Mike Greenley is Chief Executive Officer of MDA Space.

Both Memoranda of Understanding between Hanwha Systems and the Canadian companies relate to the Government of Korea’s low Earth orbit communications satellite constellation (K-LEO).

A South Korean delegation is in Canada to strengthen defence ties between the two countries.

Dan Goldberg is President and Chief Executive Officer of Telesat.

Hanwha Systems and MDA Space will explore opportunities related to MDA’s AURORA software-defined digital satellites under their MOU.

MDA AURORA is a software-defined digital satellite platform developed by MDA Space.

Japan retired the predecessor H-IIA launch vehicle in June 2025, leaving the country without an immediately available high-capacity core rocket after the H3 F8 loss.

Damage to the Michibiki No. 5 mounting section caused the satellite to detach prematurely during the second-stage burn and damaged the second-stage engine’s fuel tubing, leading to an early combustion cutoff.

JAXA has suspended all upcoming H3 launches, including the ninth flight (H3 F9) that was scheduled to carry Michibiki No. 7.

JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries are focusing on re-engineering the fairing separation mechanism to prevent similar mechanical interference on future H3 flights.

The H3 F8 failure is the second major failure for the H3 series following its 2023 debut and comes after six successful H3 missions in 2024 and 2025.

On January 20, 2026 JAXA identified a payload fairing separation anomaly as the root cause of the December 22, 2025 failure of the eighth H3 launch vehicle (H3 F8).

The H3 F8 mission used the H3 24L configuration that was designed to place the 4,000 kg Michibiki No. 5 satellite into a specific transfer orbit.

About 3 minutes and 20 seconds into the H3 F8 flight, pressure dropped in the second-stage hydrogen fuel tank.

The suspension of H3 launches poses a high risk to the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, which is manifested for a late 2026 launch window.

Both Michibiki No. 5 and the H3 F8 first stage are believed to have impacted the Pacific Ocean near Minamitorishima.

The loss of Michibiki No. 5 stalls Japan’s effort to complete a seven-satellite sovereign Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) network that was slated for completion by March 2026 to reduce reliance on U.S. GPS.

JAXA's investigation found that during fairing separation physical contact or debris damaged the mounting section for Michibiki No. 5 (QZS-5).

Telemetry and on-board camera footage confirmed that first-stage separation on H3 F8 proceeded as planned.

Data centers in space have been a prominent topic in recent months as a potential solution to limitations of large Earth-based data centers.

The On Orbit podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube.

Avi Shabtai proposes a distributed-architecture data center in space composed of many satellites acting as nodes in a mesh network.

Ramon.Space builds edge computing and onboard processing systems.

Ramon.Space has been preparing for space-based data centers for years.

The On Orbit episode featuring Ramon.Space was sponsored by Ramon.Space.

Avi Shabtai describes a fleet of satellites forming a large data center in which each satellite provides computation and storage capabilities.

Avi Shabtai predicts data centers in space might take shape over the next five to ten years.

The three selected science experiments do not require a specific landing site on the lunar surface to gather their data.

EMILIA-3D’s thermal models are intended to improve imaging and navigation of the Moon’s surface by enhancing understanding of lunar regolith properties and temperature signatures.

LISTER will measure the Moon’s interior heat flow by drilling beneath the lunar surface, pausing at intervals to measure temperature changes and subsurface thermal conductivity.

NASA will assign the selected experiments to specific CLPS delivery task orders at a later time.

Drew Turner at Johns Hopkins University is the principal investigator for SELINE.

NASA uses CLPS to send scientific instruments and technology demonstrations to advance capabilities for science, exploration, or commercial development of the Moon and beyond.

NASA selected three new science investigations for delivery to the lunar surface under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative and Artemis campaign no earlier than 2028.

EMILIA-3D will create three-dimensional thermal models of lunar terrain using a thermal imager and a stereo pair of visible-light cameras.

Andrew Ryan at the University of Arizona is the principal investigator for EMILIA-3D.

The new LISTER investigation will study heat flow generated by the Moon to improve understanding of the Moon’s thermal history.

SELINE will study, at the lunar surface for the first time, radiation from primary galactic cosmic rays and their secondary particles and how that radiation interacts with lunar regolith.

Seiichi Nagihara at Texas Tech University is the principal investigator for LISTER.

A previous version of LISTER flew on the Blue Ghost Mission 1 CLPS delivery to the Moon’s near side and took eight temperature and thermal conductivity measurements while drilling to about three feet beneath the lunar surface.

Data from SELINE will inform understanding of planetary processes on the Moon and support space weather preparation and safety for long-term human exploration of the lunar surface.

Reid Wiseman is the astronaut commanding Artemis 2 and is joined by Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen as crew members.

The Artemis 2 astronauts entered standard pre-launch quarantine after the January 17 rollout.

Hundreds of spectators gathered near the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to view the rocket rollout on January 17.

A crawler-transporter carried a mobile launch platform with the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft named Integrity to Launch Complex 39B on January 17.

Artemis 1 underwent several rollouts between the pad and the VAB for wet dress rehearsals and multiple launch attempts before launching in November 2022.

NASA published Artemis 2 launch periods that include an early February window, March 6–11, and April 1–6.

Lakiesha Hawkins is the acting deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA.

Artemis 2 is the first crewed mission of the Artemis lunar exploration campaign and will carry three Americans and one Canadian.

The rollout on January 17 marked the beginning of the final phase of preparations for Artemis 2.