Author: starpathwp-production
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Portal Space Systems Buys Dedicated Falcon 9 Mission for Supernova Debut, Expands Rideshare Opportunities
Portal Space Systems has secured an entire SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for its first Supernova spacecraft mission, a move that gives the Washington-based company direct control over launch timing while creating new rideshare opportunities for other satellite operators. The company announced on Aug. 20 that Falcon 9 will launch its Motus Via Sol mission in…
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LandSpace Targets Zhuque-3 Reflight Within Six Months After Historic Booster Recovery
China’s commercial launch company LandSpace is aiming to fly a recovered Zhuque-3 first-stage booster again within six months of its landmark August 2026 landing, an aggressive schedule that would mark a major step toward operational rocket reusability in China. The company achieved a breakthrough on Aug. 18 when a Zhuque-3 first stage successfully returned to…
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Trump Sets 1,000-Plus Annual Launch Target as White House Rewrites U.S. Space Transportation Policy
The White House is targeting more than 1,000 space launches and reentries from U.S. soil every year by 2030 under a new national space transportation policy signed by President Donald Trump on Aug. 20, 2026. The National Security Presidential Memorandum replaces the previous National Space Transportation Policy issued in 2013 and establishes a commercial-first framework…
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Rocket Lab Targets Ninth iQPS Mission as Japanese SAR Constellation Accelerates Toward Near-Real-Time Earth Observation
Rocket Lab is preparing to launch another Japanese synthetic aperture radar satellite on Aug. 20, adding a new spacecraft to one of the fastest-growing commercial Earth-observation constellations in Asia. The mission, named “The Lightning God Defends,” is scheduled to lift off aboard a Rocket Lab Electron from Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Māhia Peninsula,…
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China Moves Chang’e-7 to Launch Pad for High-Stakes Lunar South Pole Mission
China has moved the Chang’e-7 lunar probe and its Long March-5 Y14 rocket to the launch area at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, bringing one of the country’s most ambitious lunar exploration missions to the final stage before liftoff. The vertical transfer took place on Aug. 19, 2026, after the spacecraft and launcher…
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Intuitive Machines’ Maxar Acquisition Gains Momentum With $600 Million Satellite Order and Orbital Data Center Ambitions
Intuitive Machines’ decision to acquire the former Maxar satellite manufacturing business is beginning to look less like a bet on traditional spacecraft production and more like a strategy to build a vertically integrated space infrastructure company. The clearest evidence came in August 2026, when Intuitive Machines disclosed that it had secured a commercial contract worth…
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U.S. Space Force Extends Aging Weather Satellites Through 2028 as New Military Weather Architecture Takes Shape
The U.S. Space Force will keep its aging Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft operating until at least 2028, extending the life of a satellite fleet that was originally designed for much shorter missions but remains important to military weather forecasting. The decision highlights a transitional period in U.S. military space weather: the Space Force…
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Russian Space Activity Forces U.S. Air Force C-17 to Turn Back From Antarctica
A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III bound for Antarctica turned around over the Southern Ocean on Aug. 18 after aviation authorities warned of potentially hazardous Russian space activity and possible debris. The incident highlights a growing operational problem for both military and commercial aviation: activity in space can increasingly create hazards hundreds of thousands…
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SpaceX Reaches 100th Mission of 2026 as Starlink Launch Highlights a New Era of High-Frequency Spaceflight
SpaceX has completed its 100th mission of 2026, reaching the milestone on Aug. 19 with another Starlink deployment from California. The mission, Starlink Group 17-50, sent 24 Starlink broadband satellites toward low Earth orbit aboard a flight-proven Falcon 9, underscoring how rapidly SpaceX has transformed orbital launch from an occasional event into a high-frequency operational…
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NASA Ends Swift Telescope Rescue After Private Servicer Loses Attitude Control
NASA has called off the effort to save the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory after the private spacecraft sent to raise the aging telescope’s orbit failed to overcome persistent attitude-control problems. The Swift Boost mission was intended to demonstrate a new model for satellite servicing: instead of replacing an aging spacecraft, a relatively small commercial vehicle…