Canadarm2 is used for docking visiting spacecraft and manipulating heavy payloads on the International Space Station.

NASA and the Canadian Space Agency finalized preparations for a June 30 spacewalk to replace a degraded joint on Canadarm2.

If Canadarm2 were out of commission for a prolonged period, the International Space Station would face severe limitations in receiving cargo and conducting exterior repairs.

The degraded Canadarm2 component will be brought inside the International Space Station and returned to Earth for analysis and refurbishment.

Bill Spetch said Canadarm2 is essential for International Space Station operations until the station’s planned decommissioning in 2030.

NASA expects three subsequent spacewalks and a crew rotation in July after the Canadarm2 repair.

Chris Williams and Jessica Meir will replace the 91-kilogram malfunctioning Canadarm2 joint with a spare unit stored on the station exterior.

NASA will supply three key elements for the Rosalind Franklin mission under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2024.

NASA has committed to provide launch services and Radioisotope Heater Units for the Rosalind Franklin mission, in addition to the braking engines.

NASA selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket for the Rosalind Franklin mission in April 2026.

NASA has delivered the first braking engines for the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin mission to Mars.

NASA’s Radioisotope Heater Units will keep the Rosalind Franklin rover’s electronics warm during the mission.

ESA’s ENDURE programme is intended to foster the development of a European-made Radioisotope Heater Unit.

The Rosalind Franklin mission was originally designed around a Russian-built landing platform and Proton-M launch service.

ESA suspended all work on the Rosalind Franklin mission in March 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The first flight-ready Radioisotope Heater Unit produced by UK-led Perpetual Atomics is expected to fly aboard the Rosalind Franklin rover’s landing platform.

Europe is replacing most of the Russian-built hardware for the Rosalind Franklin mission under a €522 million contract awarded to Thales Alenia Space in April 2024.

The NASA-SBA memorandum will launch a new interagency initiative to support the development of the U.S. space sector.

The NASA-SBA initiative aims to strengthen the contribution of small businesses to the competitiveness of the U.S. space supply chain.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will participate in the memorandum signing ceremony.

NASA and the Small Business Administration will sign a memorandum of understanding on June 29 at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The NASA-SBA initiative will be developed in line with President Donald J. Trump’s National Space Policy.

Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer L-1011 aircraft has arrived in Kwajalein.

Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer L-1011 departed Wallops after the Pegasus rocket carrying Katalyst’s LINK spacecraft was mated.

Wallops supported spacecraft integration and Pegasus integration within weeks for the Swift Boost Mission.

The actual launch of the Swift Boost Mission is likely near the middle of the June 30 launch window.

The Swift Boost Mission is intended to boost Swift’s orbit later in the summer.

The Pegasus-XL launch of the Swift Boost Mission has been delayed by 3 days to June 30 between 07:30 and 13:28 UTC.

Planet Labs and Maxar operate constellations that update images of the Earth daily.

SpaceX’s Starlink division has more than 10.3 million users.

Starlink has signed agreements with airlines, shipping कंपनies, and governments to provide connectivity in remote and mobile environments.

New Street Research estimates that Starlink could reach 100 million subscribers in 2034.

In 2024, global public spending on space programs reached $135 billion.

Public spending on space programs in 2024 was 10% higher than in 2023.

NASA’s Artemis program, Intuitive Machines, and Astrobotic are advancing cislunar and lunar missions.

The satellite launcher segment is projected to grow from $20.21 billion in 2025 to $36.12 billion in 2030.

SpaceX conducted 61 orbital launches in 2022, more than 130 launches in 2024, and 165 launches in 2025.

The cost of access to space fell from more than $10,000 per kilogram in the space shuttle era to less than $3,000 per kilogram with next-generation reusable rockets.

SpaceX has a market valuation of nearly $2.43 trillion.

The global space launch vehicle market was valued at $15.2 billion in 2026 and could reach $33.6 billion in 2034.

Blue Origin has hired more than 300 current employees who previously spent time at SpaceX.

About 130 current SpaceX employees previously worked for Blue Origin.

Of the 8,211 current U.S.-based SpaceX employees tracked by Crustdata, 110 graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology, 108 from the University of Michigan, 92 from Purdue University, 91 from the University of Texas at Austin, and 85 from the University of Southern California.

Those SpaceX alumni founders have raised $9.2 billion in total to date.

Crustdata found that about 1,330 SpaceX alumni have founded new ventures after leaving SpaceX.

Starfall is a cylindrical reentry capsule designed to carry and return cargo from space, not people.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster B1078 flew its 29th mission on the Starfall launch.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration published an environmental assessment of the Starfall mission in May.

SpaceX has not disclosed how long Starfall will remain in orbit, how many units flew on the first mission, or when the next test will take place.

Starfall weighs about 2,100 kilograms and can carry up to 1,000 kilograms of payload.