ariane 6, IRIS²
- U.S. Space Development Agency: Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche-1 — SDA release
- China (CNSA): Chang’e-6 far-side sample return; Tiangong operations — CNSA
- India (ISRO): Gaganyaan and national space-station roadmap — TOI
- Japan (JAXA): SLIM precision landing tech proof for future missions — JAXA
Earth & Airspace Commercialisation
- Launch/Reentry in the NAS: FAA’s SDI brings live launch/reentry telemetry into ATC workflows — FAA SDI; new operators feed data direct to SDI — FAA update.
- AAM corridors: NASA + partners test tools for remotely piloted operations and future air-taxi integration — NASA AAM news, Mission page.
- BVLOS scale-up: UK CAA roadmap and trials toward routine BVLOS by 2027 — CAA roadmap; funding for live trials in shared airspace — CAA trials.
- U-space integration: EUROCONTROL and partners progress UTM into wider ATM — EUROCONTROL; SESAR demonstrations continue — SESAR U-ELCOME.
- Urban air corridors: UAE maps air-taxi and cargo-drone routes toward 2026 service start — Reuters.
- ATC modernisation: FAA launches vendor challenge to upgrade TFM — FAA TFM.
- Space–air integration policy: FAA Space Operations office coordinates launch impacts within the NAS — FAA Space Ops.
Commercial Headlines
- LEO Internet: Starlink user growth; Amazon Kuiper deployment timeline — Starlink, Kuiper, Reuters
- Heavy Lift: Blue Origin New Glenn to orbit; ULA Vulcan NSSL certification — AP, USSF
- Commercial Stations (NASA CLD): Starlab milestone; Orbital Reef design progress; Axiom ISS-attached modules — Starlab, NASA on Orbital Reef, Axiom
- Lunar Commerce (CLPS): Intuitive Machines IM-1 soft landing — Mission recap
- In-Space Manufacturing: FAA approvals for repeated Varda capsule re-entries; microgravity pharma/materials — Aviation Week, Varda, WSJ
- Debris Removal & SDA: Astroscale ADRAS-J close approach; ESA ClearSpace; private tracking networks — Astroscale, ESA 2025 report, LeoLabs, ExoAnalytic, Privateer
- Tourism & Private Crews: Blue Origin New Shepard flights; SpaceX Polaris Dawn EVA; Axiom private missions — Blue Origin, Polaris Dawn, Axiom Ax-3
Asteroid Mining — Proposals & Milestones
- — The missions making asteroid mining a reality: a private company’s mission set for landing on a metallic asteroid in 2026. Australian Mining Review – Oct 24 2025
- — Asteroid 2024 PT5 identified as a “mini-moon” and a potential near-Earth mining target. Space.com – Sep 21 2025
- — Private mission by AstroForge confirms first commercial asteroid-mine scenario: mission to dock and sample in 2025. ICAD – mission confirmed for Oct 2025
- — Market forecast: the space-mining market projected to reach USD 9.15 billion by 2032 driven by asteroid and lunar resource extraction. GlobeNewswire – Apr 11 2025
- — Global asteroid-mining market sizing shows significant growth: projected value up to ~$3.44 billion by 2032. Fortune Business Insights – Apr 2025
- — “Asteroid mining gives companies hope in the search for rare metals” — review of commercial players entering asteroid-mining and ISRU. Discover Magazine – Mar 24 2025
- — AstroForge launches its “ODIN” deep-space mission to asteroid 2022 OB5 as a technology precursor to mining. AstroForge – ODIN Mission Feb 26 2025
- — New space race: mining for minerals on asteroids explored in major university/university-news coverage. University of Miami News – Oct 9 2024
- — Market research estimates the global asteroid-mining market to reach USD 3.87 billion by 2025 (CAGR ~24.4%). EIN Presswire – Feb 7 2024
- — Ongoing ISRU R&D in U.S./EU/Japan; commercial players explore water-to-propellant and materials processing pathways — sources: NASA 2024 ISRU Status; ESA: Oxygen & metals from regolith; JAXA Profile 2024 (ISRU & lunar resources)
- — OSIRIS-REx returns Bennu samples; science baseline for carbonaceous asteroid composition (resource value proxy) — source: NASA: OSIRIS-REx samples land on Earth (Sep 24, 2023)
- — U.S. policy statement encourages international support for recovery/use of space resources — source: Executive Order 13914 (Federal Register)
- — Luxembourg ramps Space Agency backing; multiple MOUs with mining/ ISRU startups and research groups — source: Luxembourg Space Agency — Press releases (2018–2019)
- — Luxembourg launches SpaceResources.lu initiative; public funding + permissive legal framework attracts firms — sources: Gov.lu: Legal framework for exploration & use of space resources; Lux Gov’t–DSI MoU press release (PDF)
- — U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act affirms private rights to extracted space resources — source: Public Law 114-90 (H.R.2262) — Congress.gov
- — Deep Space Industries announces Firefly/Dragonfly concepts for sample return and resource scouting — source: SpaceNews: DSI unveils asteroid-mining plans (Jan 2013)
- — Planetary Resources unveils private asteroid-mining plans (prospecting small NEAs; water/volatiles first) — source: The New York Times: Firm Seeks Asteroids to Mine (Apr 24, 2012)
Curated history of proposals and enabling policy/tech. We’ll keep adding notable studies, demos, and commercial moves here.
Suggest additions or corrections via the inquiry form on the home page.
Recent News — Archive
- Morocco propulsion initiative reaches local rocket-engine development milestone — CRTSA Morocco (also: AfricaNews.Space)
- Starlab, Orbital Reef, and CLD programs announce design-review and funding updates — Starlab Space (also: SpaceNews)
- In-space manufacturing progress: Varda and partners complete reentry and new contract phase — Varda Space (also: TechCrunch)
- India’s GalaxEye announced the 160 kg “Drishti” satellite with a Q1 2026 launch slot — source
- Blue Origin flew its 15th New Shepard tourism mission (NS-36), carrying six passengers — source
- Rocket Lab secured a multi-launch SAR contract with Japan’s iQPS; AST SpaceMobile announced a Verizon deal — source
- Report from European Space Policy Institute warns of growing traffic in cislunar space and calls for enhanced tracking & command-control infrastructure — ESPI Report
Older verified items moved here from Recent News.