By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: SpaceX goes public, the Senate backs plans to fold SDA and Space RCO into the Space Force, how a European astronaut got assigned to Artemis 3 and more.
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Top Stories
SpaceX will become a public company today. The company confirmed Thursday it will start trading on the Nasdaq Friday after selling more than 555.5 million shares at $135 per share. The company is raising $75 billion, making it the largest IPO in stock market history and valuing the company at more than $1.75 trillion. The proceeds will fund the company's ambitions in spaceflight and artificial intelligence, including orbital data centers. In an interview, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company expects to make another suborbital Starship test flight in about a month, followed by an orbital launch attempt. [CNBC]
A Senate defense authorization bill supports plans to fold two offices into the Space Force. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved Thursday its National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027. The bill includes a provision that would eliminate separate statutory requirements for the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office, similar to language in the House version of the bill. The provision is intended to give the Department of the Air Force greater flexibility to restructure the Space Force acquisition organization, streamline operations and accelerate implementation of broader acquisition reforms. The bill also includes a missile-defense provision that would restrict certain Pentagon funding until lawmakers receive an independent assessment of space-based missile defense capabilities. [SpaceNews]
K2 Space and Rocket Lab have landed key supplier roles in the U.S. Space Force's next-generation military communications network. K2 Space will provide the satellite platform for SES's entry in the Protected Tactical Satcom-Global program, known as PTS-G, while Rocket Lab will supply the spacecraft bus for Viasat's PTS-G satellite. The supplier selections shed new light on the industrial teams behind the first operational phase of PTS-G, a Space Force effort to build a more resilient military communications network using commercially derived satellites in geostationary orbit. [SpaceNews]
British small satellite specialist Open Cosmos is seeking more time to deploy its proposed sovereign broadband constellation. The company said Liechtenstein, which holds the Ka-band spectrum filings it is using for the network, has submitted an extension request to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for the 144 satellites tied to a June 10 deadline. Open Cosmos said failures of India's PSLV rocket created a "force majeure" situation that prevented the company from reaching its ITU deployment milestone. The Open Cosmos filings were previously assigned to Germany-based Rivada Space Networks, which had planned to use them for its proposed Outernet broadband network, but Liechtenstein rescinded the licenses in 2024 following a dispute over a required performance bond and awarded them to Open Cosmos earlier this year. [SpaceNews]
AAC Clyde Space won a European Space Agency contract to complete development of and demonstrate a maritime domain awareness satellite program. The 10.9 million euro ($12.6 million) contract supports completion of the 12-satellite Inflecion constellation, a low-cost approach to detecting, tracking and monitoring maritime vessels, including ships that turn off their automated identification system (AIS) transponders. The VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) satellites enable two-way communication, including the ability to contact ships being tracked to challenge them to identify themselves. Aside from Inflecion, AAC Clyde Space plans to launch additional VDES satellites to expand its maritime-monitoring business. [SpaceNews]
The assignment of an ESA astronaut to the Artemis 3 mission is part of renegotiations between NASA and ESA about roles on Artemis. ESA had seats on three Artemis missions to the lunar Gateway under previous agreements with NASA, but those plans were disrupted by NASA's decision in March to halt work on the Gateway. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher said at a press conference Thursday that while he could not discuss details about ongoing talks with NASA about new roles on ESA, the assignment of ESA's Luca Parmitano on Artemis 3 "is part of the negotiation process as the first step." Aschbacher said he is working to find ways to get European astronauts on future Artemis lunar landing missions. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
Japan's H3 rocket successfully returned to flight Thursday night. An H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center at 8:54 p.m. Eastern. The launch was a test flight of a new version of the rocket, the H3-30S, which uses three engines in its first stage but no solid rocket boosters. The rocket placed six smallsats, including one from French company Unseenlabs, into orbit. The launch was the first for the H3 since a failure in December when shocks from deployment of the payload fairing damaged its satellite and payload adapter, causing the satellite to fall off the upper stage. [SpaceNews]
SpaceX conducted two Starlink launches just before the launch of its IPO. One Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:06 a.m. Eastern from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, putting 24 Starlink satellites in orbit. A second Falcon 9 lifted off at 8:37 a.m. Eastern Friday morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying 29 Starlink satellites. [Spaceflight Now]
Vandenberg is offering a new launch site for small and medium rockets. The Space Force issued a request for information this week seeking interest in Space Launch Complex 9, a greenfield site at the spaceport that is intended for small and medium-class rockets. The Space Force emphasized interest in rockets with high financial and technical maturity, including the ability to start launching from the site within three years of selection. [SpaceNews]
German launch company HyImpulse has signaled its interest in launching from a spaceport in Oman. HyImpulse signed a letter of intent with Etlaq Spaceport, Oman's commercial spaceport, to study launches from the site. The agreement covers both HyImpulse's suborbital launcher SR75, which conducted its first test flight from the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia in May 2024, and its orbital rocket SL1, which is planned to fly in 2027. [SpaceNews]
Rocket Lab is marking its own Nasdaq milestone today. The company announced it has been selected for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100, a stock index for the 100 of the largest non-financial companies on the exchange. The company's shares have risen significantly in recent months, giving it a market cap approaching $70 billion. The company's inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 takes effect on June 22. [Rocket Lab]
GPS disruptions in Europe have been traced to a Russian satellite. Researchers said in a paper published this month that they detected at 75 instances of high-powered radio transmissions since 2019 at frequencies used by GPS and Galileo, disrupting GPS antennas across Europe. The study concluded the bursts likely came from a Russian early-warning satellite, Cosmos 2546, flying in a highly elliptical orbit. The bursts appear to be intentional but it is unclear what Russia's intentions are. [DefenseOne]
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Nearly Two Trillion Reasons Why
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"I reflect back 15 or 20 years ago being in the office of Charlie Bolden when he was NASA administrator. Charlie and I were talking about the commercialization of space, and yeah, we were very supportive, but I'll tell you, we were less than sold on that happening, and truly it has. You think about SpaceX, Blue Origin; you think about Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace, the builder of Blue Ghost. Charlie, sometimes it's okay to be wrong."
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– Jim Albaugh, a retired Boeing executive and chair of the board of the National Aeronautic Association, at a ceremony Thursday night to award the association's Collier Trophy to Firefly Aerospace for its Blue Ghost 1 lunar landing.
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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The June 2026 issue of SpaceNews magazine is out now: Once rare beasts, billion-dollar startups are multiplying across new orbital markets. Read Jason Rainbow's analysis of the 30 privately held space companies with unicorn status. Also in this issue: How New Glenn forced an explosive rewrite for NASA’s plans to build a moon base and why proponents see offshore launch as a possible answer to crowded ranges, military resilience concerns. Read the issue now. |
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