Plus: China successfully landed a Zhuque-3 first stage
Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, NASA and Katalyst Space abandoned an observatory reboost mission, Landspace successfully landed a first stage, a hypersonic missile startup raised over $1 billion and more.
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OUR TOP STORY
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By Jeff Foust Katalyst Space and NASA have called off plans to use the company’s Link spacecraft to raise the orbit of the agency’s Swift gamma-ray observatory, citing attitude-control problems with the spacecraft.
The company announced Aug. 20 that it concluded, in consultation with NASA, that its Link spacecraft will not attempt to grapple Swift and raise its orbit as originally planned. The company said the decision was based on “ongoing attitude control issues” with Link but did not elaborate.
Katalyst launched Link July 3 on a Pegasus XL rocket on a mission to grapple Swift and raise its orbit. While the company initially reported Link was in good condition after launch, it stated July 28 that the spacecraft had entered a multi-axis spin caused by attitude-control problems, including the loss of two of its three reaction wheels. The spacecraft’s reaction control system thrusters were only partially working.
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LAUNCH
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Landspace successfully landed the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket Tuesday following the second launch of the rocket from the Gobi Desert. The first and second stages separated 137 seconds into the flight, and the first stage completed a powered descent and vertical landing at a landing site around 390 kilometers downrange. Landing legs deployed in the final moments of the landing burn ahead of a soft touchdown.
China will launch a complex, multi-spacecraft mission late Sunday to study and land near the lunar south pole, including a search for evidence of water-ice. The mission is targeting the scientifically intriguing lunar south pole, focusing on key questions regarding the potential presence, volume and accessibility of volatiles caught in shadowed craters, acting as cold traps.
Rocket Lab launched another satellite for Japanese radar-imaging company iQPS on Aug. 20. iQPS is deploying a constellation of synthetic aperture radar satellites, with a goal of having 24 satellites in orbit by May 2028 and 26 satellites by 2030.
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MILITARY
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D-Orbit USA, Firefly Aerospace and Katalyst Space received contracts of undisclosed value from the Defense Innovation Unit and the Space Development Agency for a “deorbit-as-a-service” project, the agencies announced.
Rocket Lab plans to use one of its Photon spacecraft equipped with optical communications and networking hardware for an in-orbit demonstration of the U.S. Space Force’s Space Data Network in 2027.
The European Union has sanctioned the head of a Roscosmos subsidiary developing a synthetic aperture radar satellite system for the Russian military. The sanctions are part of what the bloc says is a broader effort to target Russia’s military space sector over its support for the war in Ukraine. |
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COMMERCIAL
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Castelion, a defense-tech startup seeking to mass produce lower-cost hypersonic weapons, has raised more than $1 billion in new financing as it moves to expand missile production and develop a broader portfolio of offensive and defensive weapons.
Lynk Global has completed its merger with Omnispace and rebranded as Elveo Mobile, adding globally coordinated S-band spectrum to expand direct-to-device satellite services beyond basic messaging.
Muon Space has raised $250 million in a Series C round to fuel the small satellite specialist’s push into larger, more powerful spacecraft and constellations. |
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SPONSORED CONTENT
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By International Astronautical Congress For more than 75 years, the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) has been the annual moment when the global space community comes together – not online, not in separate regional events, but in one place. It is where astronauts meet students, ministers meet entrepreneurs, engineers exchange ideas with industry leaders, heads of space agencies debate the future of exploration, and young professionals find themselves standing next to the people who inspired them to pursue a career in space.
If you have never attended the IAC before, 2026 is the year to discover why generations of space professionals return year after year. Ask anyone who has experienced the Congress: once you attend the IAC, you never want to miss it again. |
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Latest Press Releases
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