SPACEHAUS · Commercial space intelligence
Commercial space news and intelligence for the week ending 2026-04-23.
Week ending
Apr 23 — Univity raised **€27 million** (**$32 million**) in Series A funding led by Blast Club and Expansion to fund very-low-Earth-orbit (VLEO) 5G demonstrator satellites. The company plans to deploy a constellation operating at altitudes lower than traditional LEO satellites.
Apr 23 — Atmos Space Cargo raised **€25.7 million** (**$30 million**) in Series A funding to build Europe's orbital return infrastructure and reentry vehicle capabilities. The company is developing its Phoenix capsule for cargo return missions from space.
Apr 23 — The Pentagon closed a **$1 billion** investment in L3Harris's missile unit, marking a significant defense contract award for missile technology development.
Apr 22 — The U.S. Space Force awarded contracts to Leidos and MapLarge for 'battle planning' software development to enhance space domain awareness and operational planning capabilities.
Apr 23 — The House Science Committee strongly criticized NASA's proposed budget cuts for fiscal year 2027, with bipartisan members vowing to reject the Trump Administration's dramatic reductions to the agency's funding.
Apr 22 — The FCC granted AST SpaceMobile commercial authorization for its **248-satellite** direct-to-device constellation operating at **425-690 km** altitude. Each satellite features a **223-square-meter** array for cellular service from space, though the authorization comes amid launch delays.
Apr 22 — President Trump nominated industry executive Roger Mason to lead the National Reconnaissance Office, signaling continued focus on commercial space integration in national security space operations.
Apr 23 — Amazon announced plans to acquire Globalstar to expand its LEO satellite internet network, marking a significant consolidation move in the satellite communications market.
Apr 22 — GomSpace and STETMAN established UASAT, a joint venture focused on developing Ukrainian sovereign communications satellite capabilities to support Ukraine's space infrastructure independence.
Apr 22 — Australian low-cost airline Jetstar Airways selected Viasat's Amara solution for in-flight connectivity across its **11-aircraft** Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, expanding Viasat's commercial aviation footprint in the Asia-Pacific region.
Apr 22 — SSC Space and Kuva Space announced a regional collaboration to strengthen space-based capabilities across various segments of the space value chain in the Nordic region.
Apr 22 — Eutelsat announced three new broadcast deals in Mexico and the Caribbean, including a partnership with Co-op Cable for expanded direct-to-home (DTH) and connectivity services.
Apr 23 — Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle successfully launched **8 Japanese cubesats** to orbit for JAXA, including one satellite featuring an origami-folded antenna design. The mission deployed technology demonstration payloads.
Apr 23 — SpaceX launched **24 Starlink satellites** on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:23 PM PDT. This marked the company's **40th launch of 2026** dedicated to its broadband internet constellation.
Apr 22 — The FAA temporarily grounded Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket following a launch mishap on April 19 where the vehicle failed to deliver a satellite to the proper orbit, despite successfully recovering the reusable booster. This marks the rocket's third-ever flight.
Apr 23 — Japan's ambitious MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission has reached the launch pad, aiming to return samples from Mars' moon Phobos to Earth by **2031**. The mission seeks to determine the origins of Mars' two small moons, Phobos and Deimos.
Apr 23 — ESA's Plato exoplanet-hunting mission successfully completed space-like testing and remains on track for launch in **early 2027** to begin searching for Earth-like planets around distant stars.
Apr 22 — ESA and the European Defence Agency are collaborating to assess future intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors. Bids for the ESA architecture contract are due **May 5, 2026**.
Apr 23 — Canada introduced the new Canadian Space Launch Act to establish sovereign space launch capabilities and regulatory framework, marking a significant step toward domestic launch operations.
Apr 23 — At Space Symposium 2026, Swiss Space Command announced a **30 million CHF** budget and detailed plans for the AlpStar satellite network focused on peaceful applications including lunar missions.
Apr 23 — Astrobotic successfully conducted a hotfire test of its lunar lander engine designed to power future moon missions, demonstrating continuous thrust capabilities for precision landing operations.
Apr 22 — NASA maintains confidence that Artemis astronauts will land on the moon in **2028** despite a new report warning of potential multiyear delays in spacesuit development by contractor Axiom Space.
Apr 22 — NASA's Artemis II moon mission successfully demonstrated that space-to-Earth laser communications can scale for deep space operations, with Observable Space and Quantum Opus capturing data beamed from lunar distances.
Apr 23 — NASA officially unveiled the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope ahead of its fall **2026** launch. The observatory will conduct wide-field surveys to study dark energy and exoplanets.
Apr 22 — NASA shut down an instrument on Voyager 1 to extend the spacecraft's operational life as power reserves continue to decline after nearly 50 years of operations.
Apr 22 — ESA's Space Rider reusable spaceplane drop test model has been fully assembled and is ready for atmospheric glide testing, advancing Europe's autonomous orbital return vehicle program.