SPACE.HAUS — WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING Monday, May 18, 2026 ============================================================ Sources scanned: 50 Companies with news: 13 Funding activity: $5.27B+ Top story: Anduril raises $5B Series H round Canonical: https://space.haus/briefings/2026-05-18.html Interactive: https://space.haus/briefing/2026-05-18 FUNDING ROUNDS & INVESTMENT ACTIVITY ------------------------------------ Tomorrow.io — Boston, MA [FUNDING] • May 18 — Weather intelligence provider Tomorrow.io added $35 million to its DeepSky funding round, bringing the total to $210 million to accelerate development of a next-generation constellation for gathering atmospheric data. (https://spacenews.com/tomorrow-io-adds-35-million-to-deepsky-funding-round/) Zenk Space — China [FUNDING, LAUNCH] • May 18 — Chinese launch startup Zenk Space secured 180 million yuan (~$26 million) ahead of the planned June debut of its Zhihang-1 kerolox rocket, the company's first orbital launch attempt. (https://spacenews.com/zenk-space-raises-26-million-targets-june-debut-launch/) Anduril — Costa Mesa, CA [FUNDING] • May 18 — Defense technology company Anduril announced a $5 billion Series H funding round as it scales to meet the demands of evolving modern warfare. The round supports expansion of autonomous systems and defense capabilities. (https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/anduril-announces-5b-series-h-raise-as-it-scales-to-meet-the-demands-of-evolving-modern-warfare/) CONTRACTS, AWARDS & GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY --------------------------------------- U.S. Space Force / TraCSS Program — Washington, DC [CONTRACT] • May 18 — A House appropriations bill would reverse plans by the administration to stop development of TraCSS, a civil space traffic management system, restoring funding for the program. (https://spacenews.com/house-bill-restores-funding-for-tracss/) BAE Systems / Anduril UK — United Kingdom [CONTRACT] • May 18 — The British Army selected four companies including BAE Systems and Anduril UK to develop autonomous loyal wingman drones for its Apache fleet under the £10 million Project NYX programme. (https://orbitaltoday.com/2026/05/18/four-british-firms-just-won-contracts-to-build-the-armys-first-apache-wingman-drones/) Lockheed Martin — Bethesda, MD [CONTRACT] • May 18 — The U.S. government announced on April 21 that Lockheed Martin will design and deliver a new containerized launcher for the upcoming extended PAC-3 MSE missiles, including a containerized control module providing 360-degree guidance with three working examples to be produced. (https://orbitaltoday.com/2026/05/18/lockheed-martin-to-design-deliver-pac-3-mse-launcher-to-u-s/) MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS ------------------------------------ U-Space — N/A [PARTNERSHIP] • May 18 — U-Space selected Skynopy to support multiple missions, expanding its operational capabilities through this strategic partnership. (https://payloadspace.com/u-space-selects-skynopy-to-support-multiple-missions/) Rooverse — N/A [PARTNERSHIP] • May 18 — Rooverse and Lonestar announced a partnership to protect authentic human data in space, combining their capabilities in data verification and lunar data storage. (https://spacewatch.global/2026/05/rooverse-and-lonestar-are-partnering-to-protect-authentic-human-data-in-space/) LAUNCH ACTIVITY & MISSION MILESTONES ------------------------------------ SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA [LAUNCH] • May 17 — A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft successfully delivered 6,500 pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station on Sunday, May 17, 2026. (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/international-space-station/spacex-dragon-capsule-delivers-science-and-supplies-to-space-station) NASA — Washington, DC [OPS UPDATE] • May 17 — NASA is deep into processing and planning for Artemis III, a pivotal crewed mission, with a key Human Landing System (HLS) test in development. The mission represents a critical milestone in returning humans to the Moon. (https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/artemis-iii-processing-planning-hls/) INDUSTRY CONTEXT ---------------- Commercial Space Federation — Washington, DC [OPS UPDATE] • May 18 — A new CSF report projects up to 7,000+ satellites will be launched annually by the mid-2030s, highlighting significant challenges with U.S. launch infrastructure capacity to support this growth. (https://spacenews.com/new-csf-report-sees-up-to-7000-satellites-launched-annually-by-mid-2030s-highlights-the-challenges-with-us-launch-infrastructure/) SpaceX / Starlink — Hawthorne, CA [OPS UPDATE] • May 18 — Scientists warn that SpaceX Starlink and other satellite megaconstellations are creating an 'unregulated geoengineering experiment,' with concerns that high-altitude air pollution from millions of planned satellites could alter Earth's climate. (https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/spacex-starlink-and-other-satellite-megaconstellations-are-creating-an-unregulated-geoengineering-experiment-scientists-say) ADDITIONAL UPDATES ------------------ Potomac Database Systems — N/A [OPS UPDATE] • May 18 — Potomac Database Systems unveiled plans to amass lunar data through its Source platform, positioning the company to support future lunar exploration and commercial activities. (https://payloadspace.com/potomac-database-systems-unveils-plans-to-amass-lunar-data/) SpaceX / Starlink — Hawthorne, CA [OPS UPDATE] • May 17 — Uganda officially granted SpaceX Starlink a license to operate within the country after previously blocking its services, expanding Starlink's footprint in East Africa. (https://orbitaltoday.com/2026/05/18/spacex-starlink-gets-licence-to-operate-in-uganda/) ============================================================ Generated by space.haus · AI-curated from 50+ industry sources. 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