Plus: Aschbacher optimistic about a European human spaceflight program
Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink said the United States has space-control weapons in orbit, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher is optimistic Europe will support its own human spaceflight program and more.
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OUR TOP STORY
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By Sandra Erwin U.S. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink on Monday revealed that the United States has deployed space-control weapons in orbit, while also disclosing new milestones for military satellite programs tied to missile defense and long-range targeting.
“The United States now has on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action,” Meink said in remarks Sept. 14 at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air Space & Cyber conference.
The statement was unusually explicit for the Pentagon, which has increasingly discussed the need for weapons to defend U.S. satellites and counter adversary space capabilities but has disclosed few details about offensive or defensive systems operating in orbit.
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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What Comes Next for On-Orbit Servicing? Join us on Wednesday, Sept. 23 for conversations about the tech, policies and business models required to build a functioning in-orbit logistics ecosystem. Col. Scott Carstetter, director of servicing, mobility, and logistics at Space Systems Command, and other experts will explore what comes next for the technologies, policies and business models required to build a functioning in-orbit logistics ecosystem. Register now. |
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CIVIL
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During the International Space Summit, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher pitched member states on supporting new investments in European space capabilities, with a European human spaceflight system as the centerpiece.
Rocket Lab announced Sept. 11 it is filing a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office over NASA’s decision to award a $700 million contract for a Mars communications orbiter to Blue Origin.
Djibouti became the latest country to sign the Artemis Accords as the U.S. State Department rolls out a new program to provide benefits to signatories.
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MILITARY
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United Launch Alliance is preparing to return its Vulcan rocket to flight with an Amazon Leo mission, but the Space Force will require a separate review before allowing the rocket to resume national security launches, a senior service acquisition official said Sept. 16.
Growing threats to space systems are prompting European nations to strengthen domestic space capabilities while improving coordination with allies, government officials said at the Novaspace Space Security and Defense Summit.
L3Harris Technologies is moving a missile-tracking satellite developed for the Missile Defense Agency into production for Golden Dome with few design changes. The spacecraft are closely based on the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, or HBTSS, prototype that L3Harris launched in 2024 and subsequently tested on orbit.
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FROM SPACENEWS |
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Where do space investors see the biggest opportunities? SpaceNews has mapped the ranks of private space firms valued at $1 billion or more, capturing 37 companies working in launch and satellite broadband, Earth observation, space stations, orbital data centers and other promising markets. Drawing on public disclosures, original reporting and other sources, each profile tracks when and how a company achieved unicorn status and its latest known valuation, alongside funding-round breakdowns and total capital raised from BryceTech’s Startup Space database. Download the report. |
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COMMERCIAL
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South Korean company Satrec Initiative is working with parent company Hanwha Systems to provide high-resolution Earth imagery for the synthetic aperture radar constellation announced in July.
EnduroSat has raised $205 million to ramp up satellite production in Europe and the United States as demand grows for its “constellation-as-a-service” model, the Bulgarian manufacturer announced Sept. 16.
Open Cosmos has raised 300 million euros ($348 million) to expand production facilities and upgrade its space-based intelligence and connectivity services, the British small satellite specialist announced Sept. 14. |
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