Space Foundation

Nominations for the 2027 Space Technology Hall of Fame are open — and the deadline is August 31.   Know a technology that originated in space and is now improving life here on Earth? Space Foundation wants to hear about it.   Submit your nomination before August 31: https://lnkd.in/gDcwGhg9

SpaceX Rocket Stage Crashes Into the Moon — August 5 A SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage traveling at 5,400 miles per hour crashed into the Moon on August 5, striking near Einstein Crater on the lunar far side. The 8,818-pound rocket stage had been drifting in space since January 2025, when it launched Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander and ispace, inc.'s Resilience lander toward the Moon before being abandoned in deep space. The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope confirmed the impact by detecting sodium and lithium gas in the plume — the sodium from lunar soil, the lithium from the rocket itself. NASA estimates the strike created a crater roughly 60 feet wide and 12 feet deep. NASA Buys Voyager 2 Another Year of Life — August 10 In an operation nicknamed the "Big Bang," NASA engineers simultaneously shut down power-hungry hardware aboard Voyager 2 and switched to lower-power alternatives — while keeping the nearly 50-year-old spacecraft warm enough to survive the process. The maneuver freed up enough power to keep Voyager 2's three remaining science instruments operating for at least one additional year, avoiding the need to shut down another instrument before the end of 2026. NASA plans to perform the same swap on Voyager 1 in the coming months, with the hope that both probes can continue communicating with Earth into the 2030s. NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Retires After 30 Years — August 12 Mike Fincke, NASA's fourth-highest ranked astronaut by cumulative time in space, retired from the agency on August 12 after a 30-year career spanning four missions, 549 days in orbit, and nine spacewalks totaling 48 hours and 37 minutes. His final mission ended early in January when he became the first astronaut in NASA history to be medically evacuated from the International Space Station — later revealing he had temporarily lost his ability to speak for approximately 20 minutes. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman credited Fincke with helping bridge the long-duration station era to the Artemis program now taking shape. Photos: Korea Aerospace Research Institute, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space is for everyone — and so is this opportunity.   At Space Foundation Discovery Center, volunteers are at the core of everything we do. From guiding guests and supporting educational programs to sparking curiosity in visitors of all ages, the impact of our volunteer community is felt every single day.   Interested? Sign up at the link below or contact Emma Triska directly at etriska@spacefoundation.org — we would love to have you.

What's on the table at Faga Forum 2026:   Emerging threats reshaping the space intelligence mission. The future of resilient architectures and operational readiness. The role of AI and emerging technologies in national security space. Greater collaboration across government, defense, and industry.   These are the conversations that shape mission decisions — and they're happening October 22 at The Aerospace Corporation in Chantilly, VA.   Register: https://lnkd.in/gunFkqgn     #Faga #NationalSecuritySpace #SpaceIntelligence #SpaceFoundation   Photo: Northrop Grumman

SpaceX Reports First Earnings as a Public Company — August 5 SpaceX reported $7.8 billion in revenue for the second quarter — nearly double the same period a year earlier — in its first earnings report since going public in June. The company narrowed its net loss to $541 million, down from a $4.3 billion loss in the first quarter, but remained unprofitable as it poured cash into #Starlink, #Starship, and #AI infrastructure. The results beat Wall Street expectations across the board, though the stock dropped in after-hours trading as investors weighed soaring capital expenditures against the company's long-term vision. NASA Repurposes Gateway Hardware for Moon Base — August 6 NASA is working with Northrop Grumman to repurpose power and avionics hardware originally developed for the Gateway program's HALO module — now redirected toward three Lunar Infrastructure Demo missions on the Moon's surface. The demonstrations will test survive-the-night systems capable of enduring the Moon's extreme conditions, including multi-day shadow periods, as well as shared surface power infrastructure designed to support Moon Base assets. The move reflects NASA's broader shift away from an orbital lunar strategy toward building a permanent presence directly on the surface. A Total Solar Eclipse Is Six Days Away — August 6 On August 12, a total solar eclipse will cross Greenland, Iceland, Portugal, and Spain — with maximum totality of 2 minutes and 18 seconds — giving mainland Europe its first experience of totality since 1999. NASA will stream the eclipse live starting at 1:15 PM EDT, and a broad partial eclipse will be visible across northern North America, much of Europe, and northwestern Africa. #Defense #Space #Aerospace Credit: SpaceX, Northrup Grumman, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Adversaries are now publicly demonstrating the ability to track U.S. military assets from orbit. Co-orbital threats, direct-ascent interceptors, and AI-enabled surveillance capabilities are no longer theoretical.   The gap between what's happening and what can be discussed in an open room is widening.   That's what Faga Forum is for. October 22 | The Aerospace Corporation | Chantilly, VA   Register now: https://lnkd.in/dgmZBRQa     #Faga2026 #Defense #Aerospace   Photo: U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S)

The #ArtemisII crew — Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen — took the stage at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre today to celebrate the region's contributions to humanity's first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years.   Colorado built pieces of this mission. The #Orion spacecraft was developed by Lockheed Martin, which employs more than 14,000 people in the state. Northrop Grumman's rocket boosters were built with Colorado talent. And the landscapes of our northern mountains were used to train astronauts for the lunar surface.   Space is in Colorado's DNA.

Federal Communications Commission Overhauls Satellite Licensing — July 22 The FCC adopted a sweeping overhaul of its satellite and earth station licensing process on July 22, describing the new framework as a "licensing assembly line" designed to accelerate the rate at which spacecraft are approved for orbit. FCC Chair Brendan Carr called it a move toward "speed and simplicity" — one built for an industry now operating at the scale of hundreds of thousands of satellites. The change removes regulations the FCC described as outdated, positioning the U.S. to better compete in the commercial space economy. NASA Fuels Roman Space Telescope Ahead of August Launch — July 27| #NASA technicians completed fueling the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on July 27, clearing one of the final milestones ahead of its planned August 30 launch. Roman will operate from the Sun-Earth L2 point — the same location as the James Webb Space Telescope — and is designed to survey the universe at infrared wavelengths across a field of view 100 times wider than #Hubble. Its primary science targets include dark energy, exoplanet populations, and the large-scale structure of the cosmos. Amazon Signals Push Into Direct-to-Device Satellite Market — July 27 Amazon has proposed a constellation of up to 5,105 satellites under its #AmazonLeo program that would beam internet connectivity directly to smartphones — bypassing traditional cell networks entirely. If approved by the FCC, satellite deployments could begin as early as 2028. The move puts Amazon in direct competition with SpaceX's #Starlink, which is already pursuing direct-to-device capability, signaling the beginning of an even more competitive arms race between the two companies. Credit: SpaceNews / Dan Robitski, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Amazon

Do you love space? So do we.   Space Foundation Discovery Center volunteers are the heart of what we do — guiding guests, supporting programs, and helping spark curiosity in visitors of all ages.   Whether you have a background in science, education, or simply a passion for space exploration, there is a place for you here. Volunteers gain access to a community of like-minded people, hands-on experience at one of Colorado Springs' most unique attractions, and the satisfaction of inspiring the next generation of explorers.   Ready to join us? Sign up at the link below or reach out directly to Emma Triska at etriska@spacefoundation.org — we would love to hear from you.

The space domain is contested. The threats are evolving. The decisions being made right now will define the national security landscape for decades.   Faga Forum exists for one reason — to give the Title 50 community and its mission partners a trusted environment to have the conversations that cannot happen anywhere else.   October 22 | The Aerospace Corporation | Chantilly, VA   Register: https://lnkd.in/dgmZBRQa #FagaForum #NationalSecuritySpace #SpaceIntelligence