https://spacenews.com/nasa-selects-proposals-for-new-line-of-earth-science-missions/QuoteWASHINGTON — NASA has picked four Earth science mission proposals for further study while separately selecting a smaller Earth science technology demonstration mission for development....NASA is separately moving forward on a smaller Earth science technology demonstration mission. The agency has selected the Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test In Space (GRATTIS) mission, led by the University of Florida, for development and launch. The $12 million mission will test a new sensor proposed for use on future missions to measure the Earth’s gravitational field.“Our technology will provide vital insights into the movement of water and ice across the planet,” John Conklin, principal investigator of GRATTIS at the University of Florida, in a statement. “This data is essential for monitoring droughts, assessing groundwater reserves, and understanding the impact of melting ice sheets on sea levels.”GRATTIS will use an Aries spacecraft bus provided by Apex Space and will launch on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission no earlier than October 2026.
WASHINGTON — NASA has picked four Earth science mission proposals for further study while separately selecting a smaller Earth science technology demonstration mission for development....NASA is separately moving forward on a smaller Earth science technology demonstration mission. The agency has selected the Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test In Space (GRATTIS) mission, led by the University of Florida, for development and launch. The $12 million mission will test a new sensor proposed for use on future missions to measure the Earth’s gravitational field.“Our technology will provide vital insights into the movement of water and ice across the planet,” John Conklin, principal investigator of GRATTIS at the University of Florida, in a statement. “This data is essential for monitoring droughts, assessing groundwater reserves, and understanding the impact of melting ice sheets on sea levels.”GRATTIS will use an Aries spacecraft bus provided by Apex Space and will launch on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission no earlier than October 2026.
Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9Launch Date: October 2026Orbital Altitude: 550 kmOrbital Inclination: 97°Mission Duration: 60 monthsOrbital Life: 5 years
The Veery constellation aims to provide extremely low cost monitoring of global ocean winds, soil moisture and sea ice with high spatial and temporal resolution. This will be achieved through a constellation of 50 cubesats operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), each equipped with a scatterometer - a surface-sensing radar. There are also two supplementary missions in the constellation, Veery-0F, which will demonstrate measurements of ocean surface wind speed and test deployable solar arrays, and Veery-1A, which is planned to be Care Weather’s first fully featured weather satellite system.
In addition, GITAI is preparing for an in-orbit service demonstration. The company plans to launch a 500 kg-class satellite in October of 2026 along with a target satellite to demonstrate proximity operations, docking, and life extension tasks. Nakanose said GITAI has already secured funding for the mission and a launch contract with SpaceX.
A pleasant visit from our customers at SuperSharp, a SATLANTIS company, this week. We're building an MP42 microsatellite bus for their unfolding 3m-resolution Thermal InfraRed (TIR) telescope, HIBISCUS
Exolaunch today announced a new multi-launch agreement (MLA) with South Korean satellite manufacturer Nara Space. The agreement, which spans from 2025 through 2028, solidifies a partnership to deploy several 12U and 16U satellites in orbit during SpaceX rideshare missions, with options to launch additional satellites ranging from 3U to 16U in size across the contract term. [...]Under this new agreement, Exolaunch will support the deployment of Nara Space's expanding satellite programs and customer missions, including the Observer and Narsha series. Following the launch of Observer-1B, Narsha, a methane-monitoring satellite, is scheduled for deployment in 2026 as the first step toward a full-scale global constellation.
The NarSha project, which will include the K3M demonstration microsatellite, aims to build a constellation of at least a dozen satellites for a global infrastructure for monitoring point sources of methane in near real time and with spatial resolution at the local level. The project consortium includes: Nara Space Technology (the leader), Seoul National University and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute. Funding has already been secured for the project, and a demonstration satellite is scheduled for launch in the fourth quarter of 2026.The K3M microsatellite will be equipped with an optical instrument for detecting methane plumes in the visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) bands. The spectral resolution of the imaging instrument is expected to be as low as less than 1 nanometer, and the minimum spatial resolution (GSD) at an altitude of 500 km is 30 meters. The mass of the satellite will be a minimum of 32 kg, and the size is 16U, which means it will consist of 16 cubes measuring 10 cm x 10 cm x 11.35 cm.
GRATTIS will use an Aries spacecraft bus provided by Apex Space and will launch on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare mission no earlier than October 2026.
The UF-led team will integrate the flight payload into a single thermal/mechanical enclosure and perform ground testing to the extent possible. Apex Space will provide the Aries microsatellite bus and launch services via a SpaceX F9 Transporter mission planned for Q1 2027. This presentation will describe the S-GRS technology development and planned GRATTIS demonstration mission.
It will be launched into orbit at an altitude of about 500 kilometers above Earth by a Falcon 9 rocket. It will then be operational for several years.
On board the experimental satellite BRNOsat, which has recently begun construction, there will be an ultraviolet telescope, material experiments, but also various "pastimes". The satellite will go into space in the second half of 2026 and will be full of truly Brno surprises.[...]"For example, an ultraviolet telescope with an innovative UV camera LUVCam-2," describes the contribution of staff and students of the Faculty of Science of Masaryk University, astrophysicist Norbert Werner. "LUVCam-2 will record wide-angle images of the sky and observe exceptionally bright, very massive and short-lived stars. In fact, it will be the first space telescope that can not only observe such fixed stars in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, but also study their evolution."
Portal Space Systems today introduced Starburst, an ESPA-class rapid-maneuverability spacecraft, and confirmed Starburst-1 will launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 in Q4 2026 for the company’s first free-flying mission with live payloads. The mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), rapid retasking, and rapid orbital change for national security and commercial use cases.Starburst is built to bring maneuverability to proliferated space architectures, giving operators a maneuverable bus that can be delivered to an orbit of interest and maneuver rapidly within LEO, MEO, or GEO. It is being developed in sync with Portal’s trans-orbital vehicle, Supernova, which is designed for cross-domain transitions from LEO to cislunar and a 6 km/s-class maneuverability profile. The two platforms share many core subsystems and manufacturing processes, including Supernova's high performance RCS thrusters which will serve as the main translational propulsion for the Starburst vehicle. The shared architectures mean the 2026 mission will demonstrate the Starburst product while simultaneously validating key systems for Supernova. Starburst will be available for customer missions in 2027.“Our strategy is to deliver what customers need now and accelerate what they’ll need next,” said Jeff Thornburg, CEO of Portal Space Systems. “Starburst gives operators a maneuverable bus that supports proliferated architectures in the orbit that matters to them. Supernova brings the trans-orbital reach. Flying Starburst-1 in 2026 lets us field capability quickly and advance the shared systems that raise confidence for Supernova’s 2027 debut.”Starburst-1 will fly to sun-synchronous orbit for a one-year primary mission. Targeted maneuverability is 1 km/sof total delta-v and will host two payload partners onboard. TRL11 will provide full-motion video with onboard edge processing to enable mission assurance through real-time health monitoring while capturing visuals for documenting mission outcomes. Zenno will demonstrate superconducting magnet technology for fuel-free control authority and precision interactions during close operations, using the world’s most powerful magnetic actuator ever built and flown to space.“Zenno is building next-gen hardware for maneuverability in space, leveraging solar energy and Earth’s magnetic field to drive real impact,” said Max Arshavsky, Founder and CEO at Zenno. “Portal’s Starburst platform embodies that vision, and we’re proud to provide its debut flight with our Supertorquer - the world’s most powerful magnetic actuator ever flown.”Together, these payloads highlight how on-orbit maneuverability converts sensing into decision speed for defense and commercial use cases.Mission highlightsLaunch: Starburst-1 → SpaceX Transporter-18, Q4 2026, sun-synchronous orbitSpacecraft: ESPA-class free-flying product with end-to-end ops and ground segmentDemonstrations: RPO, rapid retasking, rapid orbital changeDuration: one yearPayload partners: TRL11 (video and edge processing) and Zenno (superconducting magnet control)Targeted maneuverability: >1km/s of delta-vProgram cadence: Supernova debut mission in 2027; Starburst customer missions in 2027
Next year’s orbital demonstration will involve putting an instrument package known as Mini-Nova, which is about the size of a tissue box, on a satellite platform that’s due for launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission. The demonstration is meant to validate Supernova’s system design.In late 2026, Portal plans to send up a free-flying spacecraft called Starburst, which will be equipped with thrusters powered by an electrothermal heating system. Starburst won’t be as powerful as Supernova, but it will provide Portal’s customers with an early option for rapid maneuverability in orbit. If next year’s test goes well, Starburst is expected to start taking on customer missions in 2027.
Atomic-6’s Space Armor tile system will fly to space for the first time in October on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission, with the goal of protecting its first paying customer: Portal Space Systems’ Starburst-1 satellite.
PRESET aims to measure the pitch angle density of electrons within the Van Allen Belts to improve understanding of how electron’s are removed from the Van Allen Belts and what effects the electrons have on the upper atmosphere.
The next major mission milestone is the Test Readiness Review (TRR), currently scheduled for February 2026. By then, 90% of the satellite’s development is expected to be complete. In the meantime, MIST members will be focused on integrating CSA feedback, resolving design inefficiencies, and preparing for the testing phase of the mission.
Planning a launch in Oct 2026 into an 560x480km SSO. No launch has been defined.
There is a stronger emphasis this quarter on recurring revenue, defense and commercial customer expansion, and further product launches, particularly the late 2026 planned launches for LizzieSat-4 and LizzieSat-5.
Mission: TrinityLaunch Window: 10/01/2026 - 02/01/2027Vehicle: Falcon 9
[26:00] "General Galactic will be on orbit in 2026." "It's a demonstration of manoeuvrability that we think will garner a lot of attention from the folks that know what they're looking at. There's a whole sub community in the space world that tracks orbital objects and what they're doing. So we're really putting on a show for them."
Rogue Space Systems Corporation today announced the addition of its Orbital Test Platform 2B (OTP-2B) mission to the October 2026 launch schedule. This new mission expands the company’s efforts to meet the increasing demand for edge computing, connectivity, and “neighborhood awareness” needed for the next generation systems of highly maneuverable commercial and military space activities. With this additional launch, Rogue is accelerating the technology development on its dual RPOD capable satellite launch planned for Oct 2027, creating a third iteration and more heritage for its Spacecraft Compute Platform in combination with its SAMRIC™ technology. Additionally, Rogue is creating more opportunities for companies to accelerate their growth, this time for Mission Space and their radiation sensor as well as providing hosted software testing for commercial and government customers. These technologies represent key milestones in the development of space-based data centers, on-orbit edge compute, space domain awareness, and enhanced space traffic coordination. [...]“This mission is the third on-orbit compute platform that Rogue has launched, while others are talking about data centers in space and enhanced SDA, we are executing,” said Brook Leonard, CEO, Rogue Space Systems, “We’re turning cutting-edge ideas into proven capabilities that will reshape how we go to and operate in space, and most importantly enable commercial and government organizations to iterate at the speed necessary to capture markets and dominate missions.”
Rogue’s OTP-2B is a Gen 3 Scalable Compute, SDA & KA transceiver equipped Orbital Micro Data Center that serves as an in space validation testbed, complementing your ground labs and accelerating your path to in space data center operations.LaunchNET October 2026 (T-18)VehicleFalcon 9Orbit500-600km, SSO, 97.5°Volume 8UMass16 kg
