Washington — NASA announced on July 24 that it awarded a contract to Advanced Space for the CAPSTONE 02 mission, a pair of 400‑kilogram smallsat spacecraft planned for launch in 2027. The twin spacecraft, built by Terran Orbital, will operate in cislunar space to test rendezvous and proximity operations under the influence of both Earth and lunar gravity, conduct navigation and communications demonstrations, and measure the radiation environment around the Moon. The mission will allow the spacecraft to switch roles as target and chaser while performing rendezvous maneuvers. An advanced imager from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will support the proximity operations and lunar imaging. Both NASA and Advanced Space described the effort as risk‑reduction for future Artemis missions that require Orion spacecraft to dock with lunar landers. Brad Cheetham, president and chief executive of Advanced Space, said the demonstration will mature autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations in cislunar space, enabling routine lunar exploration and long‑term presence. Christopher Baker, lead for the in‑space infrastructure portfolio in NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate, added that flight testing converts technical challenges into capabilities needed for a permanent lunar presence. CAPSTONE 02 follows the original CAPSTONE mission, which used a single cubesat to evaluate operations in a near‑rectilinear halo orbit. The original mission launched on a Rocket Lab Electron in 2022 and completed extended testing of autonomous navigation and delay‑tolerant networking in June. Alec Forsman, chief engineer for CAPSTONE 02 at Advanced Space, said the new mission will extend capabilities to demonstrate rendezvous in a three‑body orbit, test cislunar communications architectures, and validate autonomy required for future lunar missions. The contract value has not been disclosed, but House appropriators directed NASA in May to allocate between $20 million and $60 million for CAPSTONE 02 in fiscal year 2027.
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Germany is considering a dedicated launch facility for its armed forces to ensure independent satellite deployment, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on 23 July during a visit to Isar Aerospace near Munich. Pistorius said existing European launch capacity, including facilities in Norway and the United Kingdom, would not meet future demand, prompting the need for guaranteed access to its own infrastructure. A 2024 technology assessment by Germany’s Office of Technology Assessment stated that the country’s dense population limits suitable sites to coastal areas or the open sea. Pistorius emphasized that work on the project remains in early stages and no specific site location has been identified. The German Offshore Spaceport Alliance has proposed a floating launch platform in the North Sea, with a 2020 feasibility study estimating development and operation costs of €22‑30 million over six years. Federal funding to date amounts to €2.87 million, including a €2 million award in September 2023 and an additional €870,000 in February 2025. The project has missed its planned milestones; a suborbital test flight originally scheduled for April 2024 has not occurred, and regular orbital launches slated for 2026 remain pending. Pistorius said the consideration will continue as the government evaluates next steps.
Washington — A spacecraft launched on July 3 to reboost NASA’s Swift gamma‑ray observatory is experiencing attitude control problems that have caused a multi‑axis spin and intermittent loss of communications.
The issue was reported on July 28 by Katalyst Space Technologies, which said two of the three reaction wheels on its Link spacecraft were not functioning and that its reaction control system thrusters were operating only partially. The spin resulted in a temporary loss of communications and a bus reset.
Katalyst said communications, propulsion and robotic systems required for docking with Swift remain functional. Over the past few days the company has begun using gimbaled electric propulsion thrusters to reduce the spacecraft’s spin rates, and it plans to update its guidance, navigation and control software before attempting a rendezvous with Swift. The firm added that the mission remains active and it believes the current changes provide a viable path to reboost the observatory.
Sentinel-1 satellite data measured up to 65 centimeters of ground uplift near Caracas following the twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on 24 June 2026.
The measurements were obtained using interferometry, a technique that compares radar images taken before and after the event. Sentinel-1 satellites equipped with C‑band synthetic aperture radar passed over the region on 18 June, before the quakes, and again on 24 and 25 June, after the events.
Comparing the images showed an upward displacement of 65 cm around Caracas, La Guaira and Caraballeda, while a slight downward movement was observed north of the Boconó fault. The preliminary estimate released five days after the quakes indicated about 30 cm of movement. Nuno Miranda, ESA’s Sentinel‑1 mission manager, said the radar data provide rapid insight into disaster response, though vegetation and surface texture can affect accuracy and repeated passes in both descending and ascending orbits are required for verification. The Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service was activated on 25 June to support damage assessment; its rapid mapping indicated more than 3,000 buildings were damaged and over 2.7 million people were potentially affected, with the coastal town of Caraballeda among the hardest hit. The earthquakes resulted from a shallow slip‑strike motion on the offshore San Sebastián fault, where the Caribbean plate pushes east against the South American plate at roughly 15 mm per year. Machiel Higgins, a geophysicist at Florida International University, noted that the interferograms show most of the rupture occurred offshore, consistent with long‑term strain accumulation models that predict a magnitude 7.5 event for this fault.
Further repeated measurements will refine the displacement estimates, and the data will help assess ongoing seismic hazards along the San Sebastián fault.
Ariane 6 launched on 9 July 2024 from the Guiana Space Centre, marking its first flight.
Ariane 6 launched on 9 July 2024 from the Guiana Space Centre, marking its first flight. Ariane 6 is Europe’s newest heavy‑lift launch vehicle developed by the European Space Agency to replace the Ariane 5. The program aims to provide greater efficiency and lower cost for European satellite operators. The inaugural flight, designated VA262, used an upgraded main stage and a choice of two or four solid boosters. It featured a restartable upper stage that can perform multiple orbital insertions. The configuration allows a single launch to deliver payloads to different orbits, and the upper stage is set to deorbit at the end of the mission. ESA said the system offers greater efficiency and lower cost compared with earlier versions. The successful launch demonstrates the capability of the new vehicle and supports future European space missions.
Satellite observations indicate that the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt reached its second‑highest recorded extent in June 2026, with the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico registering their highest Sargassum masses.
The belt's Sargassum abundance has increased since 2011, when it first emerged as a persistent feature in the tropical Atlantic. The June 2026 biomass was the second highest in the satellite record, after 2025, according to scientists at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science.
Regional totals in June 2026 were 3.6 million metric tons in the western Caribbean, 9 million metric tons in the eastern Caribbean, and 5 million metric tons in the Gulf, nearly double the previous record set in 2025.
In moderate oceanic amounts, Sargassum provides habitat for turtles, invertebrates, fish, and birds and contributes oxygen through photosynthesis. Excessive accumulation near shore can entangle marine life, smother corals and seagrasses, and release hydrogen sulfide from decaying mats on beaches.
Brian Barnes, a marine scientist at the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at USF, said the tracking helps communities know the extent of Sargassum and prepare for its impacts.
Ocean currents and winds shape the belt, which remains largely continuous from West Africa to the Gulf while varying in width. The belt has spared Florida's west coast this summer but delivered large amounts to the Florida Keys and east coast. Hu said ocean warming, nutrient inputs, and nitrogen‑fixing bacteria may drive the growth.
The detection uses OCI data from NASA's PACE satellite launched in February 2024, which offers higher sensitivity and spectral discrimination compared with earlier MODIS and VIIRS sensors. Jeremy Werdell, PACE project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said the advancements mark a renaissance in aquatic ecosystem monitoring from space.
The chart of Sargassum biomass since 2000 shows an uptick beginning around 2011, with seasonal peaks in spring and summer and a decline observed in July 2026. The precise mechanisms behind the long‑term increase remain under investigation.
Boeing is coordinating with NASA to set a date for the next Starliner mission, a cargo flight to the International Space Station, after the spacecraft has not flown since the Crew Flight Test in 2022. The 2022 test experienced thruster malfunctions and helium leaks, leading NASA to return the capsule uncrewed and keep two astronauts aboard a SpaceX Dragon for nine months. Boeing has been working to resolve the issues, noting that the redesign is proceeding well. In a July 28 earnings call, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the Starliner program is the remaining fixed-price contract in its defense and space unit that must be aligned with NASA, and that scheduling the launch with NASA will determine the timeline for both crewed and uncrewed flights. At a June 22 Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel meeting, members said the fixes could require up to a year before the vehicle flies again on a cargo-only mission designated Starliner-1. A May briefing by NASA ISS operations manager Bill Spetch indicated that launch windows remain under review because the mission was omitted from the agency's cargo and crew schedule through the end of the year. Boeing's July 28 Form 10-Q filing disclosed that the company now expects its first uncrewed mission no earlier than the fourth quarter of 2026, down from an earlier 2026 target, and that the outcome of ongoing discussions with NASA remains uncertain. Ortberg said the company does not anticipate additional financial charges before the spacecraft returns to flight, despite having recorded about $2 billion in charges to date. The filing also confirmed Boeing's 50 % ownership stake in United Launch Alliance and that, together with Lockheed Martin, it is providing a $500 million loan guarantee to support ULA's financial condition after the Vulcan Centaur rocket's grounding. The timing of the next Starliner flight and the subsequent crewed mission remain subject to ongoing negotiations between Boeing and NASA.
Study Finds Dust Cloud From Chicxulub Impact Charbroiled Dinosaurs
A new study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences says dust from the Chicxulub asteroid impact caused immediate, lethal heating of organisms, contributing to the end‑Cretaceous mass extinction.
The Alvarez hypothesis, proposed in 1980 by Luis Alvarez and his son Walter, attributes the extinction to an asteroid impact that deposited iridium‑rich sediment worldwide. The impact created a crater in the Yucatán Peninsula, 11–81 km in diameter, releasing energy far greater than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Researchers combined earlier impact simulations with geologic observations and identified fine post‑impact dust particles. Brandon Johnson, a planetary scientist at Purdue University, said the dust heated the upper atmosphere to temperatures comparable to a broiler oven, delivering a radiation dose about 17 times lethal for humans. This heat would have burned skin and caused heat stroke in large reptiles, while also igniting grass, lichen and pine needles, sparking wildfires.
Alexandria Johnson, co‑author and also of Purdue University, noted that the dust particles were about 2.5 micrometers, the same size as wildfire smoke, and could enter lungs and bloodstreams, posing health risks to survivors.
The authors argue that the dust cloud trapped thermal radiation, charring the surface and all life on it, rather than relying on the blast wave or fireball. They say the findings weaken volcanic activity as the primary cause and support the impact as the final trigger, though they do not exclude subsequent environmental stress such as prolonged darkness.
The study suggests a multi‑phase extinction scenario where immediate heat and long‑term climate effects together contributed to the demise of the dinosaurs and many other species.
Funding shortfall may affect Jodrell Bank Observatory operations, raising concerns about a potential loss of scientific talent in the United Kingdom. The observatory, founded in the 1940s by physicist Bernard Lovell, houses the Lovell Telescope, which became the world’s largest steerable radio telescope when completed in 1957 and has been used to track satellites such as Sputnik. University of Manchester, the site’s operator, reported that its grant funding fell below expectations. The university said it is pursuing additional funding sources, including private donations and research council support. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology indicated that it is reviewing the observatory’s financial arrangements. A definitive decision on funding is expected later this year.
The Department of Transportation announced a proposed rule that would permit it to waive certain environmental regulations for commercial space launches and reentries. The public will have 30 days to comment after the rule is published in the Federal Register.
Congress gave DOT authority to regulate commercial space launches in 1984 and added reentry oversight in 1998. The department previously modernized space transportation regulations in 2020 and issued an executive order in August to further streamline space rules. The proposed rule targets requirements under 13 federal statutes, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, portions of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.
DOT officials said the changes are intended to reduce regulatory burdens and support industry growth without affecting public health, safety, property, national security or foreign policy interests. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the surge in commercial space activity requires a regulatory approach that is streamlined and modernized. The Commercial Space Federation, representing many launch and reentry companies, said the rule would accelerate licensing, reduce administrative burdens and help meet growing demand. The FAA reports that 204 commercial space operations were authorized in fiscal year 2025, the highest on record, and projects nearly 4,300 operations over the next decade.
The rule will be published in the Federal Register, opening a 30‑day comment period before a final decision is made.
A Beijing-based startup, Xingchen Daohe (also known as Stars Harmony), announced on July 22 that it raised roughly $14.8 million to develop its Guanlan satellite constellation for space situational awareness.
The funding adds to a series of Chinese commercial space situational awareness (SSA) initiatives that have accelerated through 2025 and 2026 as multiple firms seek to build independent tracking capabilities. The company says the capital will support development, deployment and team building for the Guanlan constellation.
The round attracted a mix of industry and financial investors, including the Beihang Tianhui incubator, venture capital firms Zhenghan Capital, QDGF Ventures, Yarong Capital, Yunhui Capital and Xinhai Capital, and the state-linked vehicle Changsha Chengfa, according to reports. Xingchen Daohe also plans to relocate to Beijing’s “Satellite Town” on July 24, part of the city’s “South Rockets, North Satellites” industrial policy.
Other Chinese SSA firms are also advancing. Geovis Insighter Technology Co. Ltd. (Xingtu Cekong) went public on the Beijing Stock Exchange in 2025 and announced a 156‑satellite constellation with test satellites slated for the first half of 2026. Creatunion’s Spacemapper platform hosts China’s space object catalog and aims for a 108‑satellite monitoring network. Qingbo Kongtian, a spinout from Tsinghua University, raised about $1.48 million in April 2026 to develop debris‑cataloguing software and plans an experimental satellite launch in 2026. Aotian Technology launched its Gande‑1 satellite on July 24 aboard a Kinetica‑1 rocket, marking the first dedicated commercial debris‑monitoring satellite and the start of a planned 120‑satellite constellation.
A U.S. Air Force research article published in October 2025 by the China Aerospace Studies Institute notes a Chinese government goal to localize the two‑line element (TLE) data format used for satellite tracking by 2028, aiming to reduce reliance on U.S. tracking data. The 15th Five‑Year Plan, covering 2026‑2030, calls for breakthroughs in space situation awareness as part of a broader push to improve China’s capacity to shape international space standards.
While the sector’s growth reflects increasing investment, the ability of China to transition from data user to rulemaker remains subject to technical and regulatory challenges.
European Space Agency opened a call for tenders on July 27 to study the feasibility of repurposing the Lunar Link communications system as a dedicated lunar satellite. Up to two contracts, each worth up to €3 million, will be awarded for 12‑month Phase A/B1 studies. The invitation follows an ESA Council decision on June 16‑17 to evaluate whether Lunar Link can serve as a standalone communications asset after NASA paused the Gateway program in March. The studies will examine how the system could complement ESA’s Moonlight lunar communications constellation and whether existing satellite platforms can host the hardware with minimal modification. Contractors will assess potential lunar orbits, spacecraft configurations, development schedules and cost estimates, targeting a launch in the fourth quarter of 2029. Thales Alenia Space France, the developer of Lunar Link, will act as a mandatory subcontractor, with at least €750,000 reserved for its work in each contract. The existing payload has completed functional and environmental testing and awaits a final antenna deployment test. ESA expects qualification of Lunar Link to be finished by the end of 2025, with the first qualification review scheduled for the third quarter. The agency will also assess options for repurposing the Lunar I‑Habitation module and slowing development of Lunar View while preserving key technologies for future deep‑space missions. The outcome of the feasibility studies will determine whether Lunar Link can be deployed as a lunar communications asset before the end of the decade.
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