SPACE.HAUS · WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING

Space Industry Weekly Briefing — Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Weekly intelligence briefing for the commercial space industry, week ending Wednesday, May 13, 2026. 18 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: 17
Funding activity: $342M+
Top story: Golden Dome estimated at $1.2 trillion

Funding Rounds & Investment Activity

Cowboy Space — N/A

FUNDING

May 12 — Cowboy Space (formerly another name) raised $275 million in Series B funding to develop and operate AI data centers in orbit, which will be launched on a proprietary rocket the company is developing in-house. Source

Star Catcher — N/A

FUNDING

May 12 — Star Catcher, led by former Made in Space and Redwire executive Andrew Rush, raised $65 million in Series A funding to build an in-orbit power grid infrastructure. Source

Contracts, Awards & Government Activity

TrustPoint — N/A

CONTRACT

May 12 — Space Force awarded TrustPoint $4 million in Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract via SpaceWERX to fund buildout of four satellites and four ground stations for a full end-to-end demonstration of its C-band LEO navigation system as a GPS alternative. Source

SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA

CONTRACT

May 12 — The FCC approved SpaceX's acquisition of EchoStar spectrum to improve direct-to-device services in the United States, subject to a $2.4 billion escrow condition tied to disputes over the seller's abandoned terrestrial 5G network buildout. Source

National Reconnaissance Office — Chantilly, VA

LAUNCH

May 13 — The NRO launched its thirteenth Proliferated Architecture mission, NROL-172, continuing expansion of its distributed satellite architecture. Source

Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships

Varda Space Industries — El Segundo, CA

PARTNERSHIP

May 13 — Varda signed its first major pharmaceutical partnership with United Therapeutics to develop improved drugs in microgravity, marking a significant commercial milestone for the in-space manufacturing company. Source

Exobiosphere — N/A

PARTNERSHIP

May 13 — Exobiosphere partnered with Voyager Space on an ISS mission to advance space-based research and technology demonstration capabilities. Source

Google — Mountain View, CA

PARTNERSHIP

May 12 — Google is reportedly in talks with SpaceX to build data centers in orbit, exploring space as a future home for AI compute infrastructure despite current costs being far higher than ground-based facilities. Source

Sateliot — Spain

PARTNERSHIP

May 13 — Sateliot and Turkcell demonstrated standard 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) IoT connectivity by satellite for the first time in Türkiye, advancing satellite-cellular convergence. Source

Launch Activity & Mission Milestones

SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA

LAUNCH

May 13 — SpaceX set May 19 as the target date for the debut launch of Starship Version 3 from Launch Pad 2, a critical milestone for the company's ambitions and NASA's Artemis 3 lunar mission planned for 2027. The mission will test significant vehicle and infrastructure upgrades. Source
May 12 — SpaceX's Dragon CRS-34 resupply mission to the ISS, carrying 6,500 pounds of cargo, was delayed 24 hours with launch now targeted for May 13. Source

LEAP — N/A

LAUNCH

May 13 — LEAP successfully conducted the first launch of its rocket, marking a debut milestone for the emerging launch provider. Source

NASA — Washington, DC

LAUNCH

May 12 — NASA's Psyche asteroid probe is scheduled to fly within 3,000 miles of Mars on May 15 for a gravity assist maneuver to boost its trajectory toward the metal-rich asteroid. Source

Industry Context

U.S. Government / Golden Dome Program — Washington, DC

CONTRACT

May 12 — The Congressional Budget Office estimated the cost of President Trump's Golden Dome missile defense system at $1.2 trillion over 20 years, with space-based interceptors accounting for the majority of costs. Source

SES — Luxembourg

OPS UPDATE

May 13 — SES canceled two GEO expansion satellites originally ordered by Intelsat before its acquisition, joining Eutelsat in pulling back from GEO expansion plans in favor of network business growth. The company also reported struggles with O3b mPower insurance claims. Source

Eutelsat — Paris, France

OPS UPDATE

May 13 — Eutelsat reported revenue from OneWeb up 65% in Q1, with government business growing 11.8% driven by both GEO and LEO capacity. Negotiations on the Iris2 constellation cost, schedule, and performance require 'a few more weeks,' according to SES and Eutelsat. Source

AST SpaceMobile — Midland, TX

OPS UPDATE

May 12 — CEO Abel Avellan confirmed AST SpaceMobile still expects to have 45 BlueBird satellites in orbit by year-end despite a recent Blue Origin launch failure affecting deployment schedule. Source

FCC — Washington, DC

OPS UPDATE

May 12 — On May 1, 2026, the FCC approved landmark spectrum sharing and direct-to-device regulatory frameworks, enabling expanded satellite-cellular integration and spectrum efficiency across the industry. Source

Additional Updates

Quantum Space — Tulsa, OK

OPS UPDATE

May 12 — Quantum Space announced it will build its highly maneuverable spacecraft in Tulsa, Oklahoma, home to the company's new chief executive. Source