SPACE.HAUS · WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING

Space Industry Weekly Briefing — Monday, April 6, 2026

Weekly intelligence briefing for the commercial space industry, week ending Monday, April 6, 2026. 20 stories across 6 categories including Funding Rounds & Investment Activity, Contracts, Awards & Government Activity, Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships, Launch Activity & Mission Milestones, Industry Context, Additional Updates. AI-curated by space.haus from 50+ industry sources.

Sources scanned: 50
Companies with news: 18
Funding activity: $138.6M+
Top story: Artemis II breaks human distance record with lunar flyby

Funding Rounds & Investment Activity

Starfish Space — Kent, WA

FUNDING

Apr 7 — Starfish Space raised more than $100 million in Series B funding to advance its orbital servicing and life extension vehicles for satellites in GEO and other orbits. Source

PLD Space — Elche, Spain

FUNDING

Apr 7 — The European Investment Bank signed a €30 million ($34.6M) loan facility with PLD Space, bringing the launcher startup's total funding to $438 million as it develops its Miura small satellite launch vehicle. Source

Contracts, Awards & Government Activity

Anduril / Impulse Space — Costa Mesa, CA / El Segundo, CA

CONTRACT

Apr 6 — Anduril and Impulse Space are developing prototype orbital interceptors for the classified Golden Dome missile defense program under new government contracts. Source

Exolaunch — Berlin, Germany

CONTRACT

Apr 6 — Exolaunch was selected by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) to provide satellite deployers for an upcoming small satellite mission. Source

NASA — Washington, D.C.

OPS UPDATE

Apr 6 — The Trump administration's FY 2027 budget proposes a 23% reduction in overall NASA funding and a 47% cut to science programs, repeating substantial cuts previously rejected by Congress in 2026. Source

Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships

Azercosmos — Baku, Azerbaijan

PARTNERSHIP

Apr 6 — Azercosmos signed a partnership agreement with Viasat to provide in-flight connectivity services to airlines using satellite broadband. Source

Firefly Aerospace — Cedar Park, TX

PARTNERSHIP

Apr 7 — Firefly Aerospace partnered with Seagate Space to develop offshore sea-based launches for its Alpha rocket, including construction of a purpose-built Gateway sea platform. Source

Delta Air Lines — Atlanta, GA

PARTNERSHIP

Apr 7 — Delta Air Lines signed a deal with Amazon's Project Kuiper (Amazon Leo) to bring satellite-based Wi-Fi to over 500 aircraft starting in 2028. Source

Korean Air — Seoul, South Korea

PARTNERSHIP

Apr 7 — Korean Air partnered with Exotrail to jointly develop Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) solutions for satellite servicing and in-space transportation. Source

Open Lunar Foundation — San Francisco, CA

PARTNERSHIP

Apr 7 — Open Lunar Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with COSPAR (Committee on Space Research) on the Lunar Ledger and information sharing for lunar coordination activities. Source

L3Harris / Comtech — Melbourne, FL / Chandler, AZ

PARTNERSHIP

Mar 31 — L3Harris and Comtech released a new multi-orbit tactical satcom embeddable C2 modem compatible with certain L3Harris terminals, announced March 31. Source

Launch Activity & Mission Milestones

NASA Artemis II — Washington, D.C.

LAUNCH

Apr 6 — Artemis II astronauts (Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen) successfully completed a historic lunar flyby, passing as close as 4,067 miles from the Moon and setting a new human distance record of 252,757 miles from Earth, surpassing Apollo 13's 1970 record. The crew witnessed a rare solar eclipse from deep space and named lunar features including a crater after mission commander's late wife. The mission is on track for splashdown off California on Friday. Source

Industry Context

Earth Observation Industry — N/A

OPS UPDATE

Apr 7 — Earth observation satellite operators are racing to deliver satellite imagery within minutes of capture, down from hours or days, driven by demand for real-time intelligence in defense and commercial applications. Source

NIGCOMSAT — Abuja, Nigeria

OPS UPDATE

Apr 7 — Nigeria announced plans to launch two new NIGCOMSAT communications satellites by 2029 to expand the nation's space-based communications infrastructure. Source

Additional Updates

The Exploration Company — Bordeaux, France

OPS UPDATE

Apr 7 — The Exploration Company completed initial pressure testing of the pressurized structure for its Nyx Structural Test Model (STM), manufactured by CNIM Systèmes Industriels. The Nyx capsule is being developed for cargo and crew transport missions. Source

Moog — East Aurora, NY

OPS UPDATE

Apr 6 — Moog showcased its growing satellite bus capabilities with a full-scale reveal of the METEOR satellite platform at the Space Symposium, highlighting expansion into complete satellite systems. Source

FOSSA Systems — Madrid, Spain

OPS UPDATE

Apr 6 — FOSSA Systems is targeting Japan's defense market with larger smallsats as the company expands its satellite capabilities beyond traditional cubesats. Source

Iceye — Espoo, Finland

OPS UPDATE

Apr 6 — Iceye's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites are being used to track Russian naval vessels and illegal shipping activity in the Arctic, demonstrating advanced maritime surveillance capabilities. Source

University of Leicester — Leicester, United Kingdom

OPS UPDATE

Apr 6 — UK scientists at Space Park Leicester developed a robotic laboratory to safely store and analyze Moon and Mars samples without contamination risks, preparing for future sample return missions. Source

ESA — Paris, France

OPS UPDATE

Apr 7 — ESA researchers demonstrated that graphene aerogel can be steered by lasers in microgravity, potentially enabling laser-based propulsion systems for solar sails and satellite position adjustments in space. Source