Space News for Friday, September 11, 2026

0:00Thank you for joining us here on the GIST, a Space News Daily podcast where we take a brief look at some of the top space-related news stories of the day. These are articles taken on Friday, September 11, 2026, from SpaceFlight Now. SpaceX launches classified payload for the US Space Force. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Thursday, carrying a national security. From sat news, Iridium, Deutsche Telecom IoT, and Toyota Demonstrates satellite voice messaging via Iridium NTN Direct. Iridium communications and Deutsche Telecom IoT announced on Thursday that they successfully transmitted a voice message via satellite, marking a milestone for global IoT connectivity. The test, conducted on September 10, 2026, used Iridium's low-earth orbit network to

1:00deliver clear voice data to a mobile endpoint. This achievement demonstrates the potential for reliable voice communications in remote or underserved regions. The partnership underscores the growing convergence of satellite and terrestrial networks for next-generation IoT services. From sat news, Udelsat and Scenopi partner to launch global AKAR software, defined ground network. Wednesday, September 9, 2026, satellite operator Udelsat Group and French new space ground station provider Scenopi announced a strategic partnership with the International Space Summit in Paris. The deal will combine Udelsat's extensive satellite fleet with SkyNope's expanding network of ground stations to deliver faster, more reliable connectivity for commercial and scientific missions. Both companies said the collaboration will accelerate the deployment of next-generation services across Europe and beyond. The partnership is expected to strengthen Europe's position in the global space communications market. The exploration company secures $450 million Series C financing to scale next reusable

2:02spacecraft platform. European Commercial Space Company. The exploration company TEC closed a $450 million Series C round on September 8, 2026, co-led by Bessam-Aventure partners and other investors. The funding will support TEC's development of reusable launch vehicles and expanded satellite deployment capabilities. The deal values the company at more than $2 billion, underscoring growing investor confidence in Europe's space industry. TEC CEO said the capital will accelerate production and bring new missions to market, from sat news. Trustpoint contracts, EnduroSatUS, to manufacture 40 satellites for CBAN PNT constellation. On Thursday, September 10, 2026, low-earth orbit PNT provider, Trustpoint announced a manufacturing contract award to EnduroSatUS to construct 40 commercial satellites. The partnership will support the growing demand for precise positioning, navigation, and timing services. EnduroSatUS will handle design, production, and integration of the satellites. The deal marks a significant expansion of Trustpoint satellite fleet and strengthens the

3:06US space manufacturing sector, from NASA. NASA invites media to Djibouti Artemis, a cord signing ceremony. The Republic of Djibouti will become the 72nd country to sign NASA's Artemis Accords in the ceremony of NASA headquarters on Monday, September 14, hosted by Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson and Ambassador Muhammad Siyad Duwale. The event, held in person only, aims to bolster international cooperation on Luna and Mars' exploration under the Accords' principles of safety, transparency, and coordination. Media interested in attending must RSVP by 8 AM. On September 14, and further details are available online. The Artemis Accords, established in 2020, set the groundward for civil space activities beyond Earth. From NASA. NASA NFL team up to showcase space aeronautics innovation. NASA has teamed up with the NFL to bring space excitement to football fans, with the agency flying its high-speed aircraft over four games beginning September 13. The flyovers will showcase NASA's test planes and astronaut training tools, while highlighting

4:07plans for a moon base and advanced aeronautics. The inspiration tour aims to inspire the next generation and connect the agency with industry, academia, and the public. The tour will culminate in a two-day Max P.O.R event at Kennedy Space Center on November 7, 8. From NASA's spaceflight, Roman telescope deployed solar array and communication systems, powers on coronavirus instrument. NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope blasted off Sunday, AUG. 30. Aborder SpaceX stock and heavy from Kennedy Space Center, beating schedule and budget while weather forecasts improved to a 70% launch go. After faring separation, the telescope's communications were established. Its solar array deployed, and a high-gain antenna began transmitting data at up to 500 MBPs, as it coasted toward the Sunnest Lagrange point two. The deployable aperture cover and instrument activation followed, with a wide field and coronavirus instruments entering a staged commissioning plan that will last for the hundred days. Once it reaches L2, Roman is expected to begin scientific observations almost immediately,

5:11assuring in a new era of deep space imaging, from payload space. Galaxia raises $4.5M for intelligence sat-tech. Canadian Earth Observation Company Galaxy O'Pallifax has just closed a $4.5M CAD funding round, led by Amaral Ventures and Invest Novas Kosher, boosting its push to build intelligence satellites that can process data on orbit. The capital will finance new satellite launches, expand hybrid space networking, and strengthen Canada's sovereign space capabilities, aligning with the country's defence strategy. Galaxia recently teamed with Belgium's Sumera Sense to add hyperspectral imaging to its systems, and has already launched the CSA-backed Mel B.I. U.S. One platform in 2025. With this infusion, the company aims to deliver real-time, edge-computed space insights to meet today's decision-makers. From payload space, tomorrow.io unveils next-gen weather forecasting instruments. Tomorrow.io is launching DeepSky, a constellation of 12 satellites each carrying five advanced

6:11instruments to deliver real-time atmospheric data worldwide. The system will fill current gaps in weather observation, especially over oceans, the global south, and the vertical atmosphere, enabling more accurate early warning forecasts. From payload space. Orbital partners with Reflex Aerospace on ODC platform. Orbital and LA-based Orbital Data Center startup has selected German satellite maker Reflex Aerospace as the exclusive platform partner for its first satellite. Orbital 1, part of a planned constellation of up to, from payload space. Inversion space wins NASA contract to study arrow capture flight. NASA has awarded inversion space a contract to study arrow capture, a technique that uses a planet's atmosphere to slow a spacecraft into orbit, with the company's arc-lifting body reentry vehicle as the test platform. By demonstrating this maneuver on Earth, inversion aims to prove that future missions to Mars, Titan, Venus, and beyond could carry less fuel, more payload, and arrive faster.

7:11The research also promises new highly maneuverable satellite operations that exploit aerodynamic braking. If successful, arrow capture could dramatically cut the cost and time of interplanetary exploration from space.com. In this day in space, CEPT, 10, 2011, NASA launches Grail probes to the moon to map lumpy lunar gravity. On September 10, 2011, NASA launched the Twin Grail spacecraft, Ebon Flow, on a delta two from Cape Canaveral to map the moon's uneven gravity field caused by hidden mass concentrations or mass cons. Over nine months, they orbited within 30 miles of the lunar surface, measuring gravitational variations that revealed the moon's interior structure and the scars of ancient asteroid impacts. Link spacecraft gets close to NASA's Swift Observatory, but not close enough to save it. Catalysts' link rescue probe launched July 3, 2026, failed to rendezvous with NASA's aging Swift telescope after a thrust or control problem sent its spinning out of control. Although the mission was cancelled, Link's two managed to fire all its electric thrusters

8:12and come within 12 to 15 kilometers of Swift, gathering valuable data and demonstrating new servicing technology from space.com. This study 3000 supernovas and discover that dark energy may be evolving. Astronomers have compiled the largest catalog yet of nearly 3000 type E.S. supernovae, revealing that dark energy, the force driving the universe's accelerating expansion may be changing over time. By combining these stellar explosions with data from the dark energy survey and the D.E.S. I spectroscopic instrument, researchers found evidence that dark energy's influence weakens, challenging the standard cosmological model that treats it as constant. This time varying behavior could offer crews to reconciling Einstein's gravity with quantum physics. The findings, published on our XIVE, suggest a new direction for understanding the universe's ultimate fate. From space.com, Mercury is shrinking faster than we thought. What's going on inside of it? New research shows Mercury has shrunk 10% to 30% faster than previously thought, losing

9:12up to 14.5 miles of diameter over its 4.5 billion year history. Scientists attribute the extra contraction to cooling of the planet's interior, with surface wrinkles hidden by impact debris that has covered the scarps. The study used messenger data and high resolution surface roughness maps, and the upcoming Beppi-Colombo mission could uncover even more evidence. This finding reshapes our understanding of Mercury's core composition and thermal evolution. From space.com, iconic Star Trek filming locations spotted from space for space for all of the day for a set. 10. 2026. NASA's Landsat 9 satellite has captured a new false color image of Vasquez rocks in Southern California, a 25 million year old geological wonder whose jagged boulders and desert vegetation are highlighted in shortwave infrared and near infrared wavelengths. The same striking landscape served as the alien planet metron in the original Star Trek series, where Captain Kirk battled the gorn and has since been a backdrop for countless sci-fi classics, including Galaxy Quest and Battlestar Galactica.

10:15This satellite view not on the showcases the site's natural beauty, but also underscores its enduring appeal as a stand-in for extraterrestrial worlds. The image reminds us that the most iconic sci-fi settings can be found right here on Earth. Thank you for listening to the Space Just for the Day. Please rate, review, and subscribe on your podcast tool of choice. End of podcast.