12/02/2025

Get 1 year of SpaceNews for $99: Get our best rate of the year. Use code CYBER at checkout and save on your first year of unlimited digital all-access. Save now.

By Sandra Erwin

Welcome to this week's edition of SpaceNews' Military Space, your source for the latest developments at the intersection of space and national security. In this week's edition: Blue Origin expands its national security footprint, Europe's space reset and BAE rolls out a microchip "storefront" for the space industry.

If someone forwarded you this edition, sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. And we're eager to hear your feedback and suggestions. You can hit reply to let me know directly or contact me on Signal @SandraErwin.43.

BlackSky announced it captured the first high-resolution images from the company's third Gen-3 satellite less than 24 hours after the satellite's launch. BlackSky's new satellite launched on a Rocket Lab Electron vehicle that lifted off Nov. 20 from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. This image taken Nov. 22 over the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, displays active offloading operations at the roll-on/roll-off terminal. Credit: BlackSky

Blue Origin building defense portfolio as Washington looks for new space partners

Blue Origin is steadily expanding its presence in national security space with the anticipated launch next year of its Blue Ring in-space mobility spacecraft and its ongoing work with the U.S. Space Force to certify the company's heavy rocket New Glenn for defense missions.

The latest update on Blue Ring is an agreement with Optimum Technologies (OpTech) to fly an advanced optical payload known as Caracal on the first operational Blue Ring mission. Caracal will fly with Scout Space's Owl sensor, along with internally developed Blue Origin payloads — with the goal of demonstrating Blue Ring as a defense platform for space domain awareness in geostationary orbit.

Blue Origin is positioning Blue Ring as a maneuverable in-orbit transport and mobility platform. When New Glenn completes its certification review for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, the company will be able to offer launch services and maneuverable in-space capabilities at a time when the Pentagon wants more responsive systems that can host new sensors and adapt to threats on short notice.

Blue Ring was developed with funding from the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to support what the military calls "dynamic space operations." This term refers to a spacecraft's ability to shift orbits on demand, whether to gain a better view of a target, avoid a threat, relocate payloads, support refueling, or assist other satellites in extending their life.

At the Baird Defense & Government conference, Kylie Ho, Blue Origin's senior director of strategy, said Blue Ring "was really designed for some of these interesting maneuvers you can do for a rapid approach against our adversaries on orbit."

Pathfinder data informs the current build

The Blue Ring vehicle moving through integration incorporates insights from a prototype pathfinder mission that launched in January on the debut flight of New Glenn.

DIU awarded Blue Origin a contract of undisclosed value in 2024 to support Blue Ring development. DIU and the U.S. Space Force plan to place the spacecraft's first operational mission on a national security launch projected for spring 2026.
The mission will launch into a geostationary transfer orbit before maneuvering into GEO — a region critical for missile warning, communications, surveillance and commercial services.

With Blue Ring and New Glenn, the company is seeking a larger role in an ecosystem where the U.S. government is actively searching for more vendors who can challenge incumbent suppliers, lower costs and deliver technological refresh.

ESA's record budget puts security squarely on the table

Europe's space ministers wrapped up a consequential week in Bremen, signing off on a record 22-plus billion euro three-year budget for the European Space Agency. This marks the first time governments have embraced ESA's full request, with most of the new money flowing to Earth observation, navigation, telecom programs and the continent's struggling launch sector.

Officials cast the package as a bid for competitiveness and "strategic autonomy" — shorthand for reducing Europe's dependence on U.S. space systems and ensuring its own commercial and governmental programs aren't left behind as Washington and Beijing double down on military-driven space investments.

Security in the spotlight

Ministers also backed European Resilience from Space (ERS), a new dual-use surveillance and secure-communications initiative funded at more than 1.2 billion euros. The program aims to link national satellites and ground infrastructure into a shared "system of systems" that can support defense operations, crisis response and environmental monitoring.

For ESA, which has long operated as a purely civilian agency, ERS represents a significant pivot toward missions with direct national-security value. The political backdrop matters: nearly four years of war in Ukraine, persistent Russian interference with satellite services and growing concern about Chinese counterspace tools have sharpened Europe's appetite for sovereign, resilient space capabilities.

Berlin takes the lead

Germany emerged as the largest ESA contributor for the first time, pledging roughly 5 billion euros and nudging France out of the top slot. Berlin is pairing its ESA commitments with a broader push to be Europe's leading space power — including a long-term national space budget and the promise of a German astronaut on NASA's Artemis lunar missions.

That shift is already stirring competition inside Europe's industrial base, particularly over launcher strategy and workshare allocations that have traditionally tilted toward Paris.

The bigger picture

While the ministerial didn't suggest ESA should take on a defense agency role, it officially opened the door to security-oriented programs that member states say they now need. ERS is the clearest example: space-domain awareness, jam-resistant links and integrated surveillance are all capabilities NATO and national defense ministries have been calling for — and ESA is now being asked to help deliver them.

The takeaway is that Europe's civil space institutions are being drawn into the continent's security posture. Europe's scientific and commercial agenda is now being shaped by geopolitics, resilience planning and military requirements, signaling a deeper shift in how Europe thinks about space power.

FROM SPACENEWS

Get one year of digital all-access for $99. Use code CYBER through Tuesday.

Our best rate of the year: Through Tuesday, use code CYBER to get your first year of digital all-access for just $99. Unlock unlimited SpaceNews reporting and analysis, as well as our digital SpaceNews magazine every month, and get comprehensive coverage and a critical perspective you can rely on. Subscribe now. (New subscribers only. Renews at full rate. No refunds. One discount per subscription. Terms and conditions apply.)

BAE, GlobalFoundries partner to modernize space microelectronics

BAE Systems is teaming with GlobalFoundries to bring modern semiconductor manufacturing into the space sector — an attempt to shrink the gap between the processors inside satellites and the far more advanced electronics used in commercial devices.

Andrew Kelly, who leads space systems and advanced microelectronics at BAE, said demand from government and commercial operators is shifting toward higher processing power, lower power draw and smaller, more efficient hardware. The company's answer is a new chip-design service built on GlobalFoundries' 12-nanometer FinFET process, produced at the company's secure Malta, N.Y., fab.

BAE plans to offer the technology to U.S. government contractors and space agencies.
This marks a step up for spacecraft electronics. Most radiation-hardened chips operating in orbit today still rely on older process nodes. FinFET transistors, now standard in commercial CPUs and GPUs, deliver better performance and efficiency but have been difficult to adapt for space missions.
BAE and GlobalFoundries are looking to support the demands of satellites handling real-time imagery, communications, radar work or onboard data analysis.

BAE is calling the new service the RH12 Storefront. The work is done at BAE's facility in Manassas, Va., a Defense Microelectronics Activity "Category 1A Trusted Source" — a designation reserved for suppliers that meet the highest security standards for designing and producing microelectronics for Pentagon programs.

SpaceNews' latest national security coverage

📨 Don't miss what's next. Sign up for other SpaceNews newsletters:

NEW Europe Report: Tracking the policy landscape, investment climate and regional priorities driving Europe's space ambitions.

First Up: Every weekday morning, Jeff Foust delivers the day's most important industry headlines.

China Report: Biweekly news and analysis from correspondent Andrew Jones on business, politics and technology in the Chinese space industry.

SpaceNext AI: Exploring the intersection of space and artificial intelligence.

SpaceNews Mission Brief: Golden Dome: Explaining the Golden Dome initiative and what it means for the space industry.

Marketing Minute: Covering PR, marketing and advertising trends for industry communications leaders.

Editor's Choice: Our most important recent stories you may have missed, with background and insights from editors, reporters and contributors.

Opinions: A weekly digest of the latest commentary and analysis.

SpaceNews This Week: The week's top headlines and our conference coverage.

Subscribe to SpaceNews

This email has been sent to generalastronomy110.stnirp@blogger.com because you previously opted in to receive Military Space from SpaceNews. Unsubscribe here. Sign up for other SpaceNews newsletters.