Space News for Saturday, June 20, 2026

MDA Space to buy Blue Canyon Technologies to gain foothold in U.S. market

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 16:03

MDA Space has agreed to buy Blue Canyon Technologies for $620 million in an all‑cash deal. The transaction, pending CFIUS approval, is expected to close by year‑end. BCT, a Colorado‑based smallsat maker with 400 employees, is projected to generate $160 million in revenue in 2026 and supplies about 75 percent of its sales to U.S. Defense customers. The acquisition gives MDA a strategic foothold in the U.S. Defense market and fits its plan to grow through vertical integration and geographic expansion.

ElevationSpace Secures US $40 Million in Series B Funding, Bringing Total Raised to US $63.5 Million

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 14:52

ElevationSpace Inc., led by CEO Ryohei Kobayashi, has closed a $40 million Series B round, bringing its total capital raised to $63.5 million. The company is developing space‑to‑earth transportation and a platform for utilizing and recovering space environment assets. The new funding will accelerate the development of its launch‑vehicle technology and supporting infrastructure. This injection of capital signals strong investor confidence in reusable space‑transport solutions.

Northrop Grumman says industry ready to scale solid rocket production, with longer contracts

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 14:00

The Pentagon has warned that shortages of solid rocket motors could limit plans to boost missile production, even as the defense department gears up for a sharp increase in procurement. Northrop Grumman, one of only two major U.S. Producers of these motors, says it has the capacity to expand but needs longer‑term, multiyear purchase commitments to justify costly supply‑chain investments. The company has already poured more than $2 billion into its munitions and rocket‑motor businesses, yet annual appropriations and program‑specific contracts leave suppliers uncertain about sustained demand. By providing clearer, multi‑year demand signals, the government could unlock the industry’s full production potential and secure a reliable missile‑motor supply chain.

The MEO durability crisis: why LEO hardware will fail the new orbital economy

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 13:00

Space companies are racing into medium and geosynchronous orbits, but the hardware designed for low Earth orbit is ill‑equipped for the harsher radiation belts and long‑term missions. LEO components lack the radiation shielding and structural fatigue resistance needed for multi‑year servicing vehicles, leading to a growing durability crisis. The culprit is the epoxy resin that binds carbon‑fiber composites; in MEO it breaks down under high‑energy radiation and outgasses, contaminating optics and weakening pressure vessels. Without a radical rethink of material durability, the next decade of orbital infrastructure could degrade before it matures.

SpaceX launches intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-18 13:13

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg’s SLC‑4E on June 19 to launch the NROL‑179 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office. The booster, tail number B1103, returned to Landing Zone 4 in California within eight minutes, marking SpaceX’s 626th successful landing. The mission deployed an undisclosed number of satellites—believed to be Starshield, a government variant of Starlink—into a proliferated low‑Earth orbit constellation. The NRO plans to field hundreds of small satellites to improve revisit rates, coverage, and resilience for its geospatial intelligence and future space‑data network.

Sovereign Resilience: Space Norway Unveils Multi-Orbit Satellite Backup Network for Civil and Enterprise Systems

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 18:15

State‑owned satellite operator Space Norway has launched a dedicated Emergency Preparedness system to protect critical infrastructure amid escalating weather extremes and regional security threats. The new platform will monitor satellite health, deliver real‑time alerts, and enable rapid response coordination for government and commercial users. By integrating advanced analytics and automated contingency protocols, Space Norway aims to reduce downtime and enhance resilience across Norway’s communication networks. The rollout marks a significant step in bolstering national security and emergency readiness.

'No one thought it was going to be possible.' A space telescope is falling out of space. This is NASA's daring plan to save it.

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 16:00

NASA’s Swift space telescope, which has been hunting gamma‑ray bursts for over 20 years, is on a slow descent that will likely see it burn up by the end of the year. To prevent that, the agency has commissioned Arizona firm Katalyst Space to build a robotic tug—dubbed Link—in just nine months, an unprecedented turnaround for a rescue mission. Link, equipped with thrusters and robotic arms, will launch on a Pegasus XL rocket on June 27 and rendezvous with Swift to lift it into a safer, higher orbit.

Menstruation in space will be studied for 1st time with 'Operation Period'

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 15:00

Operation Period, a Gen‑Z‑led nonprofit, is launching the world’s first scientific study of menstruation in microgravity aboard a Virgin Galactic suborbital flight scheduled for 2027. Co‑founders Manju Bangalore, a former NASA engineer, and Priya Abiram will conduct the research themselves, aiming to give astronauts—and all menstruators—better data and options for managing periods in space.

Annie Easley, a hero of NASA | Space photo of the day for June 19, 2026

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 14:00

Today on Juneteenth we honor NASA trailblazer Annie Easley, a pioneering black woman who began her career as a human computer in 1955 and later became a key programmer and equal‑employment officer. Easley's calculations helped build the Centaur upper‑stage rocket and paved the way for the 1997 Cassini mission to Saturn. Despite facing racial and gender bias—she was one of only four African Americans in a 2,500‑person workforce—she proved that talent knows no color. Her legacy reminds us that progress in space exploration thrives on diversity and perseverance.

Juicy new details emerge about an asteroid NASA's Lucy spacecraft flew by last year

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 10:00

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft made a close fly‑by of the bi‑lobed asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson, nicknamed “DJ,” in April 2025 as it heads toward Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. The tiny rock is a fragment of a much larger parent body that shattered in a colossal collision 155 million years ago, and its shape shows a classic contact‑binary structure.

Rocket Report: Rebuild begins at Blue Origin launch pad; Relativity targets Mars

Original Publication Date: 2026-06-19 13:36

SpaceX is eyeing a potential Flight 13 Starship test as early as next month, though Gwynne Shotwell cautions that more work remains and a launch is not guaranteed. The upcoming flight will mirror last month’s suborbital trajectory, ending in an Indian Ocean splashdown, while the company defers an orbital launch until at least Flight 14 after a critical engine restart failure.