NASA scheduled a news briefing for January 6, 2026 to provide further details and take questions about the January ISS spacewalks.

The European Space Agency reposted a study on X on 28 December 2025 about Mars slope streaks.

Congress signaled bipartisan intent to fully fund NASA in fiscal year 2026.

DOGE is the acronym for the Department of Government Efficiency, a special commission established by President Donald Trump to reduce federal spending.

NASA’s slow responses to congressional requests have increased concerns about impacts on the agency’s scientific programs referenced in the White House fiscal year 2026 budget request.

Jared Isaacman has been confirmed as NASA administrator, providing new leadership and momentum for the agency.

NASA field centers have experienced staff reductions of about 20% on average.

DeStarlink Connectivity provides a decentralized communication infrastructure intended to deliver global, censorship-resistant connectivity.

The global satellite market is projected to reach $615 billion by 2032.

Orbital infrastructure is projected to grow from $13.5 billion in 2024 to $21.3 billion by 2029 with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 9.6%.

The DeStarlink Genesis-1 satellite was deployed into low Earth orbit on December 10.

Orbit AI plans implementation of autonomous network governance protocols and large-scale orbital compute and communication operations during 2028–2030.

Orbit AI plans a phased constellation expansion that includes deployment of 5–8 additional orbital nodes in 2026 with enhanced compute and expanded connectivity.

PowerBank expects to continue as a key partner across the Orbital Cloud expansion phases by providing solar energy and thermal control technologies for higher-compute satellite payloads.

PowerBank began a collaboration with Orbit AI on November 19, 2025 to support a vision for solar-powered orbital computing infrastructure.

In-orbit data centers are projected to grow from $1.77 billion in 2029 to $39.1 billion by 2035.

PowerBank Corporation and Smartlink AI developed the DeStarlink Genesis-1 satellite.

DeStarlink Genesis-1 has been contacted, is operating, and is producing solar power while in orbit.

Orbit AI plans a full constellation rollout and commercialization of Orbital Cloud services, including sovereign connectivity and in-orbit data processing offerings, during 2027–2028.

Genesis-1’s deployment validates the core technical architecture of the Orbital Cloud and establishes the foundation for expanded constellation deployment beginning in 2026.

PowerBank elected not to make an investment in Orbit AI and the terms of any remuneration for services PowerBank may provide to Orbit AI have not yet been determined.

DeStarAI Computing is designed as solar-powered AI data centers that use vacuum-based thermal conditions for continuous inference and processing.

Satellite data services are projected to expand from about $12.16 billion in 2024 to $55.24 billion by 2034 with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 16.3%.

Exolaunch will support satellite deployments on the Twilight dawn-dusk mission to provide clients with dedicated access to a specialized sun-synchronous orbit requested by Earth observation, climate monitoring, and technology demonstration missions.

Exolaunch’s EXOpod Nova and CarboNIX systems are designed, manufactured, and tested entirely in Germany.

SpaceX’s Twilight rideshare mission in January 2026 will carry 22 satellites to be deployed to a specialized sun-synchronous orbit by Exolaunch.

In May 2025 Exolaunch secured new multi-year contracts to continue launching on SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare missions through 2028 and beyond.

Integration activities with Exolaunch’s deployment systems have been completed at Exolaunch’s Berlin headquarters and at customer facilities worldwide.

In 2025 Exolaunch completed 11 launches and deployed 196 satellites.

The €1.7 billion contract to ICEYE and Rheinmetall is approximately $2 billion in value.

The contract runs from the end of 2025 to the end of 2030 with options to extend beyond 2030.

Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions will provide full operations, ground station management, and AI-driven image evaluation as part of its service offering.

Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions will own the SAR satellite constellation used to provide services under the contract.

Rheinmetall partnered with ICEYE to establish the joint venture Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions to deliver the SAR capability.

Production of the first Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions joint-venture SAR satellites is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026 at the company’s site in Neuss.

The contract provides ICEYE and Rheinmetall with exclusive access to a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation for the German Armed Forces.

The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) awarded a €1.7 billion contract to ICEYE and Rheinmetall to supply space-based reconnaissance data.

SAR satellites project a radar beam to the Earth's surface and process returning pulses to build detailed images of the ground below.

The SAR satellites will operate in an orbit of approximately 500 to 600 kilometers above Earth.

The SAR system can detect subtle changes invisible to the human eye and deliver imagery with up to 16 centimeter resolution.

Niantic Spatial provides a ground-based Visual Positioning System (VPS) that localizes ground users by visually aligning camera feeds against its spatial foundation model.

The Niantic Spatial–Vantor solution is built on field-tested software and is designed to integrate easily with hardware systems to improve operators’ capabilities in the field.

Field testing of the integrated Niantic Spatial–Vantor positioning system is planned for early 2026.

Niantic Spatial and Vantor entered a partnership to develop a comprehensive positioning solution that enables air and ground platforms to navigate and coordinate precisely in GPS-denied environments.

Vantor provides the aerial-focused Raptor visual positioning software that localizes aerial platforms by visually aligning sensor feeds against Vantor’s proprietary 3D data.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank will support Starlab Space LLC’s efforts to develop and commercialize space station technologies through its investment.

A space station environment enables research and development that is difficult to achieve on Earth and offers opportunities for innovation in advanced materials and life sciences.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is promoting efforts to provide financial backing for innovative ventures as part of initiatives addressing social and industrial challenges including impact investments.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited invested an undisclosed amount in Starlab Space LLC.

The United States Space Development Agency develops and operates the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).