SPACE.HAUS · WEEKLY INTEL BRIEFING

Space Industry Weekly Briefing — Friday, May 29, 2026

Weekly intelligence briefing for the commercial space industry, week ending Friday, May 29, 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: $90M+
Top story: Blue Origin New Glenn explodes during test

Funding Rounds & Investment Activity

Observable Space — N/A

FUNDING CONTRACT

May 28 — Observable Space raised $90 million in Series A funding and secured a Space Force contract for optical space domain awareness systems. The company develops ground-based telescope networks for tracking objects in orbit. Source

Contracts, Awards & Government Activity

Observable Space — N/A

CONTRACT FUNDING

May 28 — Observable Space raised $90 million in Series A funding and secured a Space Force contract for optical space domain awareness systems. The company develops ground-based telescope networks for tracking objects in orbit. Source

Hermeus — N/A

CONTRACT

May 29 — The U.S. Defense Innovation Unit increased funding for the Quarterhorse supersonic drone by $159 million, raising the total potential contract value to $219 million. The funding will support high-speed payload delivery and release capabilities. Source

BlackSky Technology — N/A

CONTRACT

May 28 — BlackSky Technology received a 7-figure contract renewal focused on non-Earth imagery services, capturing imagery of other objects in orbit rather than terrestrial targets. Source

BAE Systems — N/A

CONTRACT

May 29 — BAE Systems won a $20 million U.S. Army contract to deploy the ROOK soft-kill countermeasure system on ground vehicles for active protection. Source

Dell — N/A

CONTRACT

May 29 — Pentagon awarded Dell a 5-year blanket purchase agreement worth up to $9.7 billion to consolidate Microsoft 365 licenses across the Department of Defense. Source

Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships

Revolv Space — N/A

M&A

May 28 — Revolv Space entered the in-orbit servicing market through an acquisition deal with Infinite Orbits, expanding its portfolio beyond solar array drive assemblies (SADAs) into orbital services. Source

Bellatrix — N/A

PARTNERSHIP

May 29 — Bellatrix and TelePIX announced plans for a 2028 air-breathing very-low-Earth-orbit (VLEO) imaging demonstration mission, combining propulsion and imaging technologies. Source

Space Solar — United Kingdom

PARTNERSHIP

May 27 — UK-based Space Solar signed a Letter of Intent with U.S. data-in-space pioneer Lonestar to explore opportunities in orbital data storage missions, investments, and joint ventures. Source

Viasat — N/A

PARTNERSHIP

May 28 — Viasat selected Atos to modernize its global digital workplace operations, consolidating IT services across the company's international footprint. Source

Launch Activity & Mission Milestones

Blue Origin — Kent, WA

LAUNCH

May 29 — Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at approximately 9 PM EDT. All personnel were accounted for following the anomaly. The explosion is a major setback for NASA's Moon plans and Amazon's Leo satellite constellation, with a launch previously scheduled for June 4. Source

SpaceX — Hawthorne, CA

LAUNCH

May 29 — SpaceX launched 29 Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 8:57 AM EDT. This was the 49th Starlink-dedicated mission in 2026. Source

Industry Context

U.S. Space Force — N/A

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — The U.S. Space Force announced plans to establish a nationwide network of 'resilient operations centers' to enhance continuity and redundancy for space operations amid growing threats to space assets. Source

European Space Agency — N/A

OPS UPDATE

May 20 — ESA greenlit two budget-friendly Earth observation Scout missions: HiBiDiS (led by SITAEL) and SOVA-S (led by OHB Czechspace). Each mission must progress from approval to launch within three years with costs capped at €35 million. Source

European Union — N/A

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — The European Union opened a tender seeking proposals for innovative and cost-effective user terminal technologies for the IRIS² constellation, targeting next-generation ground equipment development. Source

Additional Updates

Virgin Media O2 — United Kingdom

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — Virgin Media O2's direct-to-device service O2 Satellite now supports iPhones. The service uses SpaceX's Starlink Mobile constellation and went live earlier this year for select Android devices. Source

Swissto12 — Switzerland

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — Swissto12 expanded its leadership team with a new chief commercial officer (CCO) and executives focused on government affairs and partnerships to support global growth initiatives. Source

OmniAccess — N/A

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — OmniAccess launched a unified multi-orbit maritime connectivity service, integrating GEO, MEO, and LEO networks to provide seamless broadband for maritime customers. Source

NewSpace Systems — South Africa

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — NewSpace Systems announced European expansion with a new subsidiary in the Netherlands, marking the company's first dedicated European presence for satellite components and systems. Source

NASA — Washington, DC

OPS UPDATE

May 28 — NASA reported that astronauts aboard the ISS are working on InSPA-StemCellEX-H2, a project to produce large quantities of blood stem cells at a scale suitable for pharmaceutical and clinical use on Earth. Source