The time is ripe to end the “Wolf Amendment,” a congressional bar inhibiting civil collaboration between the United States and China in space. The impetus for the law was noble — an attempt to challenge human rights conditions in China and prevent leaks of space-related technology — but in practice the ban harms our security […]

The post It’s time to unburden space cooperation with China appeared first on SpaceNews.

New Mexico — December 22, 2025 — Desert Works Propulsion (DWP) today announced the expansion of its domestic electric propulsion development and testing capabilities to address growing demand for advanced […]

The post Desert Works Propulsion expands U.S. ion propulsion capability through domestic manufacturing partnership and test capacity growth appeared first on SpaceNews.

Japan’s flagship H3 rocket suffered an issue with its second stage late Sunday resulting in the loss of the Michibiki 5 (QZS-5) navigation satellite.

The post Japan’s H3 suffers second-stage anomaly, QZS-5 satellite lost appeared first on SpaceNews.

New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he wants NASA to move faster on programs such as Artemis but acknowledged he needs time to get up to speed on NASA’s activities.

The post Isaacman emphasizes accelerating NASA programs as he takes agency’s reins appeared first on SpaceNews.

Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Dec. 21 in the final flight of a record-setting year for the company.

The post Rocket Lab wraps up record launch year appeared first on SpaceNews.

Blue Origin flew its final New Shepard suborbital mission of the year Dec. 20, carrying six people, including the first person who uses a wheelchair to travel to space.

The post Blue Origin flies first wheelchair user to space appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s safety advisers are recommending that the agency reconsider its Artemis lunar landing architecture as well as how it handles incidents such as the flawed Starliner test flight.

The post NASA safety panel recommends review of Artemis plans appeared first on SpaceNews.

L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Rocket Lab and Northrop Grumman won contracts to build 72 satellites

The post Space Development Agency awards $3.5 billion in contracts for missile-tracking satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.

Hungarian communications provider 4iG has agreed to invest $100 million in U.S.-based space station developer Axiom Space, broadening its footprint in the space industry amid a broader push toward vertically integrated capabilities in the industry.

The post Hungary’s 4iG commits to $100 million Axiom Space investment appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency expects to decide in February how to address a 20% funding shortfall in its exploration program.

The post ESA weighing options to address exploration funding shortfall appeared first on SpaceNews.

Paris, December 2025 — The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology of the Sultanate of Oman (MTCIT) and Novaspace announce the second Edition of the Middle East Space Conference […]

The post Middle East Space Conference 2026 Returns to Muscat as a Strategic Platform for Regional Growth appeared first on SpaceNews.

The modern space economy is increasingly powered by dual-use satellites that support both civilian services and national security needs. These assets deliver critical capabilities, from communications to Earth observation, but they also face growing risks. Protecting them, along with the intellectual property they carry, requires an integrated end-to-end approach that connects logistics, compliance and mission […]

The post The hidden backbone of space security: how to keep satellites safe through proper logistics appeared first on SpaceNews.

Astrobotic said Dec. 19 it has won $17.5 million in NASA and military contracts to develop three new reusable suborbital vehicles for technology demonstrations and other applications.

The post Astrobotic secures contracts for suborbital vehicle development appeared first on SpaceNews.

The White House issued a sweeping executive order on space policy Dec. 18 covering topics from NASA’s exploration plans to space security.

The post Trump signs sweeping executive order to assert U.S. dominance in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

A recently issued Executive Order revises how the government implements Space Policy Directive-3, removing the longstanding expectation that basic space situational awareness (SSA) services, including conjunction warnings, would be provided without charge. This decision marks a departure not only from SPD-3, but from more than a decade of United States practice in which Congress and […]

The post What problem is charging for Space Situational Awareness supposed to solve? appeared first on SpaceNews.

New constellation would provide security for NATO’s eastern flank, German brigade in Lithuania

The post Germany awards $1.9 billion SAR satellite deal to Rheinmetall-Iceye venture appeared first on SpaceNews.

Deal backed by $150 million Series E equity and debt round

The post HawkEye 360 expands defense footprint with acquisition of Innovative Signal Analysis appeared first on SpaceNews.

At a time when space is unmistakably a contested warfighting domain, the United States risks slowing its own progress not because of a lack of technology or talent, but because Congress has failed to act on renewing authority for critical small business innovation funding. Senior Space Force acquisition officials have publicly warned that the lapse […]

The post Congress’ SBIR standoff is slowing Space Force innovation — it must act now appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this episode of Space Minds, host Mike Gruss talks with Dr. Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo about what he calls "almost a watershed year" for the Space Development Agency.

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Recent analysis by Reeves in the Mitchell Institute’s “Charting a Path to Space Superiority: The Cross-Domain Imperative” identifies the need for centralized command and control (C2) of counterspace capabilities under U.S. Space Command to ensure unity of effort. However, Reeves’s critique of the United States Army’s development of counterspace capabilities fundamentally misunderstands the Army’s role […]

The post The Army’s contribution to joint space operations appeared first on SpaceNews.

The space community welcomed the confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA’s next administrator, expressing hope he can lead the agency forward and relief that a long confirmation process is over.

The post Space community celebrates Isaacman confirmation appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA is at an inflection point. 2026 will now begin with a newly-confirmed Jared Isaacman as a NASA Administrator with the White House directive to beat China back to the moon with astronauts. On the science side, we hope that NASA will continue its in-depth exploration of the Earth, solar system and universe. While the […]

The post Things to come: Important bellwethers for space exploration in 2026 appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator Dec. 17, concluding arguably the most unusual effort to select a leader in the space agency’s history.

The post Senate confirms Isaacman as NASA administrator appeared first on SpaceNews.

Denver-based Lux Aeterna announced plans Dec. 17 to land its debut reusable satellite at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, shortly after launching on a SpaceX rideshare mission in early 2027.

The post Lux Aeterna to land first reusable satellite in Australia appeared first on SpaceNews.