06/24/2026

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By Jeff Foust

In today's edition: Vantor selects BAE Systems for new imaging satellites, OHB sells shares to fund expansion and acquisitions, SpaceX's secretive Starfall launch, and more.

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Top Stories

Boeing won a contract worth up to $2 billion to build two next-generation military communications satellites for the U.S. Space Force. The contract announced Tuesday covers the design, development, production and testing of two satellites for the Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, the military's primary narrowband communications constellation operating in geostationary orbit. Often described as a cellphone network in space, the system allows users equipped with relatively small terminals to communicate far beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. Lockheed Martin built the five MUOS satellites currently operating, and competed with Boeing for this contract. The new satellites are scheduled for delivery by 2035. [SpaceNews]

BAE Systems will build new imaging spacecraft for Vantor. The companies announced Wednesday that BAE Systems will build two Vantage satellites, capable of providing imagery at a resolution of 20 centimeters. The Vantage satellites will enter service by the end of the decade. The award returns a familiar name to Vantor’s supply chain. Before its acquisition by BAE Systems in 2024, Ball Aerospace built DigitalGlobe’s Earth-observation satellites, including WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and WorldView-3. Ball supplied the spacecraft buses, imaging instruments and camera systems. DigitalGlobe later became part of Maxar, then split off to become Vantor. [SpaceNews]

OHB is raising about half a billion euros in a stock sale to fund expansion and potential acquisitions. The company announced this week it would sell shares to raise 490.2 million euros ($557.6 million) after expenses. The stock sale will increase the number of shares available on the public markets; previously, nearly all the shares were owned by the Fuchs family that founded the company and private equity firm KKR. OHB said the capital raised from the sale would allow it to capitalize on growing opportunities, particularly on civil and defense space activities in Europe. The funds will also help Rocket Factory Augsburg, a launch startup that OHB owns 65% of, as it prepares for its first launch later this year and development of upgraded vehicles. [SpaceNews]

A new trade association seeks to help the NGSO satellite industry, but is missing its largest player. The SpaceConnect Association, announced Wednesday, was founded by Amazon along with Globalstar, Iridium and Telesat. The organization says that it will work to advance policies to help companies like those developing non-geostationary orbit satellite systems. That includes agenda items for next year's World Radio Communication Conference and concerns about the EU Space Act. Notably absent from the group is SpaceX, by far the largest NGSO satellite operator. The group said that SpaceX is welcome to join. [SpaceNews]

NASA's inspector general warns the agency's launch sites are nearing capacity. In a report this week, the Office of Inspector General said both the Kennedy Space Center and Wallops Flight Facility could reach capacity by 2028 or 2029 as launch rates increase. The study cited specific concerns about infrastructure at KSC, including electrical systems, pipelines and roads, noting that the agency estimates it needs $1 billion to upgrade those systems. The report is the latest to warn that U.S. spaceports are struggling to keep up with growing launch demand. [SpaceNews]

Ubotica Technologies, an Irish company focused on artificial intelligence for spacecraft, has raised $11 million. The company said the funding round, led by Act Venture Capital and Greencode Ventures, will help it expand commercial sales of its maritime-intelligence platform. That platform, Live Maritime Intelligence (LMI), was unveiled in April and is designed to help satellites analyze data and take action in orbit. [SpaceNews]

Other News

SpaceX launched a test flight of its Starfall reentry vehicle Tuesday. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:53 a.m. Eastern on what SpaceX called the Starfall Demo mission. The mission was designed to test the company's Starfall reentry vehicle, including demonstrating controlled flight in space and a reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX released few other details about the mission, including confirmation of a successful splashdown. The secretive nature of the launch and use of a droneship landing for the first stage despite the relatively small size of Starfall led to speculation that the launch also carried other, classified payloads. [SpaceNews]

In-space computing company Sophia Space will use a satellite bus from Apex for its first mission. Sophia said Tuesday it plans to demonstrate its Thermal Integrated LEO Edge (TILE) compute module in 2027 in an Apex Nova bus. TILE is designed to enable passive computing alongside in-situ data processing, AI acceleration and edge computing for satellites, defense systems and commercial space stations. Sophia Space also raised $7 million in additional funding to accelerate that test flight, which had been scheduled for 2028. [SpaceNews]

Loft Orbital is working with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test the use of AI on spacecraft to improve Earth science monitoring. The company said Tuesday it signed an agreement with JPL to use the lab's AI software on its spacecraft, showing how it can be used to analyze imagery in real time onboard. That analysis can be used to autonomously identify areas of interest and transmit that information to other spacecraft for followup observations. Tests of the AI system started this month with additional tests planned for 2027 and 2028, as Loft deploys a 10-satellite system equipped with sensors and AI computing systems. [SpaceNews]

Satellogic is partnering with analytics firm SynMax to develop AI-powered intelligence products for its imaging satellites. The companies said Tuesday that SynMax will integrate data collected by Satellogic's satellites with additional intelligence sources through its analytics platform, aiming to help customers detect changes, close coverage gaps and identify potential threats more quickly. Satellogic operates 18 Earth observation satellites and is preparing to begin deploying its next-generation Merlin constellation, which will provide daily global coverage at a resolution of one meter. [SpaceNews]

New Zealand is joining a NATO responsive launch program. The New Zealand government said it had obtained observer status for Starlift, a NATO program to pool launch resources to be able to rapidly launch spacecraft during a crisis. The country's military said that joining Starlift was a "low-cost, low-risk step" to keep the country aligned with allies and keep open opportunities for future involvement. New Zealand's participation in Starlift would likely involve Rocket Lab, but officials provided no specifics. [Radio New Zealand]

Japanese mobile operator Rakuten Mobile plans to partner with AST SpaceMobile. The companies are planning a joint venture that would fund multiple AST SpaceMobile satellites, using them to provide direct-to-device services to Rakuten Mobile customers. The companies did not disclose financial details of the partnership. [Yomiuri Shimbun]

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Songs for Distant Earth

"I was excited for the challenge to compose a song in the 'voice' of Voyager 2. I have long been fascinated by the spacecraft and its journey, and asked myself, 'What it might say to us if it could?'"

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