Making satellite communications more resilient
Thursday, 02 July 2026 12:50
In this episode of Space Minds, Mike Gruss talks with Kymeta’s Ryan Stevenson.
3D-printed metal
Thursday, 02 July 2026 12:00
Video:
00:01:28
This video was published by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot on social media with the following caption:
Day 133, orbit 2063 — In this timelapse, I’m retrieving the fourth sample printed with the first 3D metal printer ever sent to space, ESA’s Metal 3D printer… and getting everything ready for the next printing session! Before opening the printer, the procedure requires putting on safety goggles and a mask, just in case there are any floating nanoparticles.
3D printers are far from being simple gadgets. They aim at increasing crew autonomy, which will be even more crucial during future exploration missions,
Watch: Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting
Thursday, 02 July 2026 11:30
On 7–8 July 2026, leading Earth observation scientists and experts are gathering in Tallinn, Estonia, for the Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting – a key milestone in the selection of ESA's next Earth Explorer mission.
Watch live: Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting on ESA WebTV TWO
Surface CubeSat contracted for Ramses asteroid mission
Thursday, 02 July 2026 09:16
The European Space Agency has contracted Spanish company EMXYS for the first CubeSat designed to operate on the surface of an asteroid. Don Quijote is a shoebox-sized spacecraft that will be deployed onto the Apophis asteroid by ESA’s Ramses mission before the asteroid flies by Earth on 13 April 2029.
Call for interest: MTG-I2 launch media programme at Europe’s Spaceport
Thursday, 02 July 2026 09:15Press Release N° 33–2026
Media representatives are invited to express their interest in attending the media programme for the launch of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) Imager weather satellite, MTG-I2, at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
Final Atlas 5 Amazon Leo mission launches
Thursday, 02 July 2026 08:54
An Atlas 5 lifted off July 2 carrying a set of Amazon Leo satellites in the final launch by that vehicle to carry a satellite payload.
FLEX and Sentinel-3C bound for launch site
Thursday, 02 July 2026 07:41
Image:
FLEX and Sentinel-3C bound for launch site Authorisation paves the way for Aeolus-2 wind mission
Thursday, 02 July 2026 07:00
Building on the remarkable success of the Earth Explorer Aeolus wind mission, the European Space Agency has given Airbus Defence and Space in the UK the authorisation to proceed to begin the development of Aeolus’ successor, Aeolus-2 – which is set to be built to enhance operational weather forecasts.
Report links Starliner problems to overconfidence and unrealistic schedules
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 21:19
A new report links the long-running technical problems with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle to a combination of overconfidence, unrealistic schedules and NASA’s lack of insight into the vehicle.
FCC to vote on satellite licensing overhaul July 22
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 18:45
The FCC is set to vote July 22 on an order to overhaul its satellite application process, creating a “licensing assembly line” to keep up with increasingly large and complex constellation plans.
Webb studies how a planet survived the death of its star
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 14:00
An international team of astronomers has used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to watch the Jupiter-sized exoplanet WD 1856 b transit its host star, measuring the planet’s mass and temperature and even detecting its atmosphere.
They found that the planet is significantly warmer than expected and determined how it most likely reached its very tight orbit around the star, a white dwarf. The results are our first window into the future of planets like Jupiter after the death of the Sun, billions of years into the future.
Mediterranean Sea breaks June surface heat record
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 12:45
Image:
This image shows the sea surface temperature anomaly detected in the Mediterranean Sea on 29 June 2026 Unseen threats overhead: Drones endanger U.S. rocket launch sites
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 12:00
Vantor offers up-to-date imagery with WorldView 3D
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 11:30
SAN FRANCISCO – Vantor, the company previously known as Maxar Intelligence, unveiled WorldView 3D July 1, to provide customers with updated and high-definition imagery.
EchoStar’s satellite TV and wireless subsidiaries file for bankruptcy
Wednesday, 01 July 2026 11:22
EchoStar subsidiaries tied to its satellite TV and abandoned 5G network businesses have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, advancing a prepackaged restructuring plan to repay debt early after selling spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T.

