2026 01 News
26 Jan 2026
- Hanwha exploring South Korean defense constellation with MDA Space and Telesat
- Astranis adds Oman customer to summer GEO launch lineup
- H3 failure linked to payload fairing separation anomaly
- Former astronaut on lunar spacesuits: “I don’t think they’re great right now”
25 Jan 2026
24 Jan 2026
23 Jan 2026
- Space Beyond lines up 2027 SpaceX launch for low-cost memorial cubesat
- Former astronaut joins Vast as Haven-1 moves into integration
- House appropriator sees ‘room for improvement’ in NASA funding for 2027
- Open Cosmos advances broadband plans with spectrum once held by Rivada
- Rocket Report: Chinese rockets fail twice in 12 hours; Rocket Lab reports setback
22 Jan 2026
- Open Cosmos advances broadband plans with spectrum once held by Rivada
- Blue Origin flies first New Shepard mission of 2026
- As satellites become targets, Space Force plans for growth and a broader role
- Rocket Lab launches first satellites for Open Cosmos constellation
- L3Harris to supply imager for Korean geostationary weather satellite
- Tomorrow.io unveils DeepSky: constellation of large satellites and instruments
- Rocket Lab suffers Neutron testing setback
- Azimut Group invests $128 million in D-Orbit
- All sorts of interesting flags and artifacts will fly to the Moon on Artemis II
- Blue Origin makes impressive strides with reuse—next launch will refly booster
21 Jan 2026
- Blue Origin plans bespoke high-speed Starlink rival
- The Exploration Company in talks to acquire Orbex
- Starfish Space wins SDA contract to deorbit satellites
- U.S. vulnerable to Russian escalation in space, new report warns
- NASA to end support for planetary science groups
- Another Jeff Bezos company has announced plans to develop a megaconstellation
20 Jan 2026
- Defense appropriations bill for 2026 funds Space Force at $26 billion, presses Pentagon on Golden Dome
- Washington Harbour expands space investments with ground services acquisition
- Sodern to produce star trackers in Colorado
- Gilmour Space raises $146 million
- The first commercial space station, Haven-1, is now undergoing assembly for launch
19 Jan 2026
- Space Force ends ‘Resilient GPS’ satellite program
- The fastest human spaceflight mission in history crawls closer to liftoff
- The race to build a super-large ground telescope is likely down to two competitors
18 Jan 2026
- Eutelsat signs OneWeb launch deal with MaiaSpace
- Live coverage: Space Falcon 9 rocket counting down to Starlink delivery mission
17 Jan 2026
- SLS/Orion rolls to pad for Artemis 2
- White House resubmits NASA deputy administrator nominee
- China hit by dual launch failures as Long March 3B and Ceres-2 debut mission fail
16 Jan 2026
- Isar Aerospace sets date for second Spectrum launch
- China conducts static fire test of new reusable Long March 12B rocket
- China advances plans for dual solar system boundary missions
- Japanese launch company Interstellar Technologies raises $130 million
- China launches AlSat-3A for Algeria, Ceres-1 sea launch adds to Tianqi constellation
- Live coverage: NRO, SpaceX to launch reconnaissance satellites from Vandenberg
- Rocket Report: Ariane 64 to debut soon; India has a Falcon 9 clone too?
15 Jan 2026
- Arianespace to begin Amazon Leo launches in February
- Parsons buys Altamira for $375 million to expand space and intelligence portfolio
- TrustPoint demonstrates non-GPS navigation for LEO satellites
- Portal Space selects ‘Space Armor’ debris shield for 2026 mission
- Slingshot wins $27 million Space Force contract for AI training system
- Hydrosat raises $60 million in Series B funding
- Crew-11 makes early return from ISS
- Indian startup Aule Space enters satellite servicing market
- Crew 11 safely splashes down after shortened mission
- Key Senate staffer is “begging” NASA to get on with commercial space stations
- NASA’s first medical evacuation from space ends with on-target splashdown
14 Jan 2026
- CAS Space conducts first suborbital launch and capsule landing test
- ESA’s Comet Interceptor mission moves up launch
- ThinkOrbital raises seed funding to advance X-ray space inspection
- NASA pessimistic about odds of recovering MAVEN
- SkyFi raises $12.7 million to scale satellite data marketplace
- China’s first launches of 2026 send Yaogan spacecraft into unusual orbit, loft Guowang satellites
- ESA and ClearSpace announce PRELUDE mission to test debris-removal techniques
- Live coverage: NASA, SpaceX prepare ‘medical evacuation’ Crew-11 return to Earth
- SpaceX breaks pad turnaround record at Cape Canaveral with midday Starlink launch
13 Jan 2026
- ESA and ClearSpace announce PRELUDE in-orbit servicing and debris removal mission
- Pentagon commits $1 billion to L3Harris missile unit as ‘anchor investor’
- Orbion delivers 33 electric thrusters to York Space for U.S. military constellation
- Eutelsat orders 340 additional satellites to replenish OneWeb constellation
- Aerospacelab to build eight satellites for Xona’s navigation constellation
- ISS gains new commander as Crew-11 prepares midweek departure
12 Jan 2026
- NRO taps Capitol Hill staffer Bill Adkins as principal deputy director
- NASA outlines path to Artemis 2 launch
- India’s PSLV launch fails during ascent, 16 satellites lost
- China files ITU paperwork for megaconstellations totaling nearly 200,000 satellites
- NASA astrophysics, commercial satellites launch on SpaceX rideshare mission
- India’s PSLV suffers second consecutive launch failure, 16 satellites lost
- Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
- NASA launches new mission to get the most out of the James Webb Space Telescope
- NASA topples towers used to test Saturn rockets, space shuttle
11 Jan 2026
- NASA astrophysics, commercial satellites launch on SpaceX rideshare mission
- Crew-11 to make early return Jan. 15
10 Jan 2026
- Crew-11 to make early return Jan. 15
- FCC approves 7,500 additional Starlink satellites
- Space Force awards $739 million in launch orders to SpaceX
09 Jan 2026
- Landspace secures launch contracts for China’s megaconstellation projects
- Rhea Space Activity applies optical navigation to military rendezvous missions
- Crew-11 to cut mission short and return to Earth due to medical issue
- L3Harris announces $845 million majority sale of Space Propulsion and Power Systems business
- Is Orion’s heat shield really safe? New NASA chief conducts final review on eve of flight.
- Rocket Report: A new super-heavy launch site in California; 2025 year in review
08 Jan 2026
- Roman Space Telescope on track for September launch
- Private group unveils plans for large space telescope
- Vulcan to open 2026 with national security launch
- Medical issue could force early end of Crew-11 ISS mission
- SpaceX scrubs midday Starlink mission launch from Cape Canaveral
- Former Google CEO plans to singlehandedly fund a Hubble telescope replacement
07 Jan 2026
- Space Force moves to standardize satellites with ‘Handle 2.0’ contract
- NASA seeks to accelerate development of Habitable Worlds Observatory
- SkyFi expands virtual constellation with Vantor satellite imagery
- 2026 Outlook: Can Acquisition Reform Deliver for Military Space?
- Here are the launches and landings we’re most excited about in 2026
06 Jan 2026
- Dept. of the Air Force opens bidding for Space Launch Complex 14 at Vandenberg SFB
- Private equity deal shows just how far America’s legacy rocket industry has fallen
05 Jan 2026
- Array Labs raises $20 million to scale production of radar satellites for 3D Earth mapping
- Minibus provides $24.4 billion for NASA for fiscal year 2026
- China’s astronauts complete cave training amid preparations for moon missions
- L3Harris to sell majority stake in space propulsion unit to AE Industrial
- SpaceX to lower orbits of some Starlink satellites
- NASA’s science budget won’t be a train wreck after all
- Our annual power ranking of US rocket companies has changes near the top and bottom
04 Jan 2026
- Space Force begins base network overhaul as cybersecurity demands grow
- SpaceX launches first Starlink deployment mission since problem strikes satellite
03 Jan 2026
- New Spanish communications satellite suffers ‘space particle’ impact
- SpaceX launches next second-generation Italian COSMO-SkyMed satellite
02 Jan 2026
- SpaceX to lower orbits of some Starlink satellites
- Live coverage: SpaceX opens 2026 with launch of Cosmo-SkyMed Earth observation satellite for Italy
- After half a decade, the Russian space station segment stopped leaking
- SpaceX begins “significant reconfiguration” of Starlink satellite constellation