GLOC 2026 hosting in Kigali reflects Rwanda’s focus on science and technology as tools to address climate change.

The International Astronautical Federation and the Rwanda Space Agency will hold the second IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change, GLOC 2026, in Kigali, Rwanda, from 2–4 June 2026.

International Astronautical Federation President Gabriella Arrigo says bringing GLOC to Africa for the first time highlights global collaboration in the space sector.

GLOC 2026 is intended to share knowledge, showcase space-enabled monitoring and environmental technologies, and build international partnerships for scaling climate resilience solutions.

GLOC 2026 will aim to elevate African perspectives in global discussions about space and climate policy.

GLOC 2026 is scheduled to open with a high-level ceremony and an exhibition.

GLOC 2026 is expected to draw heads of state, ministers, senior officials from major space agencies, industry representatives, development partners, investors, scientists, astronauts, and civil society groups.

The three-day GLOC 2026 programme is expected to include panels, technical sessions, exhibitions, and networking on space-based climate monitoring, Earth observation, sustainability, policy innovation, and international cooperation.

GLOC 2026 will be the first IAF Global Space Conference on Climate Change held in Africa.

Firefly Aerospace received Federal Aviation Administration clearance to resume Alpha launches in August 2025 after the April 29, 2025 LM 400 mission failure.

Lockheed Martin says the LM 400 bus is built for military, commercial, or civil customers.

Lockheed Martin reported $75.0 billion in sales and a year-end backlog of $193.6 billion in its Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report.

Lockheed Martin says the LM 400 satellite bus can operate in low, medium, and geosynchronous orbits.

The LM 400 launch was the second Firefly launch for Lockheed Martin and the first under a multi-launch agreement covering up to 25 missions over five years.

Lockheed Martin's LM 400 satellite bus is produced at the company's Small Satellite Processing and Delivery Center.

The LM 400 launch attempt was entirely self-funded.

The LM 400 launch carried a Lockheed Martin narrowband communications electronically steered array payload.

In December 2021, NASA formalized its partnership with Lockheed Martin on Starlab through a $160 million Space Act Agreement under the Commercial LEO Destinations Phase 1 program.

Lockheed Martin says the LM 400 satellite bus has up to 1,100 kg of payload capacity.

The April 29, 2025 LM 400 mission did not reach orbit.

Voyager Space and Airbus Defence and Space formed Starlab Space LLC as a joint venture in August 2023 to build and operate the station.

Airbus Defence and Space took over the technical integration role for Starlab after Lockheed Martin exited the principal position.

On April 29, 2025, Lockheed Martin launched an LM 400 mid-sized satellite bus on Firefly Aerospace's Alpha Flight 6 mission from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

In December 2025, Lockheed Martin won a $1.1 billion firm-fixed-price Other Transaction Authority agreement for 18 Tranche 3 Tracking Layer satellites.

In August 2023, Lockheed Martin stepped out of the Starlab principal role.

Lockheed Martin's original role in Starlab was to serve as the manufacturer and technical integrator for a large inflatable habitat module.

Lockheed Martin says its Small Satellite Processing and Delivery Center operates six parallel assembly lines with a stated capacity of up to 180 spacecraft per year.

Lockheed Martin has a named position within the expanded $185 billion Golden Dome for America program roster.

ALEX is an Earth-observation platform that Aistech Space positions as an integral data ecosystem.

Aistech Space projects revenue above 150 million euros in 2030 from its thermal observation services.

SpaceX launched Hydra-2 on January 11 on the Twilight mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Hydra-2 is an Earth-observation CubeSat developed by Aistech Space as part of its commercial constellation.

Aistech Space collaborates with the Guardia Civil and the European Union on the AI4COPSEC project to monitor the Strait of Gibraltar.

Aistech Space is based in Barcelona.

Aistech Space integrates project organization and management capabilities into ALEX for secure access by multiple users monitoring thermal data.

Aistech Space presented a first selection of images captured, processed, and georeferenced by its ALEX Earth-observation platform on April 28, three months after Hydra-2’s launch.

Aistech Space uses the Twilight mission’s twilight sun-synchronous orbit for nocturnal observations that support early wildfire detection.

Hydra-2 is the first commercial satellite equipped with a multispectral thermal telescope developed entirely in Spain.

FarEarth Labs delivered the first L1 and L2 products for Hydra-2 before the thermal payload Enabler entered calibration and validation.

Aistech Space plans to deploy a commercial constellation of up to 48 satellites between 2027 and 2030.

EnduroSat handled the commissioning of the Hydra-2 satellite platform.

Hydra-2 captures images in the visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared bands.

Hydra-2 required an investment of nearly one million euros.

ALEX lets users discover archived images through STAC-compatible catalogs, request new acquisitions through a task service aligned with Stapi, and access processed and raw data products through its storage services.

Hydra-2 flew with about 40 payloads on the Twilight mission.

Aistech Space’s thermal technology can detect vessels operating at night with their transponders switched off.

The Australian Space Agency report says orbiting assets can help urban planners monitor temperature and air quality in cities.

UrbanSAR uses interferometric SAR data from at least two SAR satellites to detect very small changes over time.

CATALYST is rolling out UrbanSAR as a new product.

CATALYST is a brand of PCI Geomatics, a remote sensing software firm based in Ottawa, Canada.