Author: starpathwp-production
-
Space Force Expands Space-Based Air Tracking Vendor Pool to 12 Companies
The U.S. Space Force’s Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program has expanded to 12 participating companies, with Blue Origin, Boeing and commercial radar-satellite operator Umbra appearing in public contract records alongside nine previously identified vendors. The broader supplier pool gives the service additional spacecraft, sensor, processing and integration options as it works toward fielding an…
-
Pentagon Plans 50 Secure Facilities to Help Space Startups Become National Security Suppliers
The Pentagon announced on September 3 a plan to deploy approximately 50 mobile Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities across the United States, lowering a barrier that prevents smaller companies—including commercial space startups—from competing for classified defense work. The Secure Space Network will provide accredited workspaces and related information systems where authorized companies can collaborate with government…
-
MeerKAT Detects Ancient Hydrogen Signal, Advancing Three-Dimensional Cosmic Mapping
Astronomers using South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope have detected faint hydrogen emissions that travelled roughly four to five billion years to Earth, demonstrating a way to study cosmic structure without relying on optical galaxy surveys. Announced on September 1, 2026, the result draws on approximately 96 hours of observations and measures hydrogen at two redshifts,…
-
NASA Funds ‘Slingshot’ Concept to Survey Minerals Across Multiple Worlds
NASA has awarded Phase I funding to Interworld Slingshot Resource Surveys, a SETI Institute-led concept that would use a single 300-kilogram spacecraft to identify minerals on the Moon, a near-Earth asteroid and a Martian moon. The study will assess whether Raman spectroscopy can measure surface composition from 30–50 kilometers away, potentially helping future missions select…
-
Saturn’s South Polar Decagon: What Could Have Created Hubble’s Newly Identified Atmospheric Wave?
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a giant, evolving ten-sided atmospheric wave around Saturn’s south pole—the first large, regular-sided jet pattern observed in the planet’s southern hemisphere. Known as a decagon, the feature appears in observations dating back to 2023 and has become increasingly distinct, offering scientists a rare opportunity to track the development of…
-
Project-S Emerges from Stealth With Funding for Space-Based Radar, Targets October Demonstration
Munich-based Project-S publicly emerged from stealth on September 2, 2026, announcing multi-million-euro backing to develop space-based radar for detecting and tracking orbital debris. The startup plans to launch its first radar demonstrator aboard a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission in October, an initial step toward providing satellite operators with better information on small objects that threaten…
-
HyImpulse Raises More Than €50 Million Ahead of Second SR75 Launch
German launch vehicle developer HyImpulse announced September 2, 2026, that it had raised more than €50 million, approximately $58 million, in a Series A extension to advance its suborbital SR75 and orbital SL1 rockets. The financing comes as the company prepares for a second SR75 flight from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland before the end of…
-
SpaceX and Blue Origin Withdraw From Paris Space Summit After White House Warning
SpaceX, Blue Origin, Stoke Space and Starcloud withdrew from French President Emmanuel Macron’s International Space Summit in Paris after the White House warned that participation could be interpreted as support for European Union space policies. France’s government confirmed the four withdrawals on September 3, 2026, ahead of the September 9–10 event. The cancellations remove two…
-
Tianwen-3 to Dig Up Martian Soil and Bring It Back to Earth, a First for Humanity
As a key step in China’s planetary exploration program, the Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission is expected to become the first successful Mars sample return mission in human history. At the 2026 Deep Space Exploration (Tiandu) International Conference held on September 3, Academician Hou Zengqian of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the chief scientist of…
-
From “Southern Rockets, Northern Satellites” to Four-District Coordination: Why Has Beijing Become a Hub for Commercial Space?
On September 3, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce released the Work Plan for the Development of China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone Linkage Development Areas. The commercial space section presents a more detailed industrial coordination map than the previous “Southern Rockets, Northern Satellites” concept: Haidian focuses on constellation R&D, Fengtai on satellite application services,…