SPACE.HAUS · WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING

Space Industry Weekly Briefing — Thursday, May 14, 2026

Weekly intelligence briefing for the commercial space industry, week ending Thursday, May 14, 2026. 21 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
19
Funding activity
$5B+
Top story
Anduril raises $5B at $61B valuation

Funding Rounds & Investment Activity

Anduril Industries — Costa Mesa, CA

FUNDING

  • — 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. Source

Contracts, Awards & Government Activity

NASA — Washington, DC

CONTRACT

  • — 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. Source

Rocket Lab — Long Beach, CA

CONTRACT

  • — Rocket Lab won a $30 million contract from Anduril Industries for the HASTE hypersonic rocket launches program. Source

Gilat Satellite Networks — Petah Tikva, Israel

CONTRACT

  • — Gilat Satellite Networks announced multiple large military contracts and expanded its footprint in India, strengthening its defense and government business. Source

Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships

SpinLaunch — Long Beach, CA

PARTNERSHIP

  • — 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. Source

Neo Space Group — N/A

PARTNERSHIP

  • — Neo Space Group selected ThinKom's ThinAir Ka2517 multi-orbit phased array antenna for installation across narrow-body aircraft fleets on multiple airlines. Source

ispace — Tokyo, Japan

PARTNERSHIP

  • — ispace signed a payload service agreement with the University of Leicester for a Lunar Raman Spectrometer mission, expanding its commercial lunar payload business. Source

Exobiosphere — N/A

PARTNERSHIP

  • — Exobiosphere announced collaboration with Voyager to launch OHTS, an automated drug screening mission in orbit, advancing pharmaceutical research in microgravity. Source

Launch Activity & Mission Milestones

AST SpaceMobile — Midland, TX

LAUNCH

  • — 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. Source

Landspace — Beijing, China

LAUNCH

  • — 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. Source

NASA (Artemis Program) — Washington, DC

LAUNCH

  • — 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. Source

SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA

LAUNCH OPS UPDATE

  • — 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. Source

Firefly Aerospace — Cedar Park, TX

LAUNCH

  • — 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. Source

Industry Context

Satellite Industry Association — Washington, DC

OPS UPDATE

  • — 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. Source

Eutelsat — Paris, France

OPS UPDATE

  • — 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. Source

SES — Luxembourg

OPS UPDATE

  • — SES extended its IRIS² review period as the European constellation consortium reached an initial project milestone during its first-quarter 2026 earnings call. Source

Additional Updates

Blue Origin — Kent, WA

OPS UPDATE

  • — 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. Source

Northrop Grumman — Falls Church, VA

OPS UPDATE

  • — 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. Source

iDirect Government — Herndon, VA

OPS UPDATE

  • — iDirect Government launched the 450 Rackmount software-defined modem for multi-orbit defense applications, expanding its military satellite communications portfolio. Source

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — Tokyo, Japan

OPS UPDATE

  • — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries successfully tested its AIRIS onboard AI system in orbit, demonstrating real-time ship detection directly from a satellite without ground processing. Source

Cerebras Systems — Sunnyvale, CA

FUNDING

  • — 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. Source