The Canadian Space Agency’s Quantum Encryption and Science Satellite mission is expected to launch later this year to test quantum encryption in space.

Projects are expected to run for 24 to 36 months starting in September 2026.

The Canadian Space Agency is limiting funding to projects at Technology Readiness Level 6 or lower.

Only for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada are eligible for the Canadian Space Agency funding opportunity.

The contribution will cover up to 75 percent of total eligible project costs.

Applicants must demonstrate more than $5 million in annual revenue for the past three years.

The Canadian Space Agency wants to integrate satellites with ground links to create an end-to-end secure communication loop.

Only for-profit organizations established and operating in Canada are eligible for the funding opportunity.

Applications for the Canadian Space Agency funding opportunity are due by July 15, 2026.

The funding opportunity stems from a June 2025 joint commitment between the Prime Ministers of Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Canadian Space Agency is focusing the funding on system prototypes tested in relevant environments.

Applicants must have more than 100 employees in Canada.

The WildFireSat Remote Sensing Capacity program targets provincial, territorial, and Indigenous fire management agencies.

The federal government invested in a new Government Operations Centre.

The WildFireSat Remote Sensing Capacity program covers up to 75 percent of the costs for agencies to integrate satellite data into their operations.

WildFireSat is an Earth observation satellite constellation planned to support wildfire response in Canada.

The WildFireSat contract was terminated for convenience, and Spire Global Canada remains eligible to bid again when the contract is retendered.

The federal government committed $316.7 million to lease 10 dedicated aerial firefighting aircraft.

The Canadian Space Agency issued a Request for Information to reengage industry as it resets the WildFireSat tender.

The WildFireSat Remote Sensing Capacity program focuses on training personnel, building Earth observation interpretation expertise, and upgrading information management systems.

The Government of Canada launched the $6 million WildFireSat Remote Sensing Capacity program.

The Canadian Space Agency, Natural Resources Canada, and Environment and Climate Change Canada play roles in combating wildfires in Canada.

The Canadian Space Agency terminated Spire Global Canada’s contract to design and develop the WildFireSat satellites.

WildFireSat will provide continuous, real-time measurements of fire behaviour, smoke trajectories, and burn intensity.

Amazon acquired Globalstar for $11.57 billion in April 2026.

K2 Space raised $120 million to advance large-format satellite manufacturing.

The Amazon-Globalstar deal gives Amazon access to Globalstar’s licensed spectrum bands and terrestrial and satellite infrastructure.

SpaceX filed a confidential S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reporting on SpaceX’s confidential S-1 suggested a valuation exceeding $2 trillion and approximately $75 billion in anticipated public float.

Vast Space closed a $250 million funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz at a reported $5.5 billion valuation.

Amazon is building a connectivity layer for its logistics network, devices, and cloud customers that does not depend on SpaceX.

The Amazon-Globalstar deal gives Amazon access to Globalstar’s licensed spectrum bands and terrestrial and satellite infrastructure network.

Asian launch vehicle companies attracted $1.34 billion in new capital in the first quarter of 2026.

North American commercial space station developers raised $1.04 billion in the first quarter of 2026.

Amazon is using Globalstar to build a connectivity layer for its logistics network, devices, and cloud customers that does not depend on SpaceX.

Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar is intended to build a competitive alternative to Starlink’s direct-to-device network.

Trade press accounts estimate SpaceX’s potential valuation at more than $2 trillion and its public float at about $75 billion.

The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and INTA tested Smile’s thermal straps in the vacuum chamber at the Montegancedo campus.

The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid certified that Smile’s X-ray instruments will operate at -120 °C.

Smile’s data collection is expected to begin in July after it deploys its arms and confirms its status.

Smile will fire its motor 11 times over the coming weeks to reach a highly elliptical orbit.

The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid aimed to verify that Smile’s detector would operate below -100 °C.

Smile is the first mission able to observe Earth’s protective bubble with X-ray technology.

Smile will reach an orbit 121,000 kilometers above the North Pole and later descend to 5,000 kilometers above the South Pole.

The University of Leicester developed Smile’s SXI Soft X-ray Imager.

The Instituto Universitario de Microgravedad Ignacio Da Riva at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid verified Smile’s DPA Detector Plane Assembly, which houses two CCD sensors.

A Vega-C rocket launched Smile from French Guiana on 19 May.

Space Florida approved an investment in St. Petersburg-based Seagate Space on June 2 to prototype and demonstrate an offshore launch infrastructure system.

The initial prototype for Seagate Space’s offshore launch infrastructure system will be built at the Port of Tampa Bay in partnership with Tampa Ship.

The Port of Tampa Bay contract gives Florida’s maritime industrial base a role in space access.