#src-SpaceToday

Space industry coverage tagged #src-SpaceToday from Outer Space Today.

• Brownsville Approves 444-Acre Disannexation, $220 Million SpaceX Water Deal

  August 31, 2026

  The Brownsville City Commission voted to disannex 444.45 acres from city limits and sign a memorandum of understanding with SpaceX committing $220 million to expand regional water infrastructure. The decisions came after a six-hour special meeting held Saturday afternoon, with both agenda items approved simultaneously at SpaceX's insistence. The opportunity came to the city about a week and a half before the vote, according to Mayor John Cowen, who described the arrangement as a take-it-or-leav

• UAE Grants Starlink 10-Year Satellite Broadband Licence

  August 30, 2026

  The UAE's Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has granted Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Communications LLC a 10-year General Space Services License to provide broadband satellite internet services across the country. The licence, announced alongside Starlink's commercial entry into the UAE market, authorises the company to establish, operate and manage a public satellite communications network, adding a space-based layer to the country's digital infrastructure. The se

• NASA, SpaceX Push Back Crew-13 Launch After Oxidizer Leak Found on Dragon

  August 30, 2026

  NASA and SpaceX are adjusting the launch date for the agency's Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station after detecting an oxidizer leak on the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system. No new target date has been announced as of August 30. The leak was found during standard prelaunch spacecraft processing. Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are performing additional tests and data review and will complete any necessary rework before launch. A new target date will be announced once available.

• Long March 6C Upper Stage Breaks Apart Days After Rideshare Launch

  August 29, 2026

  A Chinese Long March 6C rocket upper stage has fragmented in low Earth orbit, generating what tracking firm LeoLabs estimates as tens to hundreds of pieces of debris. The breakup occurred less than two days after the same stage delivered a seven-satellite rideshare mission, adding a new debris cloud to an already congested orbital environment. The Long March 6C launched late Aug. 24 Eastern, at 0321 UTC on Aug. 25, from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in north China. The two-stage, kerosene

• NASA Glenn Advances SR-1 Freedom, Billed as First Nuclear Fission-Powered Interplanetary Spacecraft

  August 29, 2026

  NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is playing a key role in developing Space Reactor-1 Freedom, described as the first nuclear fission-powered interplanetary spacecraft. The vehicle is designed to travel to Mars and deliver a payload of three helicopters, then remain in space for testing of its nuclear power module. The project builds on NASA's prior work in nuclear power, which the agency has funded over many years. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman framed SR-1 as a cost-conscious effort

• NASA Begins RS-25 Engine Installation for Artemis III Core Stage

  August 28, 2026

  Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center began installing the four RS-25 engines in the core stage of the Space Launch System that will launch the Artemis III crew next year. The milestone, reached August 24, marks the next phase of core stage integration and places flight hardware on the path toward the first crewed lunar landing mission. The engine installation follows the mating of the engine section to the top four-fifths of the stage earlier this summer. Inside High Bay 2 at the Vehicle

• Pentagon Awards SpaceX Fleet Contract to Put Starshield on Military Aircraft

  August 27, 2026

  The Space Force has awarded SpaceX a fleet-level service contract to expand use of its Starshield satellite network aboard military aircraft, extending the government-focused system beyond ground terminals and into airborne platforms. The award, posted August 25 by the Space Force's Commercial Space Office, covers satellite subscription services for aircraft fitted with SpaceX's Starshield Tile and smaller Tile Mini terminals. The move reflects a broader Pentagon effort to integrate Starshield

• NBN Co Pushes Next-Generation Satellite Launch to Mid-2027

  August 27, 2026

  NBN Co has confirmed its next-generation satellite internet plans will not be available until after the middle of 2027, well beyond the fourth-quarter 2026 launch it originally planned. The service is intended to give regional and remote Australians access to newer satellite connectivity and eventually replace the current Sky Muster offering. The next-generation service will use Low Earth Orbit satellite technology similar to that of Starlink, but it will be backed by Amazon Leo. The delay is a

• NASA Chief Floats Space-Based Data Centers Amid U.S. Siting Fights

  August 27, 2026

  NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman suggested on Wednesday that data centers could be housed in space, raising the concept publicly as the facilities draw growing scrutiny over their land and energy footprint in the United States. No specific program, budget, or timeline accompanied the remark. Isaacman made the comment against the backdrop of intensifying controversy over where data centers are built in the U.S. and how much power and land they consume. The idea surfaced directly in the context

• Zelenskyy Awards Musk Ukraine's Order of Freedom Amid Push for Starlink Drone-Strike Access

  August 26, 2026

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, a major Ukrainian state honor reserved for strategic partners. The award arrives as Kyiv actively lobbies Musk to allow its forces to use the Starlink mobile internet system to guide drone strikes inside Russian territory. The recognition places the relationship between Musk and Ukraine on public display at a moment when the specific capability Kyiv wants from Starlink remains contested. Starlink has already bee

• Russia's Starlink Rival Falters as Satellites Fail and Rocket Plant Is Hit

  August 26, 2026

  Russia's plan to field a domestic alternative to Starlink is running into serious trouble, with one Rassvet-3 communications satellite already lost and two more potentially heading toward atmospheric reentry. The setbacks come as a Ukrainian missile strike on the plant that builds the program's launch vehicles adds fresh pressure to a schedule that calls for hundreds of satellites in orbit by the end of 2027. Russian aerospace company Bureau 1440 launched two operational batches of Rassvet-3 sa