The Artemis II crew — including CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen — will receive the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from President Donald J. Trump at 11 a.m. EDT on Friday, Aug. 28, during a ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch join Hansen on the crew that completed a 10-day mission around the Moon on April 10. They were the first astronauts to fly aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the first to travel beyond the Moon in more than 50 years, and the humans who have traveled farther in space than ever before.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will join the President and the astronauts at the awards ceremony. The event will stream live on multiple platforms.
Novaspace Forecasts 6,500 EO Satellites by 2035
More than 6,500 Earth observation satellites are expected to launch by 2035, generating $155.9 billion in manufacturing revenues, according to the latest edition of Novaspace’s Earth Observation Satellite Systems report. Governments are expanding sovereign intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, driving the growth.
“The rules of the game are changing,” said Federico Banfi, Consultant at Novaspace. “Defense users increasingly require sovereign access to Earth observation capabilities, while commercial operators are becoming essential partners in delivering them. This shift is reshaping constellation architectures, sensor strategies, and the broader EO market.”
The report identifies a shift away from image resolution as the primary performance metric toward revisit rates, persistence, and wide-area coverage. That demand is accelerating multi-sensor constellations combining synthetic aperture radar, optical, and radio frequency payloads. Novaspace also points to the rise of the “Skyscraper Model,” where satellite buses become increasingly standardized with value shifting toward advanced payload integration and multiple intelligence layers.
Webb Captures Carina Nebula’s ‘Treasure Chest’
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this infrared image of the “Treasure Chest” in the Carina Nebula on Aug. 6, 2026. The object is a cometary globule — an isolated cloud of gas and dust with a dense, dark head and a sweeping tail. The Carina Nebula is a star-forming region also home to the Cosmic Cliffs.
The image was credited to ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, with science credit to M. Reiter and acknowledgement to M. H. Özsaraç.
Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Date: August 24, 2026 Time: 12:05 AM UTC Vehicle: Long March 5
Chang’e 7/CE-7 is scheduled to launch in 2026, including an orbiter, a lander, a mini-hopping probe, and a rover. The mission will land in the South Pole regions of the Moon to study lunar surface environment around the South Pole, especially in looking for water ice in lunar soil.
Unknown Payload
Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Date: August 25, 2026 Time: 3:20 AM UTC Vehicle: Long March 6C
Details TBD.
Starlink Group 10-49
Provider: SpaceX Date: August 25, 2026 Time: 5:49 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
Starlink Group 15-22
Provider: SpaceX Date: August 25, 2026 Time: 9:42 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
MTG-I2
Provider: Arianespace Date: August 27, 2026 Time: 8:10 PM UTC Vehicle: Ariane 62
Third of EUMETSAT’s third generation of weather satellite.
Chang’e 7 ×
Mission Details
TypePlanetary Science
OrbitLunar Orbit
TargetEarth
Chang’e 7/CE-7 is scheduled to launch in 2026, including an orbiter, a lander, a mini-hopping probe, and a rover. The mission will land in the South Pole regions of the Moon to study lunar surface environment around the South Pole, especially in looking for water ice in lunar soil.
Launch Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Long March 5 is a Chinese heavy lift launch system developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT). CZ-5 is the first Chinese vehicle designed from the ground up to focus on non-hypergolic liquid rocket propellants. Currently, two CZ-5 vehicle configurations are planned, with maximum…
The Long March 6C is a Chinese launch vehicle of the Long March family, which was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST). The vehicle is a further development of the Long March 6A, with its solid rocket…
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
ELA-4, is a launch pad and associated facilities at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana. The complex is composed of a launch pad with mobile gantry, an horizontal assembly building and a…
The Ariane 6 family is currently under development by the European Space Agency, with two variations including the Ariane 62 with two solid boosters intended for government and scientific missions.
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