The heat shield tile installed at Starbase passed quality checks that include structural and integration verifications.

Validation of a single heat shield tile is conducted as part of SpaceX’s standardized industrial process.

The passed heat shield tile has been included in the planning for a future SpaceX mission.

MrBeast installed a heat shield tile during a visit to SpaceX’s Starbase in Texas.

Bill R posted on X that a heat shield tile installed by MrBeast during a visit to SpaceX’s Starbase passed quality checks and is scheduled to fly on a future mission.

Heat shield tiles constitute the thermal protection system of the Starship vehicle.

SpaceX’s development approach for Starship allows components that pass tests to be employed in flight.

In 2021, NASA committed government funding to develop at least one commercial space station to succeed the ISS.

In 2025, the Trump administration revamped the acquisition method for the CLD program and changed the program’s initial goal from a continuous crewed presence to accommodating four-person crews for month-long missions.

Phase 2 of NASA’s CLD program is expected this year to award contracts to at least two companies with a combined value of about $1.5 billion.

The International Space Station is slated for retirement at the end of the decade.

Multiple companies are competing to build a commercial successor to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial LEO Destination (CLD) program.

In December 2021, NASA awarded a combined $416 million to three entities that were then working on commercial space stations.

NASA’s Commercial LEO Destination program specifies that future CLD stations would be partially government-funded rather than fully government-funded.

Future CLD stations must secure private investment and attract customers beyond NASA to be financially viable.

The wind tunnel campaign evaluated separation of the STARLAUNCH 1 vehicle from Starfighters Space’s aircraft platform at both subsonic and supersonic conditions.

Starfighters Space initiated procurement of instrumented drop test articles based on the completed wind tunnel testing.

Testing for STARLAUNCH 1 was conducted at the FAMU/FSU Joint College of Engineering Polysonic Wind Tunnel.

STARLAUNCH 1 serves as a pathfinder for Starfighters Space’s future air-launched concepts.

Starfighters Space demonstrated clean separation across all wind tunnel test conditions with no adverse aerodynamic interactions observed.

Experimental wind tunnel results showed strong agreement between Starfighters Space’s CFD predictions and measured forces and moments, confirming the accuracy of its aerodynamic models and separation simulations.

Starfighters Space completed wind tunnel testing for STARLAUNCH 1 as a key technical milestone in its air-launched rocket development efforts.

STARLAUNCH 1 is being developed as a sub-orbital vehicle designed to support short-duration microgravity missions.

The validated separation work for STARLAUNCH 1 also supports Starfighters Space’s broader aerospace testing services, including programs requiring clean separation for advanced and hypersonic vehicle testing.

Starfighters Space assessed STARLAUNCH 1 separation behavior using computational fluid dynamics analysis and experimental wind tunnel testing at Mach 0.85 and Mach 1.3.

The wind tunnel campaign consisted of ten successful runs conducted at both subsonic and supersonic speeds.

The instrumented drop test articles will incorporate onboard sensors and telemetry systems to support further evaluation of separation dynamics under flight conditions.

An event will take place on 2026-02-06 from 19:00 to 22:00 (doors open 18:45) at Theater Guild Daikanyama located at Sun Rose Daikanyama 103, 11-6 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0033 and the event will be in-person only with no online distribution.

The multi-session course series organized by Frontier Innovations with cooperation from JAXA and Crossyou is free to attend, has a maximum capacity of 30 participants, and includes lectures, Q&A/discussion, and individual/group work.

A multi-session course series will run on 2026-03-12, 2026-03-26, 2026-04-09, 2026-04-23, 2026-05-14, and 2026-05-28, each from 19:00 to 21:00 (doors open 18:30) at X-NIHONBASHI TOWER or X-NIHONBASHI BASE depending on the date.

The 2026-02-06 event program includes a 19:00–19:10 session titled "Sphear (スフィア) — AIで人類の宇宙移住に挑む."

The 2026-02-18 event includes sessions on AI preserving veteran water utility expertise, underground infrastructure datafication, digital utilization to increase urban/infrastructure/road value, and redefining maintenance from routine inspections to emergency response.

The 2026-02-18 event program includes keynote sessions addressing rebuilding social systems amid population decline and infrastructure management themes including DX and PPP/PFI.

The 2026-02-06 event program includes a panel discussion from 20:20–20:50, a lightning talk from 20:50–21:00, and a networking reception with light food and drinks from 21:00–22:00.

The 2026-02-18 event at Tokyo Innovation Base is free of charge.

An event will take place on 2026-02-18 from 13:00 to 20:00 (reception from 12:00) at Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB) 1st floor SQUARE-1 located at 3-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005 and the program includes a networking reception.

The 2026-02-18 program features a special lecture titled "Scientific study of 'infrastructure management'—why EBPM-style infrastructure management now?" focusing on AI and data-driven decision making.

The 2026-02-27 X-NIHONBASHI BASE event is free to attend (participants are responsible for their own transportation costs), has a capacity limit of 20 attendees on a first-come, first-served basis, and is open only to in-person attendance.

The 2026-02-06 event program includes a 19:40–20:20 presentation by Makoto Sakurai, Research Area Lead in JAXA’s Research and Development division, titled "The reality of space habitation supported by ECLSS."

The 2026-02-27 program schedule includes a 13:30 opening, a 13:40 session on the potential of satellite data for municipalities and agriculture, a 14:30 satellite data demo and experience for agricultural patrols and farming support, networking from 15:30, and a 16:30 close.

The 2026-02-18 event is organized by the Local Government Infrastructure AX Summit 2026 Executive Committee and operated by Tenchijin Inc.

The 2026-02-06 event program includes a 19:10–19:40 presentation by Atsushi Ishii, CEO of Cougar Inc., titled "Creating life-supporting environments using objects and microorganisms: the BLSS challenge."

The 2026-02-27 event is hosted by Team Space Data Lab and Crossyou General Incorporated Association and targets municipalities, agricultural corporations, and personnel working in municipal and agricultural fields.

An event will take place on 2026-02-27 from 13:30 to 16:30 (reception from 13:00) at Space Business Co-Creation Hub X-NIHONBASHI BASE located on the 3rd floor of Nihonbashi IT Building, 3-3-9 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.

The multi-session course series requires a simple document screening and only selected applicants will receive further attendance instructions.

The 2026-02-06 event at Theater Guild Daikanyama has a participation fee of ¥3,000 payable in advance and a capacity limit of 30 attendees on a first-come, first-served basis requiring prior registration.

The ESA ARTES HummingSat funding package was backed at the 2025 Ministerial Conference by pledges from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, and Associate Member Canada.

The investment will enable SWISSto12 to further develop phased-array antenna technologies for use onboard LEO, MEO, and GEO satellite payloads and for ground products such as user terminals.

The funding will accelerate SWISSto12’s development and industrialization of the HummingSat platform.

The additional ESA funding was provided through the Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) HummingSat Partnership Project within ESA Connectivity and Secure Communications.