SPACEHAUS · Commercial space intelligence
Commercial space news and intelligence for the week ending 2026-05-08.
Week ending
May 8 — HawkEye 360 raised **$416 million** in its IPO, pricing at the high end and becoming the second space company to go public in 2026. The signals intelligence company began trading publicly, marking a major milestone for the commercial SIGINT sector.
May 8 — Lunar Outpost closed a **$30 million** Series B funding round as it works to revamp rover designs to meet NASA's revised Artemis architecture. The company also unveiled a new rover design alongside the funding announcement.
May 7 — Skyroot Aerospace secured **$60 million** in funding, becoming India's first space tech unicorn. The company's valuation has more than doubled since 2023 as it prepares for India's first private orbital launch.
May 8 — Rocket Lab announced the largest launch contract in company history, securing a **five-launch** Neutron deal as it targets a late 2026 debut for the medium-lift rocket. The first Neutron flight will not be reusable, but aims to recover the first stage during its second flight.
May 7 — Rocket Lab joined Raytheon on the Golden Dome space interceptor program and secured a new contract with Anduril to fly hypersonic test flights, expanding its defense portfolio.
May 7 — Anduril received a **$100 million** contract modification to modernize the U.S. Space Surveillance Network, bolstering capabilities for tracking objects in orbit.
May 8 — Planet signed a **seven-figure** enterprise contract to power Greece's National Satellite Space Project, expanding its European government customer base with a multi-year Earth observation data agreement.
May 8 — Rocket Lab announced plans to acquire Motiv Space Systems, a space robotics company, expanding its capabilities in spacecraft components and robotic systems for space applications.
May 7 — The European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to deepen collaboration in planetary defence, including a dedicated agreement on the Ramses mission to asteroid Apophis.
May 8 — Anthropic announced a partnership with SpaceX to boost Claude AI's compute capacity using SpaceX's data center infrastructure, leveraging SpaceX's expansion beyond traditional launch services.
May 8 — SpaceX fired up all **33 engines** of its Starship V3 Super Heavy booster on the pad in Texas, marking a major step toward the next Starship test flight expected later in 2026.
May 3 — Taiwanese technology firm Hon Hai successfully launched **two second-generation satellites** into space, expanding its presence in the satellite communications sector.
May 7 — AST SpaceMobile switched launch providers to SpaceX for a mid-June launch of **three BlueBird satellites**, pivoting from its original launch partner to maintain schedule.
May 7 — Military space industry faces procurement friction despite strong demand signals. Officials note readiness to award contracts at unprecedented speeds, but emphasize the need for industry to deliver at matching speed and scale to support national security objectives.
May 7 — SpaceX is accelerating the transition from Falcon 9 to its next-generation Starship fleet, signaling a major shift in the company's operational focus and launch strategy over the coming years.
May 7 — SpaceX announced plans to invest at least **$55 billion** into its "Terafab" AI chip manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas, marking a major diversification into semiconductor production to support AI infrastructure.
May 8 — SatVu released first-light imagery from HotSat-2, its second thermal-imaging satellite, showing energy facilities in Cuba, India, and Australia. The satellite is built by Surrey Satellite Technology and follows HotSat-1, which failed six months after launch.
May 7 — Spire opened a new satellite manufacturing facility in Munich, Germany, with capacity to produce up to **100 satellites per year**, supporting end-to-end production and expanding European manufacturing capabilities.
May 7 — MDA Space posted **32% year-over-year revenue growth** in Q1 2026, with satellite manufacturing revenue growing over **40%** driven by Telesat Lightspeed and other programs. CEO Mike Greenley stated there is "no change" to operations despite Apple's Globalstar deal.
May 7 — Redwire is pursuing opportunities in lunar landers and power systems in response to NASA's demand signal for moon base infrastructure, marking a renewed focus on cislunar capabilities.