The Daily Broadcast: MAGPIE Rover Signs, Spacewalk Completes, HyImpulse Secures

ESA Signs MAGPIE Lunar Rover Contract With ispace-Europe

ESA and ispace-Europe signed an implementation agreement yesterday evening at the Space for Inspiration event in Copenhagen, Denmark, formalising MAGPIE — the Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration — as ESA’s first lunar rover.

The rover is planned to launch in 2029 and operate for roughly 10 Earth days at the Moon’s south pole. Its payload includes a drill, volatile analyser, ground-penetrating radar and neutron detector, aimed at detecting and measuring water and other volatiles and analysing the lunar subsurface geology.

A render of MAGPIE, ESA's first lunar rover, on the Moon | Source: ESA

ESA’s Daniel Neuenschwander and ispace-Europe’s Julien-Alexandre Lamamy signed the agreement at the ceremony. The mission will improve understanding of the lunar environment and the resources it may contain — knowledge ESA describes as critical for the next phase of lunar exploration.

Meir and Adenot Complete 6-Hour, 49-Minute ISS Spacewalk

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot concluded a spacewalk outside the International Space Station yesterday at 3:29 p.m. EDT, wrapping up U.S. spacewalk 99 in 6 hours and 49 minutes.

Astronauts Sophie Adenot of ESA and Jessica Meir of NASA are pictured training for a spacewalk at the Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston, Texas. | Source: NASA

The pair installed a new retroflector on the forward port of the station’s Harmony module to support spacecraft rendezvous and docking, replaced a high-definition camera on the station’s truss, and swabbed the exterior for microorganisms. They also partially installed jumper cables for electrical systems and began preparation for the future replacement of the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer’s heat-rejecting radiator.

Mission Control deferred the remaining guide studs for the spectrometer radiator, along with the remaining jumper cables and other noncritical tasks, to a later date after the crew fell behind the timeline. During the spacewalk, Adenot experienced mobility issues with her left arm; Meir determined the glove heater harness was likely caught in the left shoulder joint, and unzipping the joint resolved the issue before the crew entered the airlock.

The spacewalk was Meir’s seventh and Adenot’s third. Meir now ranks third all-time among women at NASA for total spacewalks, behind Peggy Whitson (10) and Suni Williams (9). It was also the 284th spacewalk in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades.

HyImpulse Extends Series A by €50 Million

German launch provider HyImpulse announced today that it has extended its Series A funding round by more than €50 million, bringing total funding to date to €125 million. The company has now secured more than €65 million in Series A equity funding, having announced its initial €15 million raise in October 2025.

HyImpulse has added more than €50 million to its Series A funding round as it prepares for upcoming flights of its SR75 and SL1 rockets. | Source: European Spaceflight

The extension was co-led by German early-stage venture capital firm JOIN Capital and Israeli aerospace and defence investor Ace Capital Partners, neither of which participated in the initial Series A raise. HyImpulse is preparing for the second flight of its suborbital SR75 rocket and the inaugural launch attempt of its larger SL1 orbital rocket.

“With this injection of capital, we will accelerate the commercialization of our orbital rocket, making Europe more independent and competitive,” said HyImpulse CEO Christian Schmierer. The company reports an order book exceeding €350 million across its suborbital and orbital programmes.

Citations

“ESA’s first lunar rover rolls forward” — https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/ESA_s_first_lunar_rover_rolls_forward
“ESA, NASA Astronauts Begin Spacewalk for Navigation, Science Maintenance” — https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/09/01/esa-nasa-astronauts-begin-spacewalk-for-navigation-science-maintenance/
“ESA, NASA Astronauts Complete Navigation and Science Spacewalk Outside Station” — https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/09/01/esa-nasa-astronauts-complete-navigation-and-science-spacewalk-outside-station/
“HyImpulse Extends Series A Funding Round by €50 Million” — https://europeanspaceflight.com/hyimpulse-extends-series-a-funding-round-by-e50-million/

GISAT-1A (EOS-05)

Provider: Indian Space Research Organization
Date: September 3, 2026
Time: 9:25 PM UTC
Vehicle: GSLV Mk II

GISAT-1A (GEO Imaging Satellite) is an Indian earth observing satellite operating from geostationary orbit to facilitate continuous observation of Indian sub-continent, quick monitoring of natural hazards and disaster.

EOS-05/GISAT-1A will replace EOS-03/GISAT-1 lost in launch failure in 2021.

Onward and Upward

Provider: Isar Aerospace
Date: September 4, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM UTC
Vehicle: Spectrum

Second test flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle. This launch will carry 5 cubesats and 1 non-separable experiment as part of European Space Agency (ESA)’s “Boost!” program:

* CyBEEsat (TU Berlin)
* TriSat-S (University of Maribor)
* Platform 6 (EnduroSat)
* FramSat-1 (NTNU)
* SpaceTeamSat1 (TU Wien Space Team)
* Let It Go (Dcubed, non-separable experiment)

Starlink Group 15-24

Provider: SpaceX
Date: September 6, 2026
Time: 10:59 AM UTC
Vehicle: Falcon 9

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.

Progress MS-35 (96P)

Provider: Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS)
Date: September 9, 2026
Time: 4:15 PM UTC
Vehicle: Soyuz 2.1b

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.

USSF-xxx (“R-2”)

Provider: SpaceX
Date: September 10, 2026
Time: 3:37 PM UTC
Vehicle: Falcon 9

Note: Actual USSF launch mission number to be confirmed.

Classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites for a US government entity based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bus, based on locations of rocket stage drop zones being exact fits with previous Starlink Group 15 launches.