In this episode, a panel of industry experts discuss what’s needed to build a moon base. During a live event at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, leaders Astrolab, Firefly Space and APL share what a lunar future could look like and what has to happen in the next couple of years to make it a reality. About Space Minds…

A voluntary federal pilot could determine whether America’s next generation of commercial-space businesses operates under clear, generally applicable rules or must first obtain discretionary government permission merely because an activity is new. The Office of Space Commerce’s new Space Commerce Certification (SCC) pilot program may help coordinate novel proposals, but it could become the basis for, or evolve into, an informal permission system if policymakers misinterpret Article VI of the Outer Space Treaty as requiring a bespoke authorization and supervision regime whenever a commercial mission is unfamiliar.

SAN FRANCISCO – Fortastra, a Los Angeles startup developing maneuverable spacecraft for on-orbit security, raised $30 million in a Series A investment round announced Oct. 8. With the additional funding, Fortastra “will build the next two spacecraft, which will be pretty darn close to spacecraft that we want to go build a lot of,” Fortastra founder and CEO Mike Smayda told SpaceNews.

Six months after Artemis 2 flew around the moon, NASA has released the full science data collected from the flight, “passing the baton” of the mission to the science community.

SAN FRANCISCO -- York Space Systems is expanding its Austin, Texas, operations with a new office for software developers. “Austin has been an exceptional home for this team, and this office is the next step as we grow to meet customer demand,” Nate Cooper, York vice president of space vehicle engineering, said in an Oct. 8 news release. “Software is integral to our spacecraft platforms and every mission we support.

A European Space Agency study has found it is technically and financially feasible for Europe to pursue development of a heavy-lift reusable rocket.

NASA is offering countries that sign the Artemis Accords an opportunity to participate in the agency’s lunar base plans as well as in a proposed space academy.

The FCC announced plans Oct. 7 to make more wireless spectrum available for direct-to-device services, a day after authorizing SpaceX to deploy 15,000 next-gen D2D satellites for its Starlink Mobile constellation.

Government Accountability Office flags long timelines, limited M-code chip supply and fragmented GPS modernization programs

In June, SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history, reaching a market value high of over $2 trillion. This valuation has established a new financial center of gravity for the industry, with significant consequences and implications. Low Earth orbit (LEO) is becoming crowded faster than regulations can adapt; legacy operators can no longer rely solely on previous economic models. The megaconstellations buildout has proved the demand and educated the market, opening an opportunity larger than any single operator can serve.

NASA is making faster progress preparing the Space Launch System and Orion for Artemis 3 than on prior missions, in part by taking some work in-house.

As attendees to the International Space Summit walked into the Grand Palais in Paris in early September, a sign of Europe’s ambitions in space greeted them. On display in the foyer was a scale model of Nyx, a cargo spacecraft under development by The Exploration Company. But this wasn’t the version the European startup is building today. The model on display was of a future crewed version, with two astronauts sitting inside.

Axiom Space expects to hear from NASA soon on the configuration for a simplified spacesuit the company will develop for the initial Artemis lunar landing missions.

A startup with plans to help connect space industry suppliers with space projects around the world has signed agreements with a United Nations office.

SAN FRANCISCO -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced plans Oct. 6 to integrate Iceye satellite-derived flood and wildfire observations into the state’s emergency plans for winter weather. With forecasters calling for a record-breaking El Niño weather pattern, Newsom declared a state of emergency in September. The declaration prompted California’s Office of Emergency Services to move equipment and supplies close to communities likely to be affected by storms and to modernize its State Operations Center in Sacramento County.

NorthStar Earth and Space remains on track to expand its in-orbit space domain awareness network, CEO Stewart Bain said, despite heavy investor withdrawals from the blank-check company merger that took it public last week.

An 18-month experiment showed commercial RF monitoring satellites can detect transmissions from spacecraft in LEO, MEO and GEO

The upgrade, funded by the Defense Department, would combine satellite communications, computing and radio-frequency monitoring in a single tactical terminal

Santa Rosa, CA — October 2026 — Deposition Sciences, Inc. (DSI), a leader in advanced thin film coatings, proudly announces the introduction of a new 12" × 30" format for its Sunshade® Tape thermal control material. This expanded size provides engineers and designers with greater flexibility for integrating thermal protection into larger aerospace and industrial systems. Sunshade® Tape is engineered for solar reflectance, thermal stability, and durability in extreme environments.

Linse Capital is exploring another early-stage fund to place more bets on space and other deep tech startups, after quietly deploying most of an initial $150 million foray beyond its traditional focus on more mature businesses.

Business and civic leaders are looking to a growing military space budget for opportunities that could benefit both cities

Western launch capacity is usually discussed in terms of rockets: how many, how reusable, how cheap. Those questions still matter, but they are increasingly not the ones setting the pace. In 2021, 36 rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Last year it was 110, with another 65 from Vandenberg, and the Space Force has said the two ranges could see up to 3,000 launches a year by 2036.

Space Development Agency backing five companies developing vehicles to remove satellites from orbit

As evidence grows of a launch bottleneck in the space industry, government officials are shying away from taking measures to address it out of concerns about making the problem worse.

The EchoStar subsidiary behind U.S. satellite broadcaster Dish TV and online streaming service Sling TV has emerged from bankruptcy protection after completing a prepackaged restructuring plan.

Overview Energy plans to beam power to Earth. Making the economics work will take much more

A worse-than-expected lack of launch capacity has blindsided an industry that had come to rely on growing access to space, not least the Falcon 9 launches and rideshares SpaceX is moving away from as it shifts focus to Starship.

Amazon wants more than 5,000 satellites in orbit. Blue Origin has proposed another 5,400. Chinese companies have filed plans encompassing vastly more. Elon Musk has talked about a constellation numbering 1 million. There is one issue: building all of them. The unprecedented rush to put satellites into low Earth orbit is colliding with shortages of specialized components and materials, suppliers struggling to keep up and competition from the booming artificial intelligence industry.

Open Cosmos has built at least 50 of the more than 96 ConnectedCosmos connectivity satellites the British company said Oct. 5 it plans to deploy before the end of 2028, CEO Rafel Siquier told SpaceNews.

The company will build flight-ready prototypes designed to make use of spare capacity on national security launches

Tetra 3 and 4 will carry infrared, LiDAR and GPS sensors for experiments in geosynchronous orbit

One challenge in the industry is that we've gotten comfortable using the term "space-grade" as if everyone agrees on what it means. I don’t think they do. I can talk to five different customers and get five different definitions of space-grade. One customer may mean fully radiation-hardened because they're thinking of deep-space missions, mission-critical requirements and environments where everything has to be designed to a certain level.

DURANGO, Colo., Oct. 5, 2026 — Agile Space Industries today announced that Jonathan Baliff has joined its Board of Directors, bringing extensive experience in aerospace, finance, and corporate leadership. His appointment, alongside the addition of Theo Squires as Director of Strategy & Corporate Development, strengthens Agile's ability to execute its long-term growth strategy, support capital formation, and pursue strategic opportunities as the company continues to scale.

The Exploration Company is considering spaceports in the Middle East for a large reusable launch vehicle it plans to develop.

A former NASA associate administrator for science is joining Blue Origin to lead the company’s advanced technology work.

Five agreements to develop prototypes were awarded to KBR, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman-Xetron, STR and ICR

Selected from nearly 3,000 applicants, the first class reflects the growing importance of space to forces fighting on the ground.

A German company has secured a license to launch from a Scottish spaceport while another company that planned to use the site has had its assets sold.

The satellite is first step toward planned constellation designed to provide early warning of airborne threats

JOHANNESBURG — Sweden’s Esrange Space Center is preparing for a busy period of launch activity as political scrutiny grows over efforts to establish an orbital launch capability at the site. Esrange has supported sounding rocket flights since 1966. In Jan. 2023, SSC Space, the state-owned company that runs the facility, inaugurated a new orbital launch complex at the site that has yet to support an orbital mission.

When the Artemis astronauts step onto the lunar surface, they will have spent considerable time and effort installing themselves in their bulky, heavy spacesuits. They will lumber onto the surface having limited mobility and time, struggling to accomplish their assigned tasks. Their activities will kick up clinging, razor-sharp lunar dust that they will invariably carry back into their capsule on their suits.

Both SpaceX and outside analysts appear largely satisfied with the first orbital flight of Starship despite some technical issues during the mission.

SpaceX launched its latest rideshare mission Oct. 1, carrying a wide variety of spacecraft even as the industry struggles to deal with the impending end of such missions.

Two companies with plans for space-based solar power systems have secured agreements to further their development as the industry reaches out to the energy sector to stimulate interest.

Iceye is partnering with Nokia to develop secure broadband constellations for governments, with initial satellite deployments slated for 2028 as the Finnish radar imaging specialist expands beyond Earth observation.

Two aging DSP satellites were used in September’s Apollo Maneuvers exercise before being moved into disposal orbits

JOHANNESBURG — European governments are preparing to invest up to 24 billion euros ($27 billion) in SPACE, a joint military space project spanning satellite communications, surveillance and missile warning. The initiative is part of a broader EU effort to expand its defense capabilities in orbit. The Council of the European Union formally approved the SPACE project Sept. 28 as one of the first five European Defence Projects of Common Interest under the European Defence Industry Programme (EDPI).

SpaceX launched a new crew to the International Space Station on Oct. 1 on a mission delayed by repairs to the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

When a spacecraft closes in on another satellite, the operator tracking its trajectory on the other side now also has to consider whether that spacecraft is a weapon. On Sept. 14, 2026, Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink revealed that the United States has “on-orbit space control weapons” to defend United States forces. Then Chief of Space Operations Gen. Douglas Schiess…

British startup Foundational emerged from stealth Oct. 1 with nearly $11 million in funding to upgrade and commercialize Satellite Laser Ranging, a decades-old technology for pinpointing satellites in orbit used mainly by scientific and government groups.