We are cutting through the orbital debris for you. In other words, we’re keeping an eye on space news on the web so you don’t have to.
Here is our round-up of the most important, and interesting, space news stories of January (space orders can be found in another post):
Anomalies and failures
China’s Yutu-2 rover might have finally called it quits on the far side of the Moon — apparently it has not moved since March last year
Qantas passengers received an unexpected layover following reports of falling SpaceX rocket debris. Meanwhile, the FAA investigates the claims of delays caused by the incident
Human space
This NASA astronaut ‘stranded’ on the ISS took a stroll outside in open space seven months after she arrived at the outpost.
Trump asked SpaceX to conduct a rescue mission ASAP for both astronauts, whose return has been delayed by over six months, but NASA insisted that a plan was already in place. NASA said their journey home will take place “as soon as practical”.
Space Science
What looked like an asteroid to astronomers was actually Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster. Jokes aside, the incident draws attention to the problem of keeping track of more human-made objects and debris in space.
Sierra Space is working on extracting oxygen from lunar regolith.
Space Technology
You can spend the whole day gazing at 4K ultra-HD live streamed footage of the Earth here, courtesy of Sen.
Debris removal startup Kall Morris Inc. proved that it could capture an uncontrolled object in space through a test aboard the ISS. Its next milestone will be demonstrating the capability in-orbit from outside the station.
India pulled off a successful satellite docking in LEO, ticking off a major milestone — it is just the fourth country to pull off the technically complex feat.
China’s Shijian-25 satellite will practice refuelling in orbit.
China tested a high-altitude reusable rocket, but the results are mysterious.
Satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space and Spanish operator Hispasat will work together to develop a geostationary payload that uses quantum technology to distribute encryption keys.
Military Space
The Netherlands Ministry of Defence is getting serious about space intel, striking a €13.6M deal with Maxar to keep a sharper eye on the world from orbit.
It’s official: space is the new military hotspot, with a flurry of companies shifting to national security including Voyager Space which has rebranded as Voyager Technologies. Meanwhile Planet has brought in a former Space Force chief onto its board.
As it turns out, the cash being poured into defence is boosting government space budgets — global government spending in the sector reached a record US$135 billion in 2024, according to a report by Novaspace.
Right on cue, the US Space Force forecast spending around US$2.3 billion on contracts for commercial satellite services over the fiscal year 2025-2026.
Companies/Money:
A new, and rather bold, report predicts that Boeing and Airbus might exit the space sector in 2025 – guess it’s turbulence ahead for the industry.
The CEO of Sierra Space unexpectedly retired.
Two days after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Ligado Networks announced that it will be suing Inmarsat. As the company scrambles through bankruptcy, AST SpaceMobile swoops in for a spectrum deal — one company’s crisis is another’s golden opportunity, after all.
Interstellar Technologies and Toyota’s mobility technology arm, Woven by Toyota, have established a strategic partnership to help the Japanese start-up expand its rocket and satellite manufacturing.
Payload has worked out that there is a fair amount of unused capacity on dedicated customer Falcon 9 launches.
Starlab Space, a US led startup hoping to eventually replace the ISS, announced the opening of a new subsidiary that will be based in Germany.
US startup Rosotics is going through some changes, including moving away from selling its metal 3D printer, Halo, to building a fleet of orbital transfer vehicles instead.
Another step closer to lift-off — Rocket Factory Augsburg bagged its UK operator licence, meaning Scotland’s spaceport dreams are well on track.
The board of Thaicom, a geostationary satellite operator, made a shrewd move and asked shareholders to refuse a takeover bid by billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi.
Payload estimates that SpaceX’s revenue was approximately US$13.1B in 2024, up from US$8.7B in the previous year — check out the maths, and the disclaimers, here.
Fundraising:
Stoke Space raised US $260 million from a Series C round of investment to help it develop a fully reusable medium-lift rocket.
Satellite operator Loft Orbital found an additional US$170 million from its latest fundraising round to boost its manufacturing facilities.
AST SpaceMobile raised US$400 million via convertible notes for its BlueBird constellation.
Spaceports:
A satellite backlog is reducing launches at the busiest spaceport in the US.
Firefly Aerospace is dodging the launch queues in Florida and California by heading to Virginia and Sweden.
Meanwhile, the US and Norway have signed an agreement to enable the export of US space hardware (including satellites) to the Andøya spaceport.
The UK is revving up its space ambitions with a £20 million investment in Orbex, a UK launch company, to build and launch a rocket from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Shetland, Scotland.
Space Agencies:
ESA’s 2025 funds have taken a slight hit after Germany, Italy, and the UK trimmed their contributions.
Meanwhile, South Korea plans to splash more cash – 43% more, to be exact – on space R&D.
Finland’s officially on board with the US-led Artemis Accords.
NASA abruptly closed its diversity offices to conform to an executive order from the White House.
Meet Jared Isaacman, the billionaire astronaut nominated by Trump to lead NASA in an unusually early move.
China allowed a private company, namely STAR.VISION, to join its lunar ambitions — marking the first time ever that it has welcomed a commercial entity to participate in national-level Moon mission.
New US administration:
Trump’s second term kicked off with NASA leadership in limbo. Payload and SpaceNews looked at how his second term as US President was taking shape, and at what may lie ahead for primes.
Troy Meink, a space intelligence heavyweight, received the nod from Trump to take up the reins as secretary of the US Air Force.
Trump’s bid to purchase Greenland highlighted the key role of the Arctic to space security.
Slingshot in the news:
Slingshot Aerospace secured a US$1.9 million contract from the US Space Force to track electronic interference targeting GPS signals.
Sources include Cision, BBC, CNBC, msn.com, NASA, Orbitaltoday, Payload, phys.org, Politico, scmp.com and SpaceNews with links provided to each story.
