SPACE.HAUS — WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING Wednesday, April 8, 2026 ============================================================ Sources scanned: 50 Companies with news: 17 Funding activity: $110M+ and €210M+ Top story: Artemis 2 completes historic lunar flyby Canonical: https://space.haus/briefings/2026-04-08.html Interactive: https://space.haus/briefing/2026-04-08 FUNDING ROUNDS & INVESTMENT ACTIVITY ------------------------------------ Starfish Space — Kent, WA [FUNDING] • Apr 7 — On-orbit services startup Starfish Space raised $110 million in a Series B funding round. The capital will be used to execute orbital servicing missions already on contract and boost production capacity. (https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2026/04/07/on-orbit-services-startup-starfish-space-raises-110m-to-execute-missions-boost-production/) PLD Space — Elche, Spain [FUNDING] • Apr 7 — Spanish launch services provider PLD Space secured a €30 million loan from the European Investment Bank, one month after closing a €180 million Series C funding round. The company is preparing for the inaugural flight of its MIURA 5 rocket later this year. (https://europeanspaceflight.com/pld-space-secures-e30-million-european-investment-bank-loan/) CONTRACTS, AWARDS & GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY --------------------------------------- Capella Space — San Francisco, CA [CONTRACT] • Apr 8 — Capella Space won a $49 million contract for a military communications satellite demonstration program. (https://spacenews.com/capella-space-wins-49-million-contract-for-military-communications-satellite-demo/) Astroscale — Tokyo, Japan [CONTRACT, OPS UPDATE] • Apr 8 — Astroscale's UK subsidiary passed a Critical Design Review milestone for the Orpheus mission, a UK military space-tracking cubesat program. The company is developing space domain awareness satellites for defense applications. (https://spacenews.com/astroscale-passes-key-design-milestone-for-uk-military-space-tracking-cubesats/) Northrop Grumman — Falls Church, VA [CONTRACT] • Apr 7 — Hungary selected Northrop Grumman to build its first national geostationary communications satellite. A ceremonial signing took place with Hungarian partner 4iG. (https://spacenews.com/hungary-taps-northrop-grumman-for-first-national-geostationary-communications-satellite/) All.Space — London, UK [CONTRACT] • Apr 7 — The Royal Canadian Navy will trial All.Space's Hydra 4 multi-band, multi-orbit mobility terminal to inform short-term satcom architecture decisions. (https://www.satellitetoday.com/technology/2026/04/07/canadian-navy-to-trial-all-space-hydra-4-terminal/) EdgeRunner AI — N/A [CONTRACT] • Apr 7 — EdgeRunner AI won a U.S. Space Force contract to deploy on-device, domain-specific AI agents in the IL-5 environment. (https://orbitaltoday.com/2026/04/07/edgerunner-wins-u-s-space-force-contract-for-ai-agents/) MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS ------------------------------------ SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA [PARTNERSHIP] • Apr 7 — Intel announced it is partnering with Elon Musk's Terafab AI chip project in Austin, Texas. The facility will supply AI chips to SpaceX (newly merged with xAI) and Tesla. (https://www.theverge.com/transportation/907976/elon-musk-terafab-intel-ai-chip-spacex-tesla) Firefly Aerospace — Cedar Park, TX [PARTNERSHIP] • Apr 8 — Firefly Aerospace announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to enable rapid on-orbit processing in lunar orbit. Firefly's AI software will run on NVIDIA Jetson modules onboard its Elytra spacecraft to provide faster data-driven insights from the Moon. (https://fireflyspace.com/news/firefly-aerospace-enables-on-orbit-processing-for-moon-imaging-service-with-nvidia-jetson/) e-GEOS — Rome, Italy [PARTNERSHIP] • Apr 8 — e-GEOS and VENG strengthened their global partnership for SAOCOM satellite data distribution, expanding their collaboration in satellite data services. (https://satnews.com/2026/04/08/e-geos-and-veng-strengthen-global-partnership-for-saocom-satellite-data-distribution/) EnduroSat — Sofia, Bulgaria [PARTNERSHIP] • Apr 8 — EnduroSat and Shield Space announced Project Nexus, planning an inspection cubesat demonstration as the first step toward an orbital defense mothership capability. (https://spacenews.com/inspection-cubesat-demo-planned-as-first-step-toward-orbital-defense-mothership/) LAUNCH ACTIVITY & MISSION MILESTONES ------------------------------------ NASA — Washington, DC [LAUNCH] • Apr 8 — Artemis 2 science activities began as the Orion spacecraft started its return trip to Earth following a successful lunar flyby. The crew, having traveled farther from Earth than any humans in over 50 years, completed a historic loop around the Moon on April 6-7, capturing stunning images and conducting scientific observations. (https://spacenews.com/artemis-2-science-gets-underway-as-orion-begins-its-return-trip/) Boeing — Arlington, VA [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 7 — A new Boeing-built satellite has been successfully delivered to its launch site as of April 7, 2026, marking progress in the company's satellite manufacturing operations. (https://satnews.com/2026/04/07/new-boeing-satellite-spacecraft-delivered/) INDUSTRY CONTEXT ---------------- Industry-Wide — N/A [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 8 — Space security moved to the forefront as threats to satellites spread, with industry leaders emphasizing the need for enhanced protection and resilience measures across orbital assets. (https://spacenews.com/space-security-moves-to-forefront-as-threats-to-satellites-spread/) • Apr 8 — Industry navigates NASA's start-and-stop approach to commercial space stations, with companies like Blue Origin's Orbital Reef facing funding uncertainty and programmatic delays. (https://spacenews.com/industry-navigates-nasas-start-and-stop-approach-to-commercial-space-stations/) • Apr 8 — NASA budget battle preparations underway as advocates mobilize for the next round of science funding debates, following previous cuts that threatened missions like Chandra X-ray Observatory. (https://spacenews.com/preparing-for-the-next-nasa-budget-battle/) • Apr 7 — Space sector experts unanimously agree that space already functions as critical infrastructure in practice, despite not being officially designated as the United States' 17th critical infrastructure sector. (https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2026/04/07/its-unanimous-space-already-functions-as-critical-infrastructure/) • Apr 7 — European defense capabilities under scrutiny amid concerns about whether Europe is moving fast enough to close its space defense gaps as Russia builds up military powers. (https://www.satellitetoday.com/government-military/2026/04/07/is-europe-moving-fast-enough-to-close-its-space-defense-gaps/) ADDITIONAL UPDATES ------------------ LeoLabs — Menlo Park, CA [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 8 — LeoLabs debuted DELTA, a new space monitoring platform tool designed specifically for military users, featuring advanced dashboards for tracking satellite maneuvers and space domain awareness. (https://spacenews.com/leolabs-debuts-space-monitoring-tool-for-military-users/) Planet — San Francisco, CA [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 7 — Planet performed AI-driven object detection directly onboard its Pelican-4 satellite using an onboard NVIDIA Jetson Orin module, marking a significant milestone in on-orbit AI processing capabilities. (https://www.satellitetoday.com/imagery-and-sensing/2026/04/07/planet-details-ai-driven-object-detection-onboard-pelican-4-satellite/) Redwire — Jacksonville, FL [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 8 — Redwire expanded its European footprint by opening a new UK office to support Ministry of Defense programs, strengthening its international defense and space infrastructure capabilities. (https://spacewatch.global/2026/04/redwire-expands-european-footprint-with-new-uk-office-to-support-ministry-of-defense-programs/) Astroscale — Tokyo, Japan [OPS UPDATE] • Apr 7 — Astroscale announced plans for a world-first multi-orbit satellite inspection mission, expanding its capabilities in on-orbit servicing and space debris management. (https://satnews.com/2026/04/07/astroscale-plans-world-first-multi-orbit-satellite-inspection-mission/) ============================================================ Generated by space.haus · AI-curated from 50+ industry sources. Verify before making business decisions.