https://spacewatch.global/space-news/ AN INDEPENDENT PERSPECTIVE ON SPACE Wed, 30 Sep 2026 10:44:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 https://spacewatch.global/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SpaceWatchGlobal-Sign-90x90.png https://spacewatch.global/space-news/ 32 32 https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/space-florida-and-uk-space-agency-launch-joint-space-innovation-funding-call/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78342 Space Florida and the UK Space Agency have opened a joint funding call, offering up to $200,000 and £150,000 respectively for collaborative R&D between Florida and UK space companies.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/avio-usa-breaks-ground-on-first-u-s-solid-rocket-motor-facility/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78350 Avio USA has broken ground on a 900,000 sq ft solid rocket motor facility in Hurt, Virginia, targeting thousands of motors annually for US tactical missile programmes from early 2029.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/gps-interference-near-los-angeles-raises-new-questions-for-u-s-aviation/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78358 Several United Airlines flights reported GPS interference near Los Angeles on 25 September, highlighting civil aviation's exposure to navigation disruption - uncommon in US airspace, but increasingly familiar in parts of Europe.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/mission-k-2026-inside-kalkars-surreal-setting-for-europes-space-and-defence-community/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:30:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78339 Torsten Kriening opens SpaceWatch.Global's coverage of Mission-K from the control room of the Kalkar nuclear plant that never switched on - a surreal setting for two days of keynotes, an Experience Colony of fifteen domes, a live rocket engine demonstration and a Space Café on stage.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacewatchgl-opinion-vaduz-says-federate-now-perfect-later/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78326 Europe's usual reflex is to design the institution first and deliver the capability later. At the first Vaduz Space Dialogue, the message was clear: on secure connectivity, there is no time for that. Torsten Kriening on why federation should start now, and why Liechtenstein wants to host it.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/vaduz-space-dialogue-2026-spectrum-as-strategy-and-europes-case-for-federation/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:30:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78332 From Vaduz, Torsten Kriening explores why Europe's next move on secure connectivity was pitched in a country of 41,000 people - with Dr. Bianca Lins, Rafel Jordá Siquier of Open Cosmos and ESPI's Hermann Ludwig Moeller on spectrum as strategic infrastructure, and why federation, not another constellation, may be Europe's answer.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/cote-divoire-signs-artemis-accords-as-african-participation-expands/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78293 Côte d'Ivoire has signed the Artemis Accords, the fifth African country to join in 2026, as the framework expands across the continent.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/starship-reaches-orbit-for-the-first-time-deploys-26-starlink-v3-satellites/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78297 Starship has reached Earth orbit for the first time on its 14th flight test, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites, though an early Raptor shutdown cut the orbital phase short before a controlled Pacific splashdown.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/star-catcher-google-and-blackwing-space-bring-new-orbital-technologies-to-transporter-18/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78303 SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission will carry 130 payloads to orbit, including Star Catcher’s Protostar orbital power demonstrator, Google’s Project Suncatcher AI-computing test and Blackwing Space’s Baby Bird nanosatellite. The diverse manifest highlights how a single rideshare mission is becoming a platform for testing new approaches to power, computing, Earth observation and commercial space infrastructure.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/ssc-space-upgrades-western-australia-station-for-optical-satellite-communications/ Tue, 29 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78314 Swedish Space Corporation has completed an upgrade of its optical ground station in Western Australia, bringing the facility into operational service with support for both Space Development Agency and Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems optical communications standards.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/satellite-connect-europes-itu-filing-plans-for-344-satellite-european-d2d-network/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78266 An International Telecommunication Union (ITU) filing has revealed that Satellite Connect Europe’s planned European direct-to-device network could comprise 344 satellites, providing an indication of the scale of the Vodafone-AST SpaceMobile venture’s satellite ambitions in Europe. ]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/indian-startup-takeme2space-to-launch-orbital-computing-satellite-on-spacex-transporter-18-mission/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78271 Indian space startup TakeMe2Space is preparing to launch what it describes as India’s first orbital computing satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, as it seeks to process Earth observation data in orbit rather than send raw imagery back to Earth for processing.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/spacex-prepares-starship-for-its-first-orbital-flight-and-in-orbit-starlink-deployment/ Mon, 28 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78278 SpaceX is preparing to launch Starship on its 14th flight test today, in what will be the rocket’s first attempt to reach Earth orbit after 13 deliberately suborbital missions. The mission will also mark Starship’s first deployment of satellites into orbit, with 26 next-generation Starlink V3 spacecraft scheduled for release during the orbital phase.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/beyond-gravity-expands-dispenser-production-capacity-as-amazon-leo-scales-leo-network/ Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78196 Beyond Gravity is doubling annual output at its satellite dispenser facility in Linköping, Sweden, as constellation-scale deployment drives demand for higher-volume production.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/voyager-and-exobiosphere-expand-microgravity-drug-research-with-two-new-iss-campaigns/ Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78204 Voyager Technologies and Exobiosphere have added two research campaigns aboard the International Space Station, expanding their partnership as they work to establish a recurring model for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research in microgravity.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/nasa-selects-prima-far-infrared-telescope-as-first-probe-explorers-mission/ Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78217 NASA has selected PRIMA, the PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics, as the first mission in its new Probe Explorers class, bridging the observational gap between infrared and radio observatories.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/uk-space-agency-opens-tender-for-international-disaster-charter-support/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78073 The UK Space Agency is seeking a commercial Earth observation provider to deliver operational support to the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters under a procurement estimated at £546,693. The contract, scheduled to run from January 2027 through March 2029, is intended to support the provision of satellite data during Charter activations.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/scotlands-aurora-avionics-prepares-for-first-flight-test-with-german-research-partnership/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78143 Aurora Avionics has integrated its PF1 computer into a German research rocket ahead of its first flight test, expanding the Scottish firm's European footprint.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/italy-continues-copuos-chairmanship-with-mario-cospitos-appointment/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 06:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78162 Italy will continue to chair the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) after consensus among COPUOS' 110 member states was reached to appoint Ambassador Mario Cospito, Special Commissioner of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), as Chair for the 2026–2027 biennium.]]> https://spacewatch.global/2026/09/streeting-this-century-will-depend-on-control-of-space/ Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:00:00 +0000 https://spacewatch.global/?p=78103 UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting closed day one of the UK Space Power Conference by placing control of space at the heart of British deterrence, and warned that adversaries use satellite disruption to fuel populism.]]>