The White House has moved to eliminate employee unions at NASA, among other agencies, on national security grounds.

The post White House moves to eliminate NASA labor unions appeared first on SpaceNews.

President Trump’s recent executive order promoting commercial space competition highlights America’s unique advantage in the final frontier: our dynamic commercial space sector. American companies such as SpaceX, Planet Labs and Sierra Space are rewriting the rules of space access and operations. But as we celebrate these achievements, we must acknowledge a difficult truth: the United States lacks a coherent, […]

The post An economic strategy for American space supremacy appeared first on SpaceNews.

Rocket Lab moved a step closer to the first launch of its Neutron rocket Aug. 28 with the formal opening of the vehicle’s launch site.

The post Rocket Lab inaugurates Neutron launch pad appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – Viridian Space Corp. won a $1.25 million award from the U.S. Air Force for very low Earth orbit (VLEO) electric-propulsion technology. With funding from the Phase II award from Air Force technology innovation arm AFWERX, the Southern California startup will develop an air-fed cathode able to withstand erosion in the oxygen-rich VLEO environment. […]

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SAN FRANCISCO – Nuview, a Florida startup building a constellation of lidar satellites, announced a $5 million award Aug. 28 from the Defense Department’s National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) program. The funding will allow Orlando-based Nuview to rapidly prototype a lidar (light detection and ranging) payload for a constellation to provide “3D mapping of Earth […]

The post Nuview claims $5 million in NSIC funds for lidar instrument appeared first on SpaceNews.

China’s southern province of Guangdong is aiming to create a fully integrated commercial aerospace ecosystem with its latest policy moves. 

The post China’s Guangdong province lays out ambitious commercial space objectives appeared first on SpaceNews.

What if Earth once had rings like Saturn? Dr. Andy Tomkins joins Markus to unravel the evidence that, 466 million years ago, a colossal asteroid breakup may have encircled our planet with a shimmering band of debris. From the science of ancient meteorites to the climate effects of planetary rings, this episode explores how cosmic events have shaped our world—and what they might mean for life, extinction, and the future of planetary science.

The post The Space Cafe Podcast #138 with Dr Andy Tomkins  appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

Elbit Systems Ltd. has successfully launched its advanced JUPITER space camera aboard the National Advanced Optical System (NAOS) satellite. The space camera will support a wide span of earth Observation missions, including military operations, environmental monitoring and scientific research. The NAOS satellite, manufactured by OHB Italia S.p.A., was launched on August 26th from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

The post Elbit Systems’ JUPITER Space Camera Successfully Launched Aboard NAOS Satellite appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

ESA, in collaboration with partners in the UAE has announced the launch of the first EPIC European–UAE Space Startup Competition 2025. This initiative aims to foster transnational innovation and entrepreneurship within the global space economy by building strategic commercial bridges between Europe and the UAE.

The post ESA is Calling for Applications for the EPIC European-UAE Space Startup Competition 2025 appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

Maritime Launch Services has signed an agreement with Reaction Dynamics for the first orbital launch of a Canadian-built rocket from Spaceport Nova Scotia. The transaction features an equity investment by Reaction Dynamics in Maritime Launch and a Pathfinder Launch Agreement for Reaction Dynamics to launch from Spaceport Nova Scotia

The post Maritime Launch Services and Reaction Dynamics Enter Launch Agreement appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

This Space Café Clip takes you inside the opening day of the 2025 academic year at the International Space University (ISU) – a truly special occasion for our host Torsten Kriening, himself an ISU alumnus.

The post ISU 2025 – A New Era Begins: Inside the Opening of the new academic year with Dr John Wensveen appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

We're reporting from Opening Day of the 2025 ISU MSS/MCSS Program in Strasbourg – and kicking things off with a powerful Space Café Clip featuring Géraud GAILLARD, ISU’s expert in space policy and entrepreneurship.

The post ISU 2025 – Space Policy Meets Startup Power: Interview with Géraud GAILLARD appeared first on SpaceWatch.GLOBAL.

Week in images: 25-29 August 2025

Discover our week through the lens

For this new Picture of the Month feature, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has provided a fantastic new view of IRAS 04302+2247, a planet-forming disc located about 525 light-years away in a dark cloud within the Taurus star-forming region. With Webb, researchers can study the properties and growth of dust grains within protoplanetary discs like this one, shedding light on the earliest stages of planet formation.

Video: 00:09:30

In Tenerife, Spain, stands a unique duo: ESA’s Izaña-1 and Izaña-2 laser-ranging stations. Together, they form an optical technology testbed of the European Space Agency that takes the monitoring of space debris and satellites to a new level while maturing new technologies for commercialisation.  

Space debris is a threat to satellites and is rapidly becoming a daily concern for satellite operators. The Space Safety Programme, part of ESA Operations, managed from ESOC in Germany, helps develop new technologies to detect and track debris, and to prevent collisions in orbit in new and innovative ways. 

One of these efforts takes place at the Izaña station in Tenerife. There, ESA and partner companies are testing how to deliver precise orbit data on demand with laser-based technologies. The Izaña-2 station was recently finalised by the German company DiGOS and is now in use.  

To perform space debris laser ranging, Izaña-2 operates as a laser transmitter, emitting high-power laser pulses towards objects in space. Izaña-1 then acts as the receiver of the few photons that are reflected back. The precision of the laser technology enables highly accurate data for precise orbit determination, which in turn is crucial for actionable collision avoidance systems and sustainable space traffic management. 

With the OMLET (Orbital Maintenance via Laser momEntum Transfer) project, ESA combines different development streams and possibilities for automation to support European industry with getting two innovative services market-ready: on-demand ephemeris provision and laser-based collision avoidance services for end users such as satellite operators. 

A future goal is to achieve collision avoidance by laser momentum transfer, where instead of the operational satellite, the piece of debris will be moved out of the way. This involves altering the orbit of a piece of space debris slightly by applying a small force to the object through laser illumination.  

The European Space Agency actively supports European industry in capitalising on the business opportunities that not only safeguard our satellites but also pave the way for the sustainable use of space. 

Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image shows high concentrations of chlorophyll in yellow-green along the coastline of South Australia, near Adelaide. Chlorophyll-a is a key indicator of the presence of algae in the ocean.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has requested funding to participate in the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety (Ramses).

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in the core of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. From the dense, dusty torus that surrounds the star hidden at the centre of the nebula to its outflowing jets, the Webb observations reveal many new discoveries that paint a never-before-seen portrait of a dynamic and structured planetary nebula.