AgniKul Cosmos successfully conducted the first launch of its suborbital test vehicle on May 30, 2024.

A Tianlong-3 first stage accidentally lifted off during a ground test in June 2024 and crashed nearby after detaching from its test stand.

Bellatrix Aerospace conceptualized Chetak as a two-stage, liquid methane-powered micro launch vehicle in 2017–2018.

AgniKul Cosmos is developing Agnibaan, a small-lift launch vehicle designed to place payloads of up to 100 kilograms into a 700-kilometer orbit.

India’s Department of Space issued an emergency administrative directive on July 14, 2026, to halt routine resignations and voluntary retirements among senior technical personnel.

India’s Department of Space is using internal senior deputies to absorb responsibilities from departing managers.

India increased its space-related allocation to $1.64 billion in the 2026-2027 national budget.

The new Department of Space policy reversed a decentralized 2020 framework that allowed local laboratory heads to process employee separations.

The primary project director for the SpaDeX space docking experiment left the role.

Aditya Rallapalli was Chandrayaan-3’s project manager for mission simulations before departing.

The directive removed regional facility directors’ unilateral authority to process checkout approvals and sent all Group "A" scientific exit applications to the Department of Space for sovereign review.

Victor Joseph was the project director for the LVM-3 heavy-lift launch vehicle before leaving the role.

India’s 2026-2027 space budget expansion was aimed at hardware manufacturing.

The Indian government is accelerating selection to fill roughly 1,050 vacant scientific and administrative positions.

The Space Development Agency awarded Sierra Space a $798 million contract for 18 satellites in the Accelerated Missile Defense Tranche 3 program.

Qualification testing of the nine-satellite launch configuration for Sierra Space’s Tranche 2 program is scheduled for the summer.

Sierra Space will build the AMDT3 satellites using its Horizon spacecraft.

The Sierra Space contract was awarded through a fixed-price Other Transactional Agreement.

System verification for Sierra Space’s Tranche 2 program is expected to conclude by the end of the year.

Sierra Space has already used the Horizon platform in the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program.

The 18 Sierra Space satellites will be designed, produced, and delivered for the AMDT3 Tracking Layer.

Horizon is one of three platforms in Sierra Space’s Eclipse family.

The Sierra Space contract also supports the United States Golden Dome program for space capabilities.

The AMDT3 Tracking Layer is part of the Space Development Agency’s architecture for early warning, tracking, and defense against missile threats.

Sierra Space has completed construction of the 18 spacecraft structures planned for the Tranche 2 program.

Saber Astronautics has released Saber Commander, a software product for spacecraft and constellation operations.

Saber Astronautics currently controls 36 tonnes of spacecraft in orbit.

PIGI was the first Unity game engine digital twin to receive fielding authority from the US Space Force.

Saber Astronautics lists PIGI as a NASA Spinout.

Saber Astronautics’ PIGI work contributed to the company’s Space Battle Management System (SBMS).

Saber Astronautics developed PIGI in 2010 and released it in 2012.

Saber Commander is intended to support more complex satellites, larger constellations, and evolving mission requirements.

Saber Commander builds on Saber Astronautics’ earlier Predictive Ground station Interface (PIGI) software.

PIGI used machine learning for spacecraft diagnostics to help operators identify the root cause of health problems on a spacecraft.

Saber Astronautics says SBMS is used as a protect-and-defend tool across US Space Force Combat Command Deltas.

Saber Commander was developed in collaboration with Saber Astronautics’ satellite operators.

Saber Commander focuses on situational awareness, decision support, reduced manual workload, and automation.

Saber Commander reflects operational experience from Saber Astronautics’ Responsive Space Operations Centres in Australia and the United States.

During the initial phase of Operation Epic Fury in early 2026, U.S. Space Command and U.S. Cyber Command acted as first movers to degrade adversarial sensors.

The U.S. Space Force is accelerating its migration away from large legacy exquisite satellite platforms.

The planned low-Earth orbit constellations are intended to preserve redundant SATCOM and data transport capabilities during sustained machine-speed electronic attacks on orbit.

PLD Space CEO and cofounder Raúl Torres is a graduate of the Universitat Politècnica de València.

PLD Space develops the Miura launchers.

The Universitat Politècnica de València delegation was led by rector José E. Capilla.

The commentary calls for NASA and international aerospace partners to institutionalize collaborative design reviews that connect engineering teams with scientific communities early in the spacecraft lifecycle.

The commentary says space agencies must integrate engineering and scientific designs before primary hardware configurations become permanently fixed.

The Amazon-Herotel agreement grants Amazon regulatory permissions to deploy its satellite internet services in South Africa.

Under the Amazon-Herotel arrangement, Herotel retains all necessary network and service licenses in South Africa.

Herotel and Amazon are finalizing localized ground-segment routing infrastructure for the Evry broadband service.

Herotel and Amazon have scheduled the formal commercial launch of the Evry broadband service for 2027.