Swissto12
Jul 16 — Raised **$70 million** in Series C funding to accelerate production of small GEO satellites. The company manufactures satellites using 3D-printed radiofrequency components for communications constellations.
SPACEHAUS · Commercial space intelligence
Space Industry Weekly Briefing — 2026-07-17
Commercial space news and intelligence for the week ending 2026-07-17.
Week ending
Funding Rounds & Investment Activity
Flexell Space
Jul 14 — Secured **$20 million** in Series A funding. The company specializes in flexible solar cell technology for space applications.
Beyond Reach Labs
Jul 17 — Raised **$10 million** in seed funding and announced relocation to New York City. The startup focuses on space technology development.
Swissto12
Jul 16 — Swissto12 closed a **$70 million** Series C funding round to support scaling up manufacturing capabilities. The company reports a growth trajectory in revenues.
Wire Harness Startup (SpaceX Vet-Founded)
Jul 15 — A SpaceX veteran raised **$65 million** to modernize wire harnesses for rockets, missiles, and satellites, pulling the technology out of the Cold War era.
Contracts, Awards & Government Activity
Slingshot
Jul 15 — Awarded **$69 million** contract by U.S. Space Force for AI-enabled training technology. The contract supports development of advanced simulation and training systems for space operations.
SpaceX
Jul 16 — Launched **21 satellites** for the U.S. military's Tranche 1 Transport Layer data network constellation on a Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Jul 17 — NASA selected Starlink to provide communications for the Artemis III mission, marking SpaceX's first role in lunar communications infrastructure.
Defense Innovation Unit
Jul 16 — Seeking commercial pathways to deliver electrical power from orbit. The initiative explores space-based power transmission capabilities for defense applications.
Office of Space Commerce
Jul 16 — Made its case for mission authorization authority before House Science Committee, with TraCSS (Traffic Coordination System for Space) implementation looming large over the hearing discussions.
Lunar Outpost
Jul 14 — Selected by ESA to join the Moonraker mission scheduled for **2030**. The mission will demonstrate lunar surface operations and resource utilization technologies.
SpaceX
Jul 16 — SpaceX launched **21 communications satellites** for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 1 Transporter Layer E (T1TL-E) mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Space Development Agency
Jul 13 — The Space Development Agency awarded **$1.75 billion** in contracts for **36 missile tracking satellites** as part of the Pentagon's Golden Dome shield, forming a LEO constellation for Tranche 3 missile defense.
Slingshot Aerospace
Jul 15 — Slingshot Aerospace won a **$69.2 million** U.S. Space Force contract to expand AI-powered mission rehearsal capabilities, marking the largest contract in company history.
Astrobotic
Jul 14 — Voyager completed its acquisition of Astrobotic, coinciding with NASA awarding Astrobotic a **$298 million** contract for a 'Moon Base' mission using the Griffin-1 lunar lander.
EMXYS
Jul 11 — ESA awarded Spanish satellite manufacturer EMXYS a **€10 million** contract to build the Don Quijote asteroid lander, which will attempt to touch down on asteroid Apophis ahead of its **32,000 km** close encounter with Earth.
Arianespace
Jul 16 — ESA awarded a contract to launch its Henon CubeSat solar storm-monitoring satellite on an **Ariane 6 rocket** in early 2027 as a secondary passenger alongside the PLATO telescope.
Reflect Orbital
Jul 14 — The FCC authorized California-based Reflect Orbital to build and operate a single prototype satellite that will redirect sunlight to Earth at night using an in-orbit mirror, with launch planned later this year.
Sierra Space
Jul 13 — Awarded a **$798 million** Firm Fixed Price Other Transactional Agreement (OTA) by the Space Development Agency (SDA) to deliver an additional **18 satellites** for the tracking layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, supporting the Golden Dome missile defense initiative.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission
Jul 16 — Chairman Carr proposed plans to expand Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite broadband connectivity, drawing commendation from the Satellite Industry Association for advancing mobile satellite services.
Office of Space Commerce
Jul 16 — The House Science, Space and Technology Committee held a hearing to review the Office of Space Commerce's mission authorization proposal, examining regulatory frameworks for commercial space activities.
Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships
Loft Orbital
Jul 15 — Acquired Apex satellite bus business to scale its spacecraft platform offering. The acquisition enables Loft to expand manufacturing capacity and offer larger satellite platforms to customers.
Icarus Robotics
Jul 15 — Partnered with KULR Technology to provide batteries for Space Station robots. KULR will supply advanced thermal management and battery solutions for ISS robotics operations.
Antaris
Jul 14 — Established Aeonyx subsidiary to advance all-domain mission virtualization for defense applications. The new entity will focus on software-defined mission capabilities across multiple domains.
Commercial Space Federation
Jul 15 — Launched State and Local Council to align states on national space capacity and strengthen U.S. industrial base. The initiative coordinates state-level space policies and infrastructure development.
EDGE Group
Jul 17 — EDGE Group announced it will acquire a **100% stake** in Brazilian aerospace engineering firm AKAER, expanding its international aerospace capabilities.
Herotel
Jul 15 — South Africa's top ISP Herotel will distribute Amazon Leo satellite connectivity to residential customers under a new partnership with Amazon, launching its own satellite broadband service.
SES
Jul 15 — SES and Airbus secured a site at the NL Space Campus in Noordwijk for the Eagle-1 optical ground station for quantum communications, with satellite launch delayed to late 2027 or later.
Rheinmetall
Jul 16 — Rheinmetall and Space Norway expanded their cooperation to develop Allied Maritime Domain Awareness capabilities, strengthening their strategic partnership in defense space systems.
Keysight Technologies
Jul 16 — Keysight will lead an ESA development program with Sateliot exploring how blockchain technologies can detect anomalies for 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
Lunar Outpost Europe
Jul 14 — Lunar Outpost Europe joined ESA's Moonraker lunar mapping mission, contributing to the agency's lunar exploration and mapping capabilities.
Launch Activity & Mission Milestones
SpaceX
Jul 17 — Aborted Starship Flight 13 launch attempt at last second due to technical issue with Booster 20 during ignition sequence. The test flight was intended to carry first V3 Starlink satellites to orbit.
Jul 14 — Achieved **600th flight** of a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster, launching Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The milestone marks continued reusability success.
Roscosmos
Jul 15 — Launched Soyuz MS-29 crew mission to ISS from Baikonur Cosmodrome. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman attended the launch, continuing Russian-American cooperation in human spaceflight.
NASA
Jul 15 — Ramping up preparations for Artemis III astronaut launch in **2027**. Hardware assembly progressing and mission control teams have begun launch scenario simulations for the first crewed lunar landing mission since Apollo.
Jul 12 — Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope arrived at Kennedy Space Center and entered prelaunch servicing phase. The next-generation observatory will study dark energy and exoplanets.
Rocket Lab
Jul 15 — Completed full-duration static fire test of Archimedes engine that will power the second stage of its Neutron launch vehicle. The test marks a key milestone toward Neutron's inaugural flight.
LandSpace
Jul 15 — China's first recovered rocket booster returned to port following successful ocean recovery. LandSpace now aims for first land-based booster recovery, advancing Chinese reusability capabilities.
SpaceX
Jul 16 — Starship Flight 13 launch was aborted at ignition due to an engine-related issue. The mission was intended to test Starlink V3 satellite deployment and launcher improvements. Stock fell over **4%** in after-hours trading before paring losses.
Jul 13 — SpaceX launched a flight-proven Falcon booster for the **600th time**, adding **29 Starlink satellites** to the constellation via the Starlink 10-45 mission from Cape Canaveral.
Jul 13 — SpaceX launched **27 Starlink satellites** on the Starlink 15-14 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, continuing to expand the LEO broadband constellation.
Roscosmos
Jul 14 — Russia launched Soyuz MS-29 with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, and NASA astronaut Anil Menon, successfully docking at the ISS. Russia also agreed to support ISS operations and seat-swaps through 2030.
ESA
Jul 16 — FLEX and Copernicus Sentinel-3C Earth observation satellites arrived at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana, with liftoff scheduled for September 2026.
Reditus Space
Jul 16 — Successfully completed its first reentry vehicle test, marking a significant operational milestone for the company's reentry technology capabilities.
Industry Context
Global Space Industry
Jul 15 — Satellite infrastructure investment set annual record halfway through 2026, according to new industry analysis. Defense spending is driving significant growth in Europe's space economy.
U.S. Space Force
Jul 16 — Trump's nominee to lead Space Force defended plan to more than double the service's budget during confirmation hearing, citing increased threats from China and Russia.
Jul 15 — Outgoing Chief of Space Operations Gen. Saltzman delivered farewell warning to prepare for war in space to preserve peace, emphasizing need for deterrence capabilities.
United Kingdom
Jul 14 — Government preparing to release new national space strategy addressing commercial launch, satellite infrastructure, and defense space capabilities.
Japan
Jul 15 — Government seeks to ramp up domestic launch activity with new policies supporting H3 rocket operations and commercial launch development.
Artemis Accords
Jul 17 — Serbia became the latest nation to sign the Artemis Accords, joining international framework for peaceful lunar exploration and resource utilization.
Starlink
Jul 15 — Starlink satellites made over **355,000 collision avoidance maneuvers** in the past year, with each satellite now dodging other objects almost weekly. Experts warn of increasing collision risks as constellation grows.
SpaceX
Jul 15 — SpaceX stock fell to its **$135 IPO price**, down from post-IPO highs, as markets sober up to CEO Elon Musk's promises made before and after going public.
Jul 13 — SpaceX was cleared to fly Starship again after the booster failure in May, marking the first test flight as a public company and testing market appetite for the 'fly, fail, fix' approach.
Pentagon / Department of Defense
Jul 16 — The Pentagon suspended planned implementation of CMMC Phase II, including third-party audits, citing concerns with compliance 'burdens' as it reviews the cybersecurity certification program's future.
FCC
Jul 15 — FCC Chairman Brendan Carr proposed a new proceeding to explore allowing unlicensed wireless devices like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to communicate directly with satellites for direct-to-device (D2D) service.
ESA
Jul 16 — ESA's Space Economy Report reveals governments worldwide spent **€119 billion** in space last year. Private investment in European space has doubled since 2021 but dipped **8%** in 2025.
Jul 13 — ESA and Poland announced a new Civil Security and Resilience Center will be established in Warsaw, adding the Ministry of Defence to the Netherlands Space Agency steering committee.
NASA
Jul 17 — Serbia became the **69th signatory** to the Artemis Accords, joining NASA's framework for peaceful space exploration.
Jul 15 — NASA is seeking industry input on the second phase of commercial space stations as the ISS transitions. The agency is exploring how to support multiple commercial platforms in LEO.
Harwell Space Cluster
Jul 10 — His Majesty King Charles III opened the Space and Defence Gateway at the UK's largest space cluster on the Harwell campus, launching a new initiative to guide the future of the space and defense economy.
European Space Agency
Jul 16 — Announced plans to establish a security center in Poland, expanding ESA's security-focused space infrastructure across Europe.
Additional Updates
Bluestaq
Jul 16 — Launched BLUESTAQ/ARQ defense-grade data infrastructure platform now available for commercial, government, and enterprise organizations. The platform provides secure data processing capabilities.
University of Texas
Jul 15 — Partnering with new startup to develop technology for trapping small orbital debris. The collaboration focuses on novel debris capture methods for space sustainability.
Spinifex Space
Jul 14 — Launched operations with Australian test ranges for rocket and propulsion testing. The new facilities support growing Australian launch industry development.
International Space University
Jul 17 — ISU founder shared vision beyond potential liquidation as the institution faces financial challenges. The university has trained space professionals globally for decades.
Starlink / SpaceX
Jul 15 — Starlink's V5 residential dish is now available in select areas, featuring a notably smaller and lighter design than V4 with improved power efficiency. Not intended for in-motion use.
Reditus Space
Jul 13 — Reditus finished the ENOS reentry vehicle ahead of its first flight, marking a milestone for the company's atmospheric reentry technology development.
Pangea Propulsion
Jul 14 — Pangea Propulsion inaugurated a new **1,000 square-meter** manufacturing facility near Barcelona with an initial **€1 million** investment, marking the shift to serial production of propulsion systems.
AST SpaceMobile
Jul 16 — AST SpaceMobile pushed back its launch campaign to early 2027 and launched a **$1 billion+** share sale while exploring vertical integration options.
Eutelsat
Jul 15 — Eutelsat plans a **528-satellite LEO constellation** in addition to the **440 satellites** on order from Airbus and its Iris2 commitment, significantly expanding its LEO capabilities.
Viasat
Jul 16 — Viasat demonstrated a satellite voice call fully integrated into a BMW Group vehicle infotainment system at a 5G Automotive Association event.
Ovzon
Jul 17 — Mobile satcom terminal and service provider Ovzon reported double-digit revenue and EBITDA increases while still considering a second satellite.
Axelspace
Jul 14 — Small satellite builder and operator Axelspace reported a **38% revenue decline** and wider operating loss for the 6 months ending May 31.
CubeSpace
Jul 15 — CubeSpace launched **190 ADCS products** across seven customers during SpaceX's Transporter-17 rideshare mission.
Italian Space Agency (ASI)
Jul 17 — The Italian Space Agency announced the untimely passing of its President, Professor Teodoro Valente.
Space Foundation
Jul 16 — Announced it will release its annual Global Space Economy Number on July 21 at 8 a.m. Mountain Time during an online event, with CEO Heather Pringle presenting the findings.
Jul 14 — Partnered with L3Harris Technologies to host the New Generation Space Leaders Event in Palm Bay, Florida, bringing together emerging space professionals for networking, mentorship, and industry access.