A day after the FCC approved 15,000 direct-to-device satellites for Starlink Mobile, SpaceX agreed to buy 14 megahertz of paired 800 MHz spectrum nationwide from Grain Management. SpaceX says its 2 GHz spectrum will carry capacity while the new low-band layer reaches phones inside buildings. The deal needs FCC approval, and terms were not disclosed.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg at 12:39 a.m. on October 10, five days late because of a launch vehicle issue, carrying 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites built by Northrop Grumman. The launch brings the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 Transport Layer to 84 satellites in low Earth orbit.
Amazon's Kirkland factory has built its 1,000th broadband satellite, and commercial service is weeks away. The next Vulcan, returning to flight, will carry Leo satellites, with a second Vulcan being prepared to launch more this year.
The preliminary lunar science report and field guide gather the photographs, spoken observations and drawings the crew made during their 9-day flight around the Moon in April, including far-side geology, nighttime impact flashes and Earthrise.
Space Launch Delta 30 is asking industry how to build new payload processing, test and assembly facilities at Vandenberg, possibly including rocket factories and propellant plants on leased land. The range expects launches to climb from 66 in 2025 toward 200 a year.
The Dragon carrying Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev landed at 8:34 a.m. PDT on October 8, and SpaceX recovery ships picked up the crew shortly after.
A SpaceX subsidiary asked Florida regulators to approve a 16-inch line through Brevard County, since trucks and local pipelines cannot keep up with the methane Starship will need at the Cape.
Starlink vice president Michael Nicolls told the International Astronautical Congress that recent conjunctions came within tens to hundreds of meters. Starlink now has more than 11,000 satellites, about two-thirds of the active spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
Two small York-built satellites will detect, track and maneuver near other objects in geosynchronous orbit.
The company expects NASA to settle the configuration of the simpler suit soon.
Canadarm2 released Northrop Grumman's cargo ship at 12:44 p.m. EDT on October 9.
Teledyne has delivered more than 1.3 billion infrared detector pixels and 170 focal planes for the Space Development Agency's Tracking Layer, with more than 115 still under contract.
The self-funded expansion adds almost 35,000 square feet of manufacturing and assembly space for liquid propulsion, including the RS-25 engines for NASA's Space Launch System.
Relativity's September update says all 13 Aeon R engines are installed on the thrust structure and the stage has moved into integrated testing. Engines for the second and third flights are already in production.
Maj. Gen. Michael Traut pointed to four Russian military satellites that shadowed a Finnish ICEYE radar satellite in May, saying the same tactics aimed at a megaconstellation could shorten its satellites' lives.
The Japanese company holds 500 kilograms of capacity on a Starship lunar mission planned for 2030 and is talking with customers about reselling about 300 kilograms, to be carried across the surface by one of its rovers.
Dahm takes over from Indulis Kalnins, who stays on to lead development and the path to RFA One's first flight from SaxaVord in Shetland.
Summaries are written by From Blue to Black. Headlines and reporting belong to the linked publications.