PLD Space is developing launch infrastructure both in Spain and at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana.

PLD Space credited the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, CDTI, and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) for support in the ESA Launchers Challenge program.

Miura 5 first-stage engines underwent dozens of test campaigns and their behaviors meet requirements.

PLD Space is producing turbopump components and avionics to enable production of two complete Miura 5 vehicles in a few months.

PLD Space inspects avionics components in a clean room to prevent soldering issues and protect layers of applied protection.

PLD Space aims to conduct the first orbital flight of a Miura 5 vehicle in 2026.

PLD Space has produced first- and second-stage structures and interstages and has assembled complete vehicles.

SpaceX's FCC filing did not specify the cost of the proposed constellation or a launch and deployment schedule.

SpaceX proposed using the Ka band on the satellites primarily as a backup for telemetry, tracking, and command.

The proposed SpaceX satellites would have heliosynchronous inclinations of 30 degrees to maximize solar exposure.

SpaceX requested an exemption from FCC build-out milestones that normally require deployment of half a constellation within six years and the full system within nine years of authorization.

SpaceX stated its plan to place the satellites in orbital altitudes that are largely unused within the proposed 500–2,000 kilometer range.

SpaceX proposed reliance on optical inter-satellite links for communications between satellites and with Starlink spacecraft that would relay data to Earth.

SpaceX is seeking approval from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to deploy an orbital data center satellite constellation.

SpaceX's FCC filing includes few technical details about satellite size, mass, or specific orbital parameters.

The proposed SpaceX satellites would operate at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 kilometers.

SpaceX filed an application with the FCC on January 30 proposing an orbital data center constellation of up to one million satellites in low Earth orbit.

China submitted plans to the International Telecommunication Union in late December for two constellations totaling nearly 200,000 satellites.

SpaceX argued that the FCC build-out milestones are unnecessary because the company would use Ka-band spectrum without causing interference.

SpaceX designed higher heliosynchronous-orbit satellites to remain in sunlight more than 99% of the time to support applications requiring constant computing capacity.

SpaceX designed lower-inclination satellites to manage demand peaks and balance system load across the constellation.

Balerion Space Ventures pursues a strategy of backing mission-critical platforms across launch, in-orbit systems, advanced manufacturing, energy, and dual-use defense technologies.

Balerion Space Ventures has invested in Antares Industries, Samara Aerospace, and Valar Atomics.

Northwood Space received a $49.8 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to upgrade the Satellite Control Network.

Balerion Space Ventures targets investments in companies building foundational infrastructure and critical systems required to scale space operations.

Northwood Space employs a vertically integrated approach focused on ground infrastructure to unlock scale across commercial and government missions.

Phil Scully is Co-Founder and General Partner at Balerion Space Ventures.

Balerion Space Ventures made a strategic investment in Northwood Space during Northwood’s $100 million Series B round.

Space for Humanity has been shifting its programs and missions to provide experiences and engagements with people around the world who want to travel to space.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn is slated to fly for the third time in late February.

No public information specifies how many, if any, uncrewed New Shepard flights are planned following the pause.

New Shepard has launched more than 200 scientific and research payloads from students, academia, research organizations, and NASA.

Blue Origin will pause New Shepard flights for at least two years and shift resources to accelerate development of the company’s human lunar capabilities.

Blue Origin has not disclosed the list of people who have secured spots on New Shepard suborbital flights.

Space for Humanity has facilitated flights on New Shepard for multiple customers.

New Shepard has flown 38 times to date.

New Shepard has carried 98 humans above the Kármán line to date.

New Shepard operations have produced a multi-year customer backlog.

The third New Glenn flight is scheduled to deploy the BlueBird 7 communications satellite for AST SpaceMobile.

Long landings are defined as landings outside the marked touchdown zone on the runway.

Task-based skills in Competency Based Operation are evaluated with equal weight on both their execution and how the decision was made to employ them.

NASA flew an Orion prototype heat shield on the uncrewed EFT-1 test flight in 2014.

By the time results from the first Orion flight were available, the heat shield for the subsequent Orion flight had already been attached to the capsule, and that attachment occurred three years earlier.

Both Space Shuttle losses were caused by normalization of deviation influencing bad decision-making.

Subscale testing of the Orion heat shield material was used to investigate the threat revealed on Artemis 1 and potential mitigations.

On Artemis 1, Orion’s new heat shield did not ablate as designed and massive chunks of the heat shield separated during reentry.

Redesigning the Orion heat shield would delay flying Orion with a crew and would eliminate any opportunity for a lunar landing within the term of the current administration.

NASA selected SpaceX to provide the lunar lander under terms set by NASA, and the person responsible for that selection subsequently left NASA to work at SpaceX.

If a spacecraft thermal protection system fails during reentry, a hull loss can occur as demonstrated by the Space Shuttle Columbia accident.

Competency Based Operation is the latest version of decision-making models labeled by major aviation regulators including the FAA.