Putin says Russia keeps in close contact with Musk's SpaceX so their satellite networks stay out of each other's way

The rest of the day

15 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Air Force gets cargo back from Starfall

   The US Air Force got back cargo pods that flew to space in SpaceX's Starfall capsule. [5] Starfall launched on 20 October on Bandwagon-5, a SpaceX shared ride. [5] It splashed down in the Pacific, and the Air Force confirmed the recovery on 26 October. [5] The pods held medical kit, food rations and survival gear. [5] Sensors inside measured heat, shaking and shocks through launch, re-entry and splashdown. [5] Starfall is a disc 3.1 metres wide that can bring back up to 1,000 kg. [5]

   Why it matters — The Air Force is studying rockets that could rush supplies to troops anywhere on Earth. [5] It hopes such flights could one day carry tens of tons each, far more than Starfall. [5]

2. 03

   Vulcan rocket to fly again on 13 November

   United Launch Alliance says its Vulcan rocket will fly again on 13 November. [6] ULA, owned half by Boeing and half by Lockheed Martin, launches for the US military. [6] Vulcan has been grounded for 9 months after a booster nozzle failed in February. [7] The nozzle broke on a strap-on booster made by Northrop Grumman. [7] The return flight uses a redesigned nozzle and carries 40 satellites for Amazon Leo. [7] Amazon Leo is Amazon's satellite internet network, a possible rival to Starlink. [6] Amazon has booked 38 Vulcan launches to build it. [6]

   Why it matters — The Space Force wants data from these company flights before trusting Vulcan with military satellites again. [6] It moved six missions from Vulcan to SpaceX, and gave ULA six later ones instead. [6]

3. 04

   Spacewalk fits the station's seventh new solar panel

   Two astronauts were due to leave the space station at 12:00 UTC on Thursday. [8] NASA's Anil Menon and Canada's Joshua Kutryk were fitting a new solar panel. [8] It is the seventh of eight new roll-out panels being added since 2021. [8] The station's first eight solar wings were built to last 15 years. [8] They arrived between 2000 and 2009 and have lost power as they aged. [8] With all eight new panels, the station's power rises from 160 to about 215 kilowatts. [8] Kutryk will be the first Canadian to walk in space since 2019. [8]

   Why it matters — The extra power must last until the station is retired and brought down in 2030. [8] The eighth and last panel goes up on another spacewalk on 5 November. [8]

4. 05

   Canada pays for launch pads years ahead

   Canada's defence department will pay NordSpace C$20 million for ten years of launch pad access. [9] NordSpace is a young launch company with a spaceport in Newfoundland and Labrador. [9] Each mission costs extra and is paid for only when Canada orders it. [9] Canada also promised Maritime Launch Services C$200 million over ten years. [9] That money commits Canada to a pad at Maritime's spaceport in Nova Scotia. [9]

   Why it matters — Canada cannot launch astronauts itself, so its missions depend on NASA. [9] The deals come as Canada uses Kutryk's flight to push new space plans. [9]

5. 06

   Perseverance drills what may be one of Mars's oldest rocks

   NASA's Perseverance rover drilled a rock sample on Mars on 24 October. [10] It was the rover's first sample in more than a year. [10] Scientists say the sample, called Singita, may be among the oldest rocks on Mars's surface. [10] The rock was probably once about 1 km underground, until an impact threw it up. [10] It lies outside Jezero, a crater made by an impact about 3.9 billion years ago. [10] So Singita is likely at least that old, and maybe hundreds of millions of years older. [10]

   Why it matters — Its exact age can only be found if the sample is brought back to Earth. [10] The rover will stay in the area and try for two more samples. [10]

6. 07

   Virgin Galactic's new spaceplane gets a name and a home

   Virgin Galactic named its new spaceplane Apeiron on Wednesday, after a public vote. [11] People in 83 countries voted on the name. [11] A carrier plane called Eve then flew it from Arizona to Spaceport America in New Mexico. [23] The flight took 1.5 hours. [23] Engineers there will finish its software, then run test flights. [12] Virgin now expects Apeiron's first paid flight early in the second quarter of 2027. [12] That date slipped again this week, from February 2027. [22] About 675 people still hold tickets. [11] A seat that cost about $200,000 in 2014 now costs $850,000. [11]

   Why it matters — The US has gone 10 months without a space tourism flight. [12]

7. 08

   Space Force signs up six firms to watch the sky in a crisis

   The US Space Force signed its first deals to use companies' satellite-tracking networks in a crisis. [13] Six firms signed, including Anduril, LeoLabs and Slingshot Aerospace. [13] Two are from outside the US: EOS of Australia and NorthStar of Canada. [13] The six deals are worth $1.37 million in total. [13] The plan took 3 years of trial runs to set up. [13] NorthStar says it can scale up its tracking within hours when called. [13] The plan is often compared to US airlines that agree to lend planes to the military. [13]

   Why it matters — The Space Force wants extra eyes ready if a satellite suddenly breaks up or moves. [13] Similar deals are planned for satellite links and for launches. [13]

8. 09

   Start-up raises $20 million for satellites that build themselves

   Rendezvous Robotics, a start-up in Colorado, raised $20 million on Wednesday. [14] It makes tiles about one metre wide that join together in space to form a satellite. [14] The tiles use electromagnetic forces to pull and lock themselves together. [14] Many new satellites need solar panels and antennas too big to fit inside a rocket. [14] Its next test sends 32 tiles to the space station, no earlier than December. [14] In 2028 it plans to send 7 tiles into open space to build one satellite. [14]

   Why it matters — Tiles could also be swapped when a part breaks, instead of building a new satellite. [14]

9. 10

   UK firms team up to defend satellites

   Shield Space, a British start-up, launched a group of UK space companies on Wednesday. [15] The group wants to build a company-run force to defend British and NATO satellites. [15] Members include Goonhilly, Magdrive and Optera. [15] Project SPEAR, its first plan, would join members' kit into one system against threats. [15] The UK government has not yet approved SPEAR. [15] Its founders point to a Russian satellite that flew close to an ICEYE satellite this month. [15]

   Why it matters — Shield's chief says the group wants to show the government the companies already exist. [15]

10. 11

    Space investor opens an academy for start-ups

    Seraphim Space, a British investor in space start-ups, opened the Seraphim Academy on Thursday. [16] Each start-up gets up to a year of help and $150,000 of investment. [16] It replaces Seraphim's start-up programme, which ran from 2018 to 2025. [16] It plans to take up to 15 companies a year for the next ten years. [16] Seraphim has backed more than 150 companies, and 11 grew to be worth over $1 billion. [16]

    Why it matters — Its director says more investors now look at space, so a first pitch must be stronger. [16]

11. 12

    NASA and US farm department share satellite data

    NASA and the US Department of Agriculture signed a deal on Saturday to share satellite data. [17] The aim is better information for farmers about crops, droughts and disasters. [17] NASA's head Jared Isaacman and farm secretary Brooke Rollins signed it in Alabama. [17] It is NASA's second deal like this with another US department this month. [17] The first, with the US Department of Energy on 8 October, covers nuclear power in space. [17]

    Why it matters — Isaacman said joining NASA's data with the farm department's knowledge can improve what farmers are told. [17]

12. 13

    Comets probably did not bring life's chemicals

    Comets probably did not bring Earth the chemicals life started from, a new study says. [18] Researchers at Cambridge University published it in the journal Scientific Reports. [18] Comets carry hydrogen cyanide, a chemical that can build some of life's parts. [18] In 2014 Europe's Rosetta probe found glycine, a building block of proteins, on a comet. [18] But a comet hits Earth so fast that the heat destroys many of those molecules. [18] The team's models found the bombardment was too short to deliver enough. [18] Lead author Richard Anslow called the idea romantic but 'highly unlikely'. [18]

    Why it matters — The comet idea was never widely accepted, and this study makes it less likely. [18]

13. 14

    A spinning black hole might split in two

    Physicists say a black hole might split in two if it spins near top speed. [19] Scientists have long known that colliding black holes merge into a bigger one. [19] Splitting breaks a rule of heat physics, unless the black hole spins very fast. [19] The two pieces must also move apart instead of falling straight back together. [19] The study, by a team including Francesco Sannino in Naples, appeared on 22 October. [19]

    Why it matters — Sannino says tiny black holes from the early universe are most likely to split. [19] Gamma-ray telescopes such as Fermi could look for signs of such splits. [19]

14. 15

    Korean firm to test new solar cells in orbit

    Flexell Space, a Korean company, will test new solar cells on two small satellites. [20] Satoro, a company in Singapore, will build the satellites. [20] They are due to launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets in 2027 and 2028. [20] The cells are thin films, aimed at being cheap, large and very light. [20] Flexell has already flown cells twice on Korean rockets, in 2025 and October 2026. [20]

    Why it matters — The tests will check how the cells' power changes over time in orbit. [20]

15. 16

    Report sizes up a giant sunshade in space

    A new report says building a giant space sunshade could begin within 20 to 40 years. [21] The Planetary Sunshade Institute, a non-profit in Los Angeles, published it this month. [21] Researchers say a shade between Earth and the Sun could cool the planet by 1 C. [21] ARIA, a UK government research agency, paid for the report with a 400,000 pound grant. [21] It would need rockets that haul millions of tonnes into deep space. [21] Cornell climate scientist Daniele Visioni doubts it could work before the end of the century. [21]

    Why it matters — Critics say such ideas distract from the need to cut greenhouse gases. [21]