The US military asks companies how to build its first satellites to fly near the Moon, wanted by late 2029

The stories

16 on this beat today.

Every story told the same way: what happened, who is involved, why it matters, how it works, the truth and the good news.

1. 01

   The US military asks companies how to build its first satellites to fly near the Moon, wanted by late 2029

   5

   military satellites the US may first fly near the Moon

   each would carry equipment the US government supplies [1]

   late 2029

   when the military wants those satellites working

   replies from companies are due by 24 November [1]

   $75 million

   the cost of Oracle-M, one military craft bound for the Moon

   it is due to head there in mid-2027 [1]

   What happened

   • The US military has asked companies to help plan up to 5 military satellites to fly near the Moon. [1]
   • Its notice, dated 2 November, says the satellites should meet military needs in late 2029. [1]
   • The notice does not say what the satellites would do near the Moon. [1]
   • Each of the 5 satellites would carry equipment that the US government supplies. [1]
   • The notice says the first 5 may be 'seed vehicles' for a much bigger fleet later. [1]
   • Aviation Week, a trade magazine, says the US Defense Department wants this first handful within the next 3 years. [2]

   Who is involved

   Major General Stephen Purdy buys new systems for the US Space Force, the military's space branch. [1]

   In October, Purdy said top US defence leaders now call space near the Moon 'a warfighting domain'. [1]

   Chance Saltzman, top Space Force general until August, said: 'We have a role to play, but we're not the lead.' [1]

   • Stephen Purdy a major general who buys advanced systems for the US Space Force; he has pushed for a military role near the Moon
   • Oracle-M a military test craft
   • The US Department of the Air Force the department that runs the US Air Force and Space Force; it put out the notice on 2 November
   • Chance Saltzman the Space Force's top general until he retired in August; he said the military is not the lead at the Moon

   How it unfolded

   Today the Space Force's farthest satellites sit 36,000 km above the equator. [1]

   A space order President Trump signed last December covers threats from low orbit out to the Moon. [1]

   In September, the US Air Force's top civilian said the military already has weapons in orbit. [1]

   A single military craft, Oracle-M, is due to head for the Moon in mid-2027. [1] It will test ways to keep track of objects there. [1]

   It was first meant to ride on a secret Space Force launch, Aviation Week says, before a change of rocket. [3]

   Oracle-M costs $75 million and is run by the Air Force Research Laboratory. [1]

   A second craft, Oracle-Prime, is due by the end of 2027. [1] It will watch for satellites and debris from a balance point toward the Moon. [1]

   1. 2 Nov the notice goes out
   2. Late 2029 the first satellites should be working [1]
   3. Mid-2027 Oracle-M heads for the Moon
   4. End of 2027 Oracle-Prime is due
   5. 24 Nov replies from companies are due
   6. 2027 deals wanted, Ars Technica expects
   7. Dec 2025 Trump signs a space order that reaches out to the Moon [1]
   8. Sep 2026 the US says it has weapons in orbit [1]
   9. 2 Nov 2026 the notice asks companies about Moon satellites [1]
   10. 24 Nov 2026 replies are due [1]

   Why it matters

   The US and China both plan crewed Moon landings in the next few years. [1]

   China's plan uses 2 launches of its Long March 10 rocket: one for a lander, one for a crew ship. [4]

   Some US officials expect a contest over the few safe landing spots near the ice at the Moon's south pole. [1]

   NASA plans a base for astronauts on the Moon by 2032. [5]

   How it works

   In government buying, a request for information asks sellers what they could offer before anything is bought. [1]

   Here the military asks for 'rapid' and 'low-risk' ideas, then may pay for up to 5 design studies. [1]

   Seen it before

   Before buying a bike, you might ask a few shops what they have, without promising to buy.

   The truth

   • What is really going on The US military has started asking companies for its first satellites near the Moon, before saying what they would do there. [1]
   • The notice does not commit the military to buying anything. [1] It is not clear when firm contracts might follow, Ars Technica says. [1]
   • Who gains Companies that build small satellites — Up to 5 of them could win paid design studies for the military's Moon satellites. [1]
   • Nobody knows yet

     What the military's Moon satellites would do.

     The 2 November notice names no mission, only military 'mission needs' to meet in late 2029. [1]

   What comes next

   Replies are due on 24 November. [1] Ars Technica expects the military to want deals signed in 2027. [1]

1. 02

   Starship to try catching both halves

   What happened

   • SpaceX plans Flight 15 of Starship, its giant rocket, from Texas on Friday 13 November. [6]
   • SpaceX will try to catch both with arms on the launch tower, for the first time. [6]
   • It has caught the booster on 3 flights, but has never tried to catch the ship. [6]
   • The ship should circle Earth about 14 times over more than 22 hours before its catch. [6]
   • It also carries 26 of SpaceX's new Starlink V3 internet satellites. [6]

   Who is involved

   Starship has 2 parts: the Super Heavy booster below, and the ship on top. [6]

   Why it matters

   SpaceX says 2 catches would be the first full recovery of a rocket that reaches orbit. [6]

   How it works

   Physicists call the energy of a moving thing its kinetic energy, and it grows with the square of speed.

   The ship flies higher and farther than the booster, so its trip home is far more energetic. [6]

   Seen it before

   A fall from a bike going twice as fast hurts far more than twice as much.

   Why a rocket stage falling from orbit is so much harder to catch

   The energy of a moving thing grows with the square of its speed, so a stage coming back from orbit has many times more to get rid of.

   The twist

   Going twice as fast does not mean twice the energy to lose when you stop. It means 4 times as much.

   The picture

   Units of energy

   Same speed1

   Twice as fast4

   3 times as fast9

   4 times as fast16

   Step by step

   1. 1 A moving thing carries energy of motion
   2. 2 Twice the speed means 4 times that energy
   3. 3 A stage back from orbit moves far faster than a booster
   4. 4 So it has many times more energy to get rid of
   5. 5 That energy must leave as heat before anything can catch it

   The same force, elsewhere today

   Where this chain is also running, in today's other stories.

   • Starship to try catching both halves

     The ship comes back from orbit, much faster than the booster, so it has far more energy to shed before the tower arms can grab it.

   • SpaceX calls itself an infrastructure company

     Falcon 9's second stage reaches orbital speed, and SpaceX never found a way to shed that energy and bring it back, so it is thrown away each flight.

   • A Cape Cod fireball traced to near Jupiter

     A rock only about a metre across hit the air so fast that it released energy like 1.1 kilotons of TNT.

   Where you've seen this

   Road safety

   a car at 60 km/h carries 4 times the energy of the same car at 30 km/h, which is why braking distance grows so fast

   Space junk

   a fleck of paint moving at orbital speed can chip a space station window

   Sport

   a ball bowled or pitched twice as fast lands with 4 times the energy on the bat or glove

   The catch

   The square rule counts only the energy of motion. Heat shields, air and steering decide whether a stage survives, and this rule says nothing about them.

   And the whole of it

   Rocket engineers, meteor scientists and every driver braking on a wet road live by this rule. Most of us only meet it as a car that takes longer to stop than we expected.

   The truth

   • SpaceX will call off the ship catch if anything is wrong, Space.com notes. [6] The flight still waits on US approval, NASASpaceflight says. [7]

1. 03

   SpaceX calls itself an infrastructure company

   What happened

   • SpaceX's head of launch, Kiko Dontchev, says it is now 'fundamentally an infrastructure company'. [8]
   • He spoke last week at UP.Summit, a conference in Florida. [8]
   • Dontchev said Grok, its AI, finds stray bits in engine parts 99.9% of the time, against 94% for people. [8]
   • He said Falcon 9 is fading because SpaceX never managed to reuse its second stage. [8]
   • Falcon 9 flew 85% of US launches in 2025, Scientific American reports. [9]

   How it unfolded

   Earlier this year SpaceX bought xAI, another Elon Musk company, which makes AI. [8]

   Why it matters

   Space Force deals using Falcon 9 run through 2028. [9] Some companies have been unable to book future flights, it reports. [9]

   How it works

   Economists call the cost of making one more of something its marginal cost.

   Every Falcon 9 flight needs a newly built second stage. [8] Dontchev said that is too costly for thousands of flights a year. [8]

   Seen it before

   A paper cup is bought again for every drink, but a mug is washed and used again.

   Falcon 9's second stage reaches orbital speed, and SpaceX never found a way to shed that energy and bring it back, so it is thrown away each flight.

   The idea, in story 02: Why a rocket stage falling from orbit is so much harder to catch →

   The truth

   • Dontchev did not say how outside customers will launch once Falcon 9 stops, Ars Technica notes. [8]
   • Who gains Rocket companies other than SpaceX — SpaceX has so far turned away Space Force efforts to book more Falcon 9 launches, Politico reported, so those launches need another rocket. [9]
   • Who pays Companies that rely on Falcon 9 — Some cannot book future flights, which can mean delays and higher launch costs, Scientific American reports. [9]
   • Nobody knows yet

     When Starship will carry other companies' satellites.

     Sources tell Ars Technica that SpaceX is keeping Starship flights for its own needs, and perhaps the US government's, for now. [8]

2. 04

   Golden Dome faces a Democratic US Congress

   What happened

   • Golden Dome is President Trump's planned missile shield, including sensors and weapons in orbit. [10]
   • Democrats take control of the US Congress in January, after last week's elections. [10]
   • 7 House members of the all-Republican Golden Dome Caucus lost their seats or did not run again. [10]
   • The $24 billion the US Congress gave it last year was a one-off. [10] That money ran out in October. [10]
   • The Trump administration puts the cost at $185 billion over 10 years. [10] The US Congressional Budget Office estimated about $1.2 trillion. [10]

   Who is involved

   They include the caucus co-chair, Jeff Crank, and Scott DesJarlais, who chairs the subcommittee overseeing it. [10]

   • Jeff Crank caucus co-chair
   • Scott DesJarlais subcommittee chair

   How it unfolded

   1. Last week US elections
   2. January Democrats run the US Congress

   Why it matters

   John Plumb, a former US defence official, said interceptors based in orbit probably will not survive the cuts. [10]

   How it works

   Engineers call hitting a missile just after it launches boost-phase intercept. [10]

   A missile is slowest just after launch, but the time to decide to shoot may be under a minute. [10]

   Seen it before

   A goalkeeper has the least time to react to a shot taken from close in.

   The truth

   • What is really going on In the US, the one-off $24 billion for Golden Dome, the planned missile shield, ran out in October, and Democrats run the US Congress from January. [10]
   • Officials have said little about Golden Dome's design, citing secrecy. [10] So its goal for 2028 cannot be judged, Ars Technica says. [10]
   • Who pays Firms building interceptors to sit in orbit, such as Voyager Technologies with Anduril — That part of Golden Dome is the one most likely to be cut, a former US official told Ars Technica. [10]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How much money Golden Dome gets for 2027.

     Draft budget bills in the House and Senate give only a fraction of the more than $17 billion requested. [10]

3. 05

   A UK start-up plans swarms of guard satellites

   What happened

   • Shield Space, a UK start-up, plans swarms of up to 100 tiny satellites to guard Western satellites. [11]
   • Its chief, Graeme Ritchie, says 100 could fly for under £100 million, the old price of one satellite. [11]

   Who is involved

   Each is a cubesat, a small satellite built from standard 10 cm cubes. [11]

   How it unfolded

   In May, 4 Russian military satellites came close to ICEYE-X36, a radar satellite believed to help Ukraine. [11]

   1. Late 2027 Project Broadsword test
   2. Later carriers of 10 cubesats

   Why it matters

   Shield Space says its craft would defend satellites even if controllers lost contact with them. [11]

   The truth

   • Why it works on people A round number like 100 guard satellites for under £100 million sounds like a finished plan, though Shield Space has not flown any of them yet. [11]
   • Bleddyn Bowen, a space politics expert at Durham University, said it recalls 'Brilliant Pebbles', a Cold War shield plan. [11]
   • Bowen said such a system needs many years of tests, and someone to buy it. [11]
   • Who pays Operators of satellites that Russian military craft come close to, such as ICEYE — A close pass can force an operator to move its satellite and burn fuel. [11]

   What comes next

   Its first test, Project Broadsword, is set to fly on a SpaceX shared ride late in 2027. [11]

4. 06

   Canada puts money behind its own rockets

   What happened

   • Canada's new federal budget puts money behind plans for Canadian-built rockets, Payload reports. [12]
   • The plan, Launch the North, aims to fly rockets from at least 2 new spaceports on Canada's east coast. [12]
   • Canada plans to move up from small rockets to medium-sized ones. [12]

   Who is involved

   Canada Rocket Company, NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics shared about C$25 million for small rockets. [12]

   • Canada Rocket Company
   • NordSpace
   • Reaction Dynamics

   How it unfolded

   Earlier this year, Canada's defence department gave Spaceport Nova Scotia C$200 million over 10 years. [12]

   Why it matters

   Canadian firms see a gap coming as SpaceX retires Falcon 9, a medium-sized rocket. [12]

   The truth

   • The budget gives no date for the medium rockets. [12] The small ones are expected to fly in 2028. [12]
   • Who gains Canada Rocket Company, NordSpace and Reaction Dynamics — The budget puts public money behind Canadian rockets, so they need not rely on private customers alone. [12]
5. 07

   South Korea backs rockets not yet in orbit

   What happened

   • Mir, the South Korean military's small rocket, is set for its second flight on Tuesday 10 November. [7]
   • The launch window runs from 05:00 to 09:00 UTC. [7]
   • This version may lift about 1,000 kg to low orbit, up from 700 kg. [7]
   • Separately, South Korea now accepts launches by Innospace, a Korean rocket start-up, in foreign arms deals. [13]

   How it unfolded

   It would be the full rocket's first flight to orbit. [7] A test in December 2023 left off the second stage. [7]

   1. 05:00 UTC the window opens
   2. 09:00 UTC the window closes

   Why it matters

   Both moves back South Korean rockets that have not yet reached orbit. [7][13]

   How it works

   Trade economists call this an offset: a foreign seller must spend part of a deal in the buying country. [13]

   Innospace says it is the first time South Korea has counted launches toward that duty. [13]

   Seen it before

   A town lets a big shop open only if it hires local builders to put it up.

   The truth

   • Innospace's Hanbit-Nano rocket failed on its first flight late last year, and has not flown since. [13]
   • Who gains Innospace, a South Korean rocket start-up — Foreign arms sellers can now meet their duty to South Korea by buying its launches, before it has reached orbit. [13]
   • Nobody knows yet

     Whether Mir reaches orbit on its second flight, and how much it can lift.

     The launch window opens at 05:00 UTC on 10 November, and NASASpaceflight gives about 1,000 kg only as a suspected figure. [7]

6. 08

   Electron is set for its 100th flight

   What happened

   • Electron, Rocket Lab's small rocket, is set for its 100th mission on Saturday 14 November. [7]
   • It launches from the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand. [7]
   • It will carry a radar satellite for iQPS, a Japanese company. [7] On 2 November, Electron launched another iQPS satellite. [14]
   • iQPS builds radar satellites, which can take pictures of the ground through cloud. [7]
   • It will be the 269th attempt to reach orbit anywhere in the world this year. [7]

   How it unfolded

   Electron first flew in 2017 and can carry up to 300 kg to low orbit. [7]

   1. 2 Nov an iQPS satellite launched
   2. 14 Nov another, on the 100th mission

   Why it matters

   It ends a busy week: 7 rockets from 4 countries are due to launch. [7]

   Good news

   • Rocket Lab's small Electron rocket is set to make its 100th flight on Saturday 14 November, nine years after its first.
7. 09

   A Cape Cod fireball traced to near Jupiter

   What happened

   • Scientists have traced a fireball that fell over Cape Cod Bay, in Massachusetts, on 30 May, back to its orbit. [15]
   • The space rock was about 1 metre across, and pieces fell into the bay. [15]
   • It broke apart with the force of 500 tons of TNT. [15] Its total energy was about 1.1 kilotons. [15]
   • Only 3 recorded fireballs anywhere released more energy in 2025. [15]
   • Its orbit reached almost as far as Jupiter, whose pull may have flung it toward Earth. [15]

   Who is involved

   Juha Vierinen of the Arctic University of Norway led the team. [15]

   • Juha Vierinen space physicist, Arctic University of Norway

   Why it matters

   Rocks this size are hard to spot in space and seldom fall, so each one adds a lot. [15]

   How it works

   Radar scientists call the echo off the glowing air around a falling rock a head echo. [15]

   The rock heats the air into a cloud of charged gas, and radar bounces off it to track the path. [15]

   Seen it before

   A bat hears echoes bounce back from a moth and follows where it flies.

   A rock only about a metre across hit the air so fast that it released energy like 1.1 kilotons of TNT.

   The idea, in story 02: Why a rocket stage falling from orbit is so much harder to catch →

   The truth

   • The team found no link to any known meteor shower, and cannot work out the rock's exact history. [15]
   • Nobody knows yet

     How many rocks the size of the Cape Cod one hit Earth unseen.

     Meteor radars able to track them cover only a handful of places in the world, the team says. [15]

   Good news

   • 6 home-built pressure sensors run by members of the public helped fix the rock's direction. [15]
8. 10

   Radio fans make a satellite play Doom

   What happened

   • Radio amateurs in Norway made a satellite start Doom, a 1993 video game, by speaking to it. [16]
   • The command, 'PRETTY play Doom Doom Doom', went up from an Oslo rooftop on 27 July. [16]
   • The fix was narrowing the satellite's receiver channel, which was too wide to pick out a voice. [16]
   • The club spent 59 days and about $775 on it, pizza included. [16]

   Who is involved

   The satellite, PRETTY, is a small cubesat run by a group that includes the European Space Agency. [16]

   How it unfolded

   6 earlier tries over Poland and Norway failed between April and July. [16]

   Why it matters

   Tanagra Space, which wrote the software, hopes satellites could one day hear calls for help from remote places. [16]

   Good news

   • A radio club with no budget for satellite work made it happen, its member Eskil Hadland said. [16]
9. 11

   NASA offers students prizes for Moon base ideas

   What happened

   • NASA has opened a Moon Base Student Challenge with $1 million in prizes. [17]
   • Teams of US high school and university students pick 1 of 6 topics, from power to life support. [17]
   • Teams send ideas and improve them, and finalists present to NASA's leaders. [17]

   Who is involved

   NASA's chief, Jared Isaacman, announced it on Sunday 8 November at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. [17]

   • Jared Isaacman NASA's chief

   How it unfolded

   He spoke at MAX POWER, NASA's first air show, the day after he skydived into it. [18]

   NASA says a week-long show, CAPEWEEK, will come to Kennedy in 2028. [18]

   1. This weekend MAX POWER air show
   2. 2028 CAPEWEEK, a week-long show
   3. 8 Nov the challenge opens
   4. 25 Jan 2027 registration closes

   Why it matters

   The problems are ones NASA has now, such as power through the long lunar night, Isaacman said. [17]

   The truth

   • The base is still far off: Artemis III, in mid-2027, will only practise meeting 2 Moon landers. [17]
   • Who gains US high school and university students — They can win a share of NASA's prize money for work on problems NASA has now. [17]
   • Who pays Students outside the US — NASA's Moon base contest is open only to students based in the US. [17]

   Good news

   • NASA has opened 1 million dollars in prizes for US students who solve problems a Moon base will face, from power to life support.

   What comes next

   Students can register until 25 January 2027. [17]

10. 12

    Jupiter and Mars meet in the sky

    What happened

    • Jupiter and Mars will look closest together in the night sky on 15 November. [19]
    • The closest moment is 02:04 GMT on 16 November, below the horizon for US watchers. [19]
    • They will sit a little over 1 degree apart, about a little finger's width at arm's length. [19]
    • Both will fit in the view of ordinary 10x50 binoculars. [19]

    Who is involved

    The bright star Regulus, in the constellation Leo, sits close by. [19]

    • Regulus a bright star in Leo

    How it unfolded

    1. 15 Nov closest this year
    2. July 2029 this close again

    Why it matters

    Anyone with a clear eastern sky can see the pair rise around midnight. [19]

    What comes next

    They will not look this close again until July 2029. [19]

11. 13

    Small galaxies lose most of their oxygen

    What happened

    • A study using the Hubble telescope looked at 37 nearby dwarf galaxies. [20]
    • Only about 15% of the oxygen their stars made is still inside them, said Grace Telford. [20]
    • The Milky Way has about 1 oxygen atom for every 2,000 hydrogen atoms. [20] These galaxies have 1 for every 10,000 to 20,000. [20]
    • The missing oxygen is probably in the thin gas around each galaxy, or blown even farther out. [20]

    Who is involved

    A dwarf galaxy holds a few thousand to hundreds of millions of stars. [20]

    Telford is an astronomer at the University of Utah and an author of the paper. [20]

    • Grace Telford astronomer, University of Utah

    Why it matters

    Oxygen is a marker for the heavier elements that build planets like Earth. [20]

    How it works

    Astronomers call the thin gas around a galaxy its circumgalactic medium. [20]

    Exploding stars and their radiation push oxygen-rich gas out. [20] A small galaxy's weaker gravity holds on to it less well. [20]

    Seen it before

    A small cup spills more when shaken than a big bucket does.

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      Why small galaxies lose more oxygen than computer models predict.

      Telford says it means scientists do not yet fully understand how big stars act on the galaxies around them. [20]

12. 14

    Mars dust barely wore spacesuit samples

    What happened

    • Perseverance, NASA's rover on Mars, carries small swatches of spacesuit cloth left open to the air. [21]
    • After 1,645 Martian days, the swatches showed little visible wear. [21]
    • The team read the dust with PIXL, an X-ray tool on the rover. [21]
    • Some grains were only 100 nanometres wide, as fine as smoke. [21]

    Who is involved

    Scott VanBommel of Washington University in St Louis led the study. [21]

    • Scott VanBommel Washington University in St Louis

    Why it matters

    The dust carries perchlorates, which are toxic salts, so it is still a risk once carried into a habitat. [21]

    How it works

    Geologists say grains knocked about for long enough lose their sharp edges.

    Mars dust has blown in the wind for perhaps billions of years, so its grains are rounded. [21]

    Seen it before

    Broken glass on a beach turns smooth after years of rolling in the waves.

    The truth

    • Nobody knows yet

      How much harm Mars dust would do to astronauts who breathe it.

      The grains are smooth but carry toxic salts, and the risk depends on how much is breathed and for how long. [21]

    Good news

    • Mars dust may wear out equipment and harm astronauts' health less than Moon dust, the study found. [21]
13. 15

    Robots learn how deep a rock is buried

    What happened

    • Engineers at Virginia Tech taught a computer to tell how deep a rock is buried from its vibrations. [22]
    • They buried 18 concrete blocks in sand at different depths. [22]
    • They struck each block with a hammer and measured the shaking with a laser, from a distance. [22]
    • A small AI model, a neural network with 2 hidden layers, then worked out the depths reliably. [22]

    Who is involved

    Yiyan Ruan, a PhD student, led it with adviser Erik Komendera, who once worked at NASA. [22]

    • Yiyan Ruan PhD student
    • Erik Komendera Ruan's adviser

    Why it matters

    A rover with little power must know if a rock can be moved before it spends energy trying. [22]

    How it works

    Engineers learn what holds a thing in place by striking it and reading how it shakes.

    The shaking depends on the rock's shape and on how the soil grips it, Ruan said. [22]

    Seen it before

    Knocking on a wall tells you whether there is a hollow or a beam behind it.

    The truth

    • The tests used concrete blocks in sand, not real rock on the Moon or Mars. [22]
14. 16

    A NASA-commissioned print goes on show

    What happened

    • A 1962 print that NASA paid for is going on show at Cartwright Hall in Bradford, England. [23]
    • The print, Komtek I, honours an early microcomputer from a Hong Kong firm. [23]
    • It won a prize at the first British International Print Biennale, in 1968. [23]

    Who is involved

    Michael Fossick, who studied at Bradford School of Art, made it. [23]

    • Michael Fossick artist, Bradford School of Art

    How it unfolded

    In March 1962, NASA's chief, James Webb, hired 38 artists to record the agency's work. [23]

    1. Now the show opens
    2. March 2027 the show ends

    Why it matters

    It shows NASA paid artists, not only engineers, to record its push to the Moon. [23]

    What comes next

    The show also has work by Andy Warhol and David Hockney, and runs until March 2027. [23]