By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Earth observation satellites overtake communications satellites for European manufacturers, Voyager completes its acquisition of Astrobotic, SpaceX gears up for its next Starship launch and more.
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Top Stories
Earth observation satellites have overtaken communications satellites in revenue among European manufacturers. The industry group Eurospace reported last week that while telecom satellites had traditionally been the top product for European manufacturers, Earth observation satellites produced 25% more revenue in 2025. Military demand for such satellites is driving that growth. The European Space Agency remains the top customer for the European space industry overall, with revenues from ESA growing by 20% in 2025. Institutional customers overall accounted for 70% of revenues. [SpaceNews]
A Florida startup launched what it says is the first commercial nuclear-powered payload. City Labs said its Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability (BOHR) cubesat, launched on a SpaceX rideshare mission last week, is the first in-orbit demonstration of the company's NanoTritium betavoltaic power system. While the satellite itself uses conventional solar power, its NanoTritium system uses the radioactive decay of tritium to produce tiny amounts of power, measured in microwatts. That would be suitable for some low-power electronics that need to operate continuously for years. BOHR was the first spacecraft to go through processes to approve the launch of commercial missions with nuclear payloads. [SpaceNews]
Reditus Space has completed its first reentry vehicle. The company said Monday that its ENOS spacecraft is complete and shipped for launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission later this year. ENOS will spend two months in orbit testing vehicle systems and hosting microgravity research payloads before reentering and splashing down off the Florida coast. Reditus is one of several companies working on reentry vehicles, but the company's design maximizes the amount of payload it returns to Earth, with the goal of making the spacecraft completely recoverable and reusable. [SpaceNews]
Voyager Technologies completed its acquisition of lunar lander developer Astrobotic. Voyager said Monday that it finalized the acquisition announced in June worth up to $300 million. Astrobotic, now known as Voyager Lunar Systems, will remain in Pittsburgh, with plans by Voyager to invest in expanded facilities and increased staff. Astrobotic won awards from NASA last month for two future lander missions just as its next lander, Griffin-1, left the company's facilities for environmental testing ahead of launch late this year. [SpaceNews]
The FCC approved plans by Reflect Orbital to launch its first satellite to test reflecting sunlight into nighttime regions despite opposition from environmental groups and astronomers. The FCC last week signed off on plans for Eärendil-1, a satellite developed by Reflect Orbital that will deploy a thin-film reflector 18 meters on a side in low Earth orbit, reflecting sunlight to the ground. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch later this year to test the ability to precisely direct sunlight into small regions on the ground for several minutes at a time. Environmentalists opposed the mission because of concerns it, and a future constellation of such satellites, could disrupt the diurnal cycles of plants and animals, while astronomers said the satellites could interfere with observations. The FCC said it did not have jurisdiction to cover those issues and added that launching the satellite was in the public interest to "encourage companies to test new and innovative space activities." [SpaceNews]
The space industry is weighing the advantages of heritage versus the ability of going quickly. Many startups are pursuing new concepts despite a lack of experience, although some say they are hiring people who previously worked at companies like SpaceX. Demand for launch and other space services is allowing companies to raise large amounts of funding despite not having successfully demonstrated their key technologies yet. Longstanding companies such as satellite operator SES acknowledge it is "frustrating" to see startups raise large amounts of money despite not flying anything, but see opportunities to partner with those who can demonstrate they can scale up their offerings. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX launched more Starlink satellites Friday night. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:01 p.m. Eastern and put 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The company now has more than 10,700 satellites in orbit. [Spaceflight Now]
SpaceX plans to launch its next Starship test flight as soon as Thursday. The company said Saturday it is targeting a launch of the Flight 13 mission Thursday evening from Starbase, Texas. The suborbital flight will largely repeat the same milestones as Flight 12 in May, incorporating changes to address issues seen on the previous flight, such as the failure of the Super Heavy booster to make a controlled splashdown. This flight will also deploy functioning Starlink V3 satellites, rather than mass simulators seen on some previous flights. The satellites will test the ability to deploy antennas and solar panels, and communicate with ground stations and other Starlink satellites, before reentering. [SpaceNews]
China is planning a new version of its Long March 10 rocket that will use methane and liquid oxygen exclusively. Chinese officials said after the successful launch of the first Long March 10B, including recovery of the first stage, that they are working on a Long March 10C, whose first and second stages will use methane and liquid oxygen. The Long March 10B uses that propellant combination in its first stage while the upper stage uses kerosene rather than methane. The Long March 10C will use a larger first stage and potentially exceed the 25,000-kilogram payload capacity of the Long March 5B. [SpaceNews]
JAXA flew a reusable launch vehicle technology demonstrator. The Japanese space agency said Saturday the first flight of its RV-X vehicle was a success, flying to an altitude of 11 meters before making a vertical powered landing 40 seconds after liftoff. The RV-X, in development for a decade, is designed to test vertical takeoff and landing technologies for future reusable launch vehicles. [Yomiuri Shinbun]
A propulsion startup has successfully tested thrusters for small satellites. Parabilis Space Technologies said last week it completed hot-fire testing of its Dense Orbital Transfer System, or DOTS, a 2U propulsion module that uses a hybrid engine combining solid fuel with a liquid oxidizer. The system is supported by the Space Force, which is interested in the technology to make smallsats more maneuverable. With ground testing complete, the company is looking to demonstrate the technology in orbit. [SpaceNews]
A spacecraft launched to reboost a NASA astrophysics observatory is working well a week after launch. NASA said Friday that Link, the spacecraft built by Katalyst Space Technologies to raise the orbit of the Swift gamma-ray observatory, was still undergoing checkouts after its July 3 launch but noted key spacecraft systems were working well. NASA expects commissioning of Link to take a few weeks before the spacecraft begins its approach to Swift. [NASA]
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The Week Ahead
Monday:
Tuesday:
Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 3:15 a.m. Eastern. Washington: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a nomination hearing for Roger Mason to be director of the NRO and Erich D. Hernandez-Baquero to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Baikonur, Kazakhstan: Scheduled launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the Soyuz MS-29 crewed spacecraft to the International Space Station. Online: The Beyond Earth Institute hosts a webinar titled "On to Mars: Are We Ready?" at 1 p.m. Eastern. Wednesday:
Thursday:
Washington: The Senate Armed Services Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess's nomination to become Chief of Space Operations at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Online: The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosts a webinar with former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall at 1:30 p.m. Eastern. Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying a set of Transport Layer Tranche 1 satellites at 4:22 p.m. Eastern. Starbase, Texas: Scheduled launch of the 13th Starship/Super Heavy test flight at 6:45 p.m. Eastern. Friday:
Saturday:
Sriharikota, India: Rescheduled launch of Skyroot Aerospace's first Vikram-1 rocket at 1 a.m. Eastern. Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 10 a.m. Eastern. Saturday-Sunday:
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