Defense

Space industry coverage tagged Defense from Outer Space Today.

• U.S. Intelligence Warns China Could Deploy Orbital Directed-Energy Weapons by Late This Decade

  October 27, 2026

  China could field space-based directed-energy weapons by the end of the decade, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said in a new assessment released October 26. The agency also warned that Russia is developing an expanding arsenal of weapons capable of attacking satellites in orbit. The assessment identifies two distinct threats to systems operating in space. One centers on China's potential to deploy directed-energy weapons in orbit within the current decade. The other concerns Russia's ongo

• Pentagon Backs Stoke Space With $150 Million Loan for Second Cape Canaveral Launchpad

  October 26, 2026

  The Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital announced a $150 million conditional loan commitment with Stoke Space Technologies on October 26, 2026, to fund a second launchpad at the company's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station complex. The financing, paired with private capital, is aimed at expanding U.S. launch capacity to meet rising commercial and national security demand. The commitment supports the buildout of launch infrastructure at a time when the United States Space Force requi

• AFRL Flies Emergency Supplies to Orbit in First Rocket Cargo Test

  October 26, 2026

  The Air Force Research Laboratory conducted its first known test of the Rocket Cargo program on Oct. 20, flying a capsule packed with survival gear, emergency medical equipment, and a reverse osmosis desalinator aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The demonstration marked the first experiment AFRL has announced for the initiative, which aims to move large volumes of cargo through space to reach remote or contested locations faster than conventional transpor

• US Space Command Blocks New Zealand From Detailing Auckland Space-Tracking Hub's Role in Iran War

  October 25, 2026

  US Space Command has barred the New Zealand Defence Force from releasing details about the activities of an Auckland-based space-watching hub that has directly supported combat operations in the Iran war. The hub is one of three global centres in a Pentagon-funded network that is the single biggest collector of monitoring data on commercial rocket, satellite and debris movements for US forces. The NZDF told RNZ on Tuesday it was not authorised to release the information, citing advice from US S

• Space Force Grants SpaceX Enhanced Access to Military Orbital Tracking Catalog

  October 25, 2026

  The US Space Force has given SpaceX access to the military's most precise collision tracking data, marking the first time a commercial company has received enhanced access to US Space Command's secure High Accuracy Catalog. The arrangement grants SpaceX an advantage over competitors offering similar space traffic services and has prompted national security concerns among industry observers. The move follows a period of upheaval at the government's nascent space traffic control program, the Traf

• NASA Chief Declares a "New Space Race" With China, Urges Apollo-Era Urgency

  October 24, 2026

  NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman warned Friday that the United States is locked in a "new space race" with China and must recapture the urgency of the Apollo era to return astronauts to the moon first. Speaking during an Artemis update at Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, he described the competition as far closer than the Cold War contest that produced the first lunar landings. Isaacman said China launched its first astronaut in 2003 and has since assembled a broad portfolio of

• Russian Satellite Shadows US-Registered Spacecraft Linked to Ukraine, Prompting Washington Warning

  October 23, 2026

  Washington accused Moscow at the United Nations on Wednesday of deliberately maneuvering a Russian military satellite with an undisclosed mission dangerously close to a US-registered satellite believed to supply imagery to Ukraine. US officials condemned the behavior as consistent with on-orbit weapons operations and vowed to defend American interests in space. The Russian satellite, Cosmos 2612, spent more than two weeks maneuvering toward ICEYE-X36, a radar satellite operated by the American

• DoD Awards Orbital Operations Up to $35M for Cryogenic Space Maneuver Demo

  October 23, 2026

  Orbital Operations has won up to $35 million from the Department of Defense under a prototype Other Transaction Agreement to fly a full-scale, in-orbit demonstration of Astraeus, its cryogenic-maneuvering vehicle. The Long Beach, California startup also closed a $7 million seed extension, signaling momentum toward a first flight of a reusable vehicle designed to transport payloads across orbits. CEO and cofounder Ben Schleuniger likens Astraeus to the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, which for decades

• Space Force Readies Two RFIs as Pentagon Elevates Cislunar Space to Warfighting Domain

  October 22, 2026

  The Pentagon has embraced cislunar space, the region beyond Earth's orbit extending to the Moon, as a high priority warfighting domain, directing the Space Force to rapidly acquire commercially available technology and spacecraft. The service plans to issue two requests for information in the near future and wants capabilities it can field by the end of fiscal 2029. The shift marks a sharp reversal within a single year. "At the beginning of the year there was no talk of cislunar, and basically

• Iceye and Nokia Sign Letter of Intent to Build Sovereign Satcom for Ukraine

  October 22, 2026

  Iceye and Nokia have signed a letter of intent with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to develop a satellite communications capability the country would own and control. The agreement, announced Thursday, marks Iceye's move into satcom and arrives as Ukraine confronts disruptions to its access to commercial satellite networks. The letter of intent follows a partnership the two companies announced earlier this month to jointly develop a sovereign satellite communications system that would give

• Russian Satellite Shadows Finnish Commercial Spacecraft Aiding Ukraine

  October 22, 2026

  A Russian satellite maneuvered dangerously close to a commercial Finnish satellite over a two-week period, raising fresh questions about the security of commercial spacecraft supporting military operations. The Finnish satellite is currently providing intelligence to the Ukrainian military, making the apparent provocation a direct concern for the ongoing conflict. The close approach began in late September and culminated in mid-October. The maneuver has drawn attention from experts who are exam

• Space Force Shifts Six National Security Launches to SpaceX as Vulcan Stays Grounded

  October 22, 2026

  The U.S. Space Force has transferred six National Security Space Launch missions from United Launch Alliance to SpaceX while ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket remains grounded. The reassignments, confirmed on October 21, 2026, keep time-critical military payloads on schedule as the investigation into a solid rocket booster anomaly continues without a firm return-to-flight date. Vulcan has been grounded since February 12, 2026, when a solid rocket booster anomaly occurred during the USSF-87 mission. T