Anduril Industries
May 13 — Anduril Industries raised **$5 billion** at a **$61 billion** valuation, double its previous valuation, as defense-tech startups haul in record amounts of venture capital.
SPACEHAUS · Commercial space intelligence
Space Industry Weekly Briefing — 2026-05-14
Commercial space news and intelligence for the week ending 2026-05-14.
Week ending
Funding Rounds & Investment Activity
Contracts, Awards & Government Activity
NASA
May 13 — House Appropriations Committee approved the FY2027 Commerce-Justice-Science bill with **$24.4 billion** for NASA, rejecting the Trump Administration's proposed **$18.8 billion** budget and deep cuts to the agency.
Rocket Lab
May 14 — Rocket Lab won a **$30 million** contract from Anduril Industries for the HASTE hypersonic rocket launches program.
Gilat Satellite Networks
May 13 — Gilat Satellite Networks announced multiple large military contracts and expanded its footprint in India, strengthening its defense and government business.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships
SpinLaunch
May 13 — SpinLaunch announced a partnership with Aalyria Technologies to design and develop key infrastructure supporting its Meridian LEO communications constellation. Aalyria will provide network orchestration capabilities.
Neo Space Group
May 13 — Neo Space Group selected ThinKom's ThinAir Ka2517 multi-orbit phased array antenna for installation across narrow-body aircraft fleets on multiple airlines.
ispace
May 14 — ispace signed a payload service agreement with the University of Leicester for a Lunar Raman Spectrometer mission, expanding its commercial lunar payload business.
Exobiosphere
May 14 — Exobiosphere announced collaboration with Voyager to launch OHTS, an automated drug screening mission in orbit, advancing pharmaceutical research in microgravity.
Launch Activity & Mission Milestones
AST SpaceMobile
May 14 — AST SpaceMobile announced it may launch some of its direct-to-device satellites on United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, expanding launch options for its constellation deployment.
Landspace
May 14 — Landspace successfully launched the improved Zhuque-2E rocket on a return-to-flight mission featuring numerous enhancements, while China's Long March 6A lofted new satellites for the Qianfan megaconstellation.
NASA (Artemis Program)
May 13 — NASA revealed that the Space Launch System will launch on Artemis 3 without an upper stage as the agency defines revised mission plans, targeting late **2027** for the astronaut mission to Earth orbit.
SpaceX
May 13 — SpaceX completed construction on a completely redesigned Starship launch pad and is preparing for the first launch from the new facility. The company is also exploring international launch sites for Starship operations.
Firefly Aerospace
May 13 — Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 4 successfully completed its preliminary design review (PDR), a major development milestone for its lunar south pole expedition planned for later this decade.
Industry Context
Satellite Industry Association
May 13 — The Satellite Industry Association released its 29th annual State of the Satellite Industry Report, highlighting a historic **296 launches** in 2025, driven by improved affordability, productivity, and new market creation.
Eutelsat
May 13 — Eutelsat reported Q3 revenue of **€293 million ($343 million)**, with LEO-driven revenue up **65% year-over-year** and strong growth in mobile connectivity services.
SES
May 13 — SES extended its IRIS² review period as the European constellation consortium reached an initial project milestone during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call.
Additional Updates
Blue Origin
May 13 — Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander mockup has been assembled at NASA's Johnson Space Center and is ready for Artemis astronaut training exercises.
Northrop Grumman
May 13 — Northrop Grumman announced the LR-450 lunar navigation system, derived from James Webb Space Telescope technology, designed for spacecraft operating beyond GPS coverage in cislunar space.
iDirect Government
May 13 — iDirect Government launched the 450 Rackmount software-defined modem for multi-orbit defense applications, expanding its military satellite communications portfolio.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
May 13 — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries successfully tested its AIRIS onboard AI system in orbit, demonstrating real-time ship detection directly from a satellite without ground processing.
Cerebras Systems
May 13 — AI chip startup Cerebras Systems is making its public-market debut on the Nasdaq after years of private fundraising, facing strong demand for IPO shares.