Plus: The latest Trump space policy
| Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, the Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator, the White House issued a new space policy executive order and more.
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| | | | | OUR TOP STORY
| | By Jeff Foust The Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator Dec. 17, concluding arguably the most unusual effort to select a leader in the space agency's history.
The Senate voted 67-30 to confirm Isaacman as the agency's 15th administrator. Sixteen Democrats joined 51 Republicans in voting for the nomination, while all 30 votes against the move came from Democrats. The vote occurred after a couple senators spoke on the Senate floor about the nomination.
| | | | | | | CIVIL
| | The White House issued a sweeping executive order on space policy Dec. 18 covering topics from NASA's exploration plans to space security. The order, "Ensuring American Space Superiority," includes a call for returning Americans to the moon by 2028 and directs development of a space security strategy to address potential threats to American space interests.
In a Dec. 11 procurement filing, NASA said it intends to issue a sole-source contract to SpaceX for Starshield terminals and data services to support operations of the agency's Deep Space Network.
New analysis suggests that problems with NASA's MAVEN Mars orbiter may be more serious than a simple communications glitch. NASA said it is evaluating the cause of signal loss while continuing efforts to restore contact.
| | MILITARY
| | HawkEye 360, a U.S. commercial satellite company that tracks radio-frequency signals from orbit, announced Dec. 18 it has acquired defense contractor Innovative Signal Analysis, deepening its push into military and intelligence markets.
A joint venture between Germany's Rheinmetall and Finnish synthetic aperture radar satellite maker Iceye has secured its first major contract, agreeing to operate a space-based surveillance constellation for Germany's armed forces under a deal worth more than $1.9 billion.
A U.S. Space Force and NASA experiment lifted off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 at Wallops Island, Virginia Dec. 18 to test a new small-satellite architecture designed for operations in very low Earth orbit. | | | | | | | COMMERCIAL
| | Denver-based Lux Aeterna announced plans Dec. 17 to land its debut reusable satellite at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, shortly after launching on a SpaceX rideshare mission in early 2027. The agreement with Southern Launch also covers what would be the startup's first reuse mission for its low Earth orbit Delphi spacecraft, slated for 2028.
Max Space, a startup developing expandable module technologies, plans to build a commercial space station that could launch on a single Falcon 9 rocket. The company unveiled plans Dec. 17 for Thunderbird Station, a space station featuring a single large module that would expand to a volume of 350 cubic meters.
Vantor, the Earth intelligence firm formerly known as Maxar Intelligence, said Dec. 16 it is partnering with Niantic Spatial to develop navigation technology for military platforms operating in GPS-denied environments. | | | | | |  | Latest Press Releases
| | | | | | | FROM SPACENEWS |  | | Speed, risk, and the future of national security space: In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss moderates a panel discussion at the Spacepower conference on how commercial space capabilities are reshaping national security, civil space and military decision-making with Luke Fischer, CEO and co-founder of SkyFi, Bob Pavelko, executive director of national security space programs for Intuitive Machines, and Bradley Cheetham, CEO and co-founder of Advanced Space. Watch or listen now. | | | | |
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