Reditus Space, a startup focused on recoverable and reusable spacecraft, has completed its inaugural vehicle, ENOS, marking a significant milestone for the Canadian company. The 200-kilogram reentry vehicle is scheduled for launch later this year on a SpaceX rideshare mission. ENOS is designed to spend two months in orbit before performing a controlled reentry and splashing down off the coast of Florida.
Chief Executive Stef Crum highlighted the unique technical approach of ENOS, where over 80% of the system’s mass is recovered for potential reuse. This design not only allows for reusability but also increases the payload capacity for return, with the 200-kilogram ENOS capable of carrying approximately 60 kilograms of payload. The initial mission will serve as a technology demonstration, validating the spacecraft’s design and thermal management systems, which utilize a proprietary material called RHEA developed with support from NASA. While this first vehicle might not be extensively refloated, the company aims to build more systems with enhanced capabilities, including those tailored for biological payloads, as it iterates on future designs.
QOSMIC Raises $3.33 Million for Optical Ground Stations
QOSMIC, a company building optical ground stations to support the burgeoning orbital data economy, announced today that it has raised $3.33 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Accel and Prosus, with additional participation from South Park Commons, ARTPARK, and angel investor Manish Jain. This funding aims to accelerate the development of laser-based ground infrastructure essential for transmitting massive volumes of data from orbiting data centres and AI processing units back to Earth.
As the aerospace industry sees a shift towards in-orbit computing, the demand for high-bandwidth data downlinks has become critical. Traditional radio frequency links are increasingly insufficient, limited by spectrum. QOSMIC’s optical ground stations address this by providing data reception at 10 gigabits per second, with scalability to 100 Gbps, significantly surpassing the 1 to 2 Gbps ceiling of legacy radio links. This technology offers a cost-effective solution, potentially reducing data transmission costs to around one dollar per gigabyte, compared to the three to seventeen dollars typically charged by commercial RF operators. QOSMIC positions itself as a neutral ground infrastructure provider, ensuring interoperability and accessibility for the entire commercial space ecosystem.
Voyager Completes Acquisition of Astrobotic
Voyager Technologies has finalised its acquisition of Astrobotic Technology, a lunar infrastructure company, completing a deal initially announced on June 2. The acquisition, valued at $162 million in cash and stock along with the assumption of $9 million in debt, includes an additional $129 million in earnout payments contingent on performance milestones. With the completion of the deal, Astrobotic has been rebranded as Voyager Lunar Systems, and its long-time Chief Executive, John Thornton, will continue to lead the new entity.
This acquisition comes on the heels of several significant developments for Astrobotic. The company recently shipped its Griffin-1 lunar lander to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for environmental testing, ahead of a planned launch in the fourth quarter of this year. The Griffin-1 will deliver Astrolab’s FLIP rover to the Moon. Furthermore, NASA awarded Astrobotic two missions for its smaller Peregrine lander on June 30, valued at $298 million, with launches scheduled for 2028. Voyager has committed to investing in Astrobotic’s Pittsburgh facilities, expanding operations and hiring staff, as part of a broader lunar strategy that also includes partnerships in inflatable habitats and lunar dust prevention technologies.
Provider: SpaceX Date: July 14, 2026 Time: 1:17 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
Starlink Group 10-45
Provider: SpaceX Date: July 14, 2026 Time: 8:21 AM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
Soyuz MS-29
Provider: Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) Date: July 14, 2026 Time: 2:47 PM UTC Vehicle: Soyuz 2.1a
Soyuz MS-29 will carry three cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as NASA astronaut Anil Menon.
SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E
Provider: SpaceX Date: July 16, 2026 Time: 8:22 PM UTC Vehicle: Falcon 9
Tranche 1 Transport Layer E is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites.
The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance.
Flight 13
Provider: SpaceX Date: July 16, 2026 Time: 10:45 PM UTC Vehicle: Starship
13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3.
For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink satellites to space, which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers.
6 of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.
Starlink Group 15-14 ×
Mission Details
TypeCommunications
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
TargetEarth
A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.
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.
The Falcon 9 first stage B1080 will land on ASDS ASOG after its 28th flight.
Soyuz MS-29 ×
Mission Details
TypeHuman Exploration
OrbitLow Earth Orbit
TargetEarth
Soyuz MS-29 will carry three cosmonauts and one astronaut to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, as well as NASA astronaut Anil Menon.
Agencies Involved
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Government)
• Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) (Government)
Program: International Space Station
The International Space Station programme is tied together by a complex set of legal, political and financial agreements between the sixteen nations involved in the project, governing ownership of the various components, rights to crewing and utilization, and responsibilities for crew rotation and resupply of the International Space Station. It was conceived in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, during the Space Station Freedom project as it was originally called.
The Soyuz programme is a human spaceflight programme initiated by the Soviet Union in the early 1960s. The Soyuz spacecraft was originally part of a Moon landing project intended to put a Soviet cosmonaut on the Moon. It was the third Soviet human spaceflight programme after the Vostok and Voskhod programmes.
The Soyuz 2.1A converted the flight control system from analog to digital, which allowed launch from fixed platforms. It also allowed big fairings and payloads.
It is currently used for crewed Soyuz and Progress flights to the ISS.
Soyuz MS is the final planned upgrade of the Soyuz spacecraft.
Major changes include:
– more efficient solar panels
– modified engine positions for redundancy
– new Kurs NA approach and docking system
– new TsVM-101 computer
– unified digital command/telemetry system (MBITS) to relay telemetry via satellite, and control spacecraft when out of sight of ground stations
– GLONASS/GPS and Cospas-Sarsat satellite systems for more accurate location afterlanding
Capability
Manned and Cargo ISS Logistics, Lifeboat
Details
Soyuz is a series of spacecraft designed for the Soviet space programme by the Korolyov Design Bureau (now RKK Energia) in the 1960s that remains in service today. The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraft and was originally built as part of the Soviet Manned Lunar programme. The Soyuz spacecraft is launched on a Soyuz rocket, the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the…
Flight Life
210 days while docked
Manufacturer: Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) (RFSA)
RFSA • Russian • Age: 48 • Time in space: 355 Days, 3 Hours, 45 Minutes • EVA time: 1 Day, 5 Hours, 49 Minutes
Born: Jan 30, 1978 • First Flight: Apr 9, 2021 • Last Flight: Apr 9, 2021
Dubrov was selected by Roscosmos as a cosmonaut on 8 October 2012, as one of eight cosmonauts selected as part of Roscosmos’s 2012 selection group. In 2020 he was assigned to the backup crew of Soyuz MS-17, backing up Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov as Flight Engineer on ISS Expedition 63/64
Anil Menon is a US Air Force lieutenant colonel from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch the company’s first humans to space during NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission and building a medical organization to support the human system during future missions.
Tranche 1 Transport Layer E is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites.
The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance.
Agencies Involved
• Space Development Agency (Government)
Launch Provider: SpaceX
Commercial • United States of America • Founded 2002
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.
The Falcon 9 first stage will land on ASDS OCISLY after its flight.
Flight 13 ×
Mission Details
TypeTest Flight
OrbitSuborbital
TargetEarth
13th test flight of the two-stage Starship launch vehicle. Second flight of Starship V3.
For the first time, Starship will carry 20 V3 Starlink satellites to space, which will extend solar arrays and antennas and will attempt to connect with ground stations in South Africa and the larger Starlink constellation via high-capacity lasers.
6 of the satellites have been modified with a suite of cameras to scan Starship’s heat shield and transmit imagery down to operators to continue testing methods of analyzing Starship’s heat shield readiness for return to launch site on future missions. Several tiles on Starship have been painted white to simulate missing tiles and serve as imaging targets in the test.
The SpaceX Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX since 2012, as a self-funded private spaceflight project. The second stage of the Starship — is designed as a long-duration cargo and passenger-carrying spacecraft. It is expected to be initially used without any booster stage at all, as part of an extensive development program to prove out launch-and-landing and iterate on a variety of design details, particularly with respect to the vehicle’s atmospheric reentry.
The second launch and landing pad of the full version of the combined SpaceX Starship and Superheavy booster. To be first used for launch in 2025 with version 3 of Starship and the Superheavy…
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