Plus: Falcon 9 launches on hold
| By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: NASA postpones Artemis 2 launch after countdown test problems, SpaceX and xAI to merge, Falcon 9 launches on hold after upper stage anomaly and more.
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| | | | | | Top Stories
NASA is delaying the launch of the Artemis 2 mission to at least March after problems during a fueling test Monday. NASA said early Tuesday it would no longer pursue a launch in a window that closes Feb. 11 after a wet dress rehearsal. During that test, NASA reported hydrogen leaks during fueling, and again in the final minutes of the practice countdown. There were other issues as well, some caused by unusually cold weather in Florida. The next launch opportunity for the mission is from March 6 to 11. [SpaceNews]
Elon Musk is merging SpaceX with xAI, his artificial intelligence company. In a statement Monday, SpaceX said it acquired xAI, which develops artificial intelligence technologies and operates the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. According to some reports, the combined company is valued at $1.25 trillion, although neither company disclosed terms of the deal. Musk said combining SpaceX and xAI is intended to advance his goal of developing space-based data centers that he argues could meet the growing computing demands of artificial intelligence more efficiently than terrestrial facilities. SpaceX filed plans with the FCC last week to deploy up to one million satellites for orbital data centers for AI applications. The merger may also bolster SpaceX plans to go public later this year. [SpaceNews]
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used a visit to Blue Origin's Florida rocket factory to escalate criticism of traditional defense procurement. In a speech at the Blue Origin factory, Hegseth framed commercial space companies as central players in an effort to overhaul how the Defense Department buys weapons and space systems. The stop was part of his "Arsenal of Freedom" tour, a series of high-profile appearances aimed at signaling a shift in Pentagon culture toward speed, scale and production capacity. That tour included stops last month at Rocket Lab's California headquarters and SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas. [SpaceNews]
The head of the U.K. Space Agency (UKSA) is stepping down as the agency is folded into a government department. Paul Bate will resign as CEO of the agency at the end of March after serving in that post for four and a half years, the British government said Monday. UKSA was created in 2010 to give the country a dedicated body to coordinate civil space policy, regulation and investment. The government announced last year that UKSA, currently a standalone agency, will be absorbed into the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology by April. [SpaceNews]
A NASA authorization bill introduced in the House would scrutinize NASA's work on lunar landers and spacesuits. The NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, introduced Friday by the bipartisan leadership of the House Science Committee, includes sections calling on NASA to provide several reports on the status of work on lunar landers by Blue Origin and SpaceX for Artemis. This includes examining the level of support NASA is providing and challenges the companies have encountered. The bill also calls for reports on the status of spacesuit development, including language pressing NASA to retain spacesuit expertise within the agency rather than relying solely on commercial providers. The committee is scheduled to mark up the bill Wednesday. [SpaceNews]
| | | | | | Other News
SpaceX is pausing Falcon 9 launches after an anomaly at the end of a launch Monday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:47 a.m. Eastern, successfully deploying 25 Starlink satellites about an hour later. SpaceX said late Monday that, after payload deployment, the upper stage "experienced an off-nominal condition" while preparing for a deorbit burn. The stage passivated itself, dumping propellants to prevent a breakup. SpaceX said that engineers are examining data from the stage "to determine root cause and corrective actions before returning to flight." SpaceX did not disclose how long that would take, but the company has pushed back the next Falcon 9 launch by at least two days. [SpaceNews]
India plans to resume launches of its PSLV rocket in June. Jitendra Singh, the government's science and technology minister, said Monday that the back-to-back failures of the PSLV last May and in January had different causes, although both involved the rocket's third stage. He did not disclose details about what caused the failures, although he said the government had no evidence of sabotage. The space agency ISRO is "very ambitiously targeting" a return to flight of the PSLV for June assuming the investigation and corrective actions go well. [PTI]
Singapore is establishing a space agency. The country's trade ministry announced during a space conference Monday held in conjunction with the Singapore Air Show that the government will stand up a space agency starting April 1. The National Space Agency of Singapore will be responsible for national space capabilities as well as regulation. [Reuters]
An ESA official has a new job title. The space agency said last week that it appointed Laurent Jaffart, who had been director of connectivity and secure communications, to the new post of director of resilience, navigation and connectivity, effective Feb. 1. The new position is designed to better support the European Resilience from Space program, which will fund work on dual-use Earth imaging satellites, as well as ESA's role in the IRIS² constellation. [ESA]
The sun produced one of the strongest flares in years on Sunday. The flare, rated an X8.1 by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, erupted Sunday evening as part of a series of powerful flares in recent days from the sun. The X8.3 flare is the strongest since October 2024 and among the 20 biggest flares in the last 30 years. The flare caused some shortwave radio disruptions but is not linked to any projected auroral activity. [Scientific American]
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| "This marks not just the next chapter, but the next book in SpaceX and xAI's mission: scaling to make a sentient sun to understand the Universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars!"
| | – Elon Musk, in his message announcing SpaceX's acquisition of xAI to further development of orbital data centers for AI applications.
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