London, UK (SPX) Feb 17, 2026
The UK Space Agency has placed three new study contracts with British companies to assess how advanced materials could be manufactured in Low Earth Orbit for use back on Earth. The projects focus on life-saving medicines, high performance optical fibre and next generation semiconductor materials, all produced using the unique environment of space. In orbit manufacturing can exploit microgr

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 17, 2026
The National Reconnaissance Office has issued the first three awards under its Strategic Commercial Enhancements Commercial Solutions Opening, advancing the agency's shift toward multi-phenomenology commercial remote sensing capabilities that combine several sensing modalities to support intelligence missions. Under this initial tranche, HEO will provide non-Earth imagery, SatVu will deliv

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 17, 2026
BlackSky Technology Inc. has secured a new seven figure Assured contract that deepens its relationship with an international defense customer seeking guaranteed access to Gen 2 and Gen 3 satellite capabilities. The agreement extends uncontested tasking priority and real time delivery of imagery and AI enabled analytics over the country's key areas of interest. The Assured model gives the c

Paris, France (SPX) Feb 17, 2026
Airbus Defence and Space has signed a new radar satellite data framework agreement with Japanese Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) specialist Synspective Inc. to broaden its space-based radar coverage for Earth observation customers worldwide. Under the agreement, Airbus gains access to Synspective's growing constellation of SAR satellites, which will operate alongside Airbus's existing radar

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 18, 2026
Gravity feels stable in everyday life, but its strength varies across the surface of the planet, and it is weakest beneath Antarctica after accounting for Earth rotation. These subtle variations arise from differences in rock density deep inside the planet, and around Antarctica they create a pronounced gravity low that also affects regional sea level by allowing the nearby ocean surface to sit

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 18, 2026
ST Engineering iDirect has formed a strategic technology partnership with G and S SatCom to create a unified approach to satellite network and service management for operators and service providers. The agreement centers on integrating the widely deployed G and S SatConnect module into ST Engineering iDirect's next generation ground system, Intuition, to extend service orchestration and operatio

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 18, 2026
Pale Blue has begun operating its new Tsukuba Production Engineering Base to support mass production of satellite propulsion systems and shorten delivery lead times. The Tsukuba Production Engineering Base in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, centralizes the full product lifecycle from technical development for mass production through manufacturing, final inspection, and global shipping. By bri

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 18, 2026
Hyperion will move KSATs HYPER concept from design into on orbit demonstration, using relay satellites to act as ground stations in space and shorten the time it takes operators to receive satellite data when speed is critical. Announced at the SmallSat Symposium in Silicon Valley, the Hyperion mission will extend KSATs global ground network into low Earth orbit and test how an in orbit re

Pasadena CA (JPL) Feb 17, 2026
The results from our first visit to the "Nevado Sajama" drill location were intriguing enough to motivate our return to do a deeper dive into the minerals and compounds locked in this rock with SAM (the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite). As explained in the last blog, that deeper dive involves using the second of two vials of a chemical reagent, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH)

Kourou (AFP) Feb 18, 2026
"Stop. Danger of death. Work in progress." This sign, written in Russian, is still hanging inside an office at the site where Russia once launched its Soyuz rockets from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. However the jungle has been slowly reclaiming the launchpad on South America's northeastern coast ever since Russia hastily left in the aftermath of invading Ukraine in Februa