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Earth imaging company Vantor plans to use smallsats to expand its satellite fleet. The company, formerly known as Maxar, said Wednesday it is making the first major overhaul of its space architecture in nearly a decade by expanding its fleet of 10 imaging satellites. Vantor will add two Vantage high-resolution satellites capable of 20-centimeter imagery and as many as two dozen smaller Pulse satellites producing 40-centimeter imagery designed for more frequent coverage. Together, these assets are intended to provide persistent monitoring without sacrificing image quality, a tradeoff that has long defined the commercial remote-sensing market. The first Pulse satellites are expected to launch in 2027, with the Vantage spacecraft projected for deployment in 2029. [SpaceNews]
The Space Force selected 14 companies Wednesday to participate in a $1.8 billion program to monitor activities in geosynchronous orbit. The program known as Andromeda is structured as a $1.8 billion, 10-year contracting vehicle managed by Space Systems Command. It establishes a pool of vendors that will compete for task orders to design and build spacecraft and supporting systems. The selected vendors span a mix of established defense contractors and newer space firms. The program is an effort by the Space Force to broaden its supplier base, pairing large incumbents with venture-backed entrants that have been pushing into national security missions. Andromeda will initially focus on satellites capable of observing activity in geosynchronous orbit, roughly 22,000 miles above Earth, where many of the military's most valuable communications and missile-warning systems operate. [SpaceNews]
Portal Space Systems has raised $50 million to accelerate development of its highly maneuverable spacecraft. The company announced the Series A round Thursday, led by Geodesic Capital and Mach33 with participation from several other investors. The funding will allow it to advance development of Starburst, a maneuverable spacecraft bus, and Supernova, a vehicle designed to rapidly move between orbits using a solar thermal propulsion system. The first Starburst spacecraft is scheduled to launch later this year with Supernova to follow in 2027. The company, initially focused on defense customers, is looking to expand into civil and commercial applications along with international customers, particularly in Japan. [SpaceNews]
Apex is moving to build larger and more powerful spacecraft less than a year after introducing its biggest platform. The company said Thursday it is developing two larger variants of its Comet satellite bus, called Comet Mini and Comet XL. Comet Mini can accommodate payloads from 450 to 1,000 kilograms while the larger Comet XL is optimized for super-heavy lift vehicles such as Starship. The new buses are intended for what the company calls the "most demanding next-generation payloads" that require more power and mass than its existing buses. [SpaceNews]
Albedo, the former Earth-observation startup now focused on satellite manufacturing, plans to fly its second satellite next year. Vicinity, scheduled to launch in 2027, will deploy solar arrays to provide far more power than the solar panels mounted on Precision, the bus that housed Albedo's 2025 Clarity-1 mission. Vicinity is a VLEO spacecraft built for payloads that demand high power like synthetic aperture radar, electromagnetic warfare and communications. The spacecraft, weighing 300 kilograms, is similar in mass to Precision. [SpaceNews]
Lockheed Martin won a Space Force contract to support ground control operations for the next generation of GPS satellites. The $105 million contract announced Wednesday covers launch and on-orbit test support for GPS 3F satellites through March 2030, using the existing Architecture Evolution Plan, or AEP, ground control system. The move follows recent steps by the Pentagon to end development of the Next Generation Operational Control System, or OCX, a program awarded to Raytheon in 2010 that has faced years of delays and cost growth. [SpaceNews]
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