Phantom Space eyes edge in orbital data race with thermal deal

spacenews.com Apr 14, 2026

Phantom Space eyes edge in orbital data race with thermal deal

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Apr 14, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Phantom Space has acquired Thermal Management Technologies, a specialist in spacecraft heat control systems, to support its orbital data center ambitions. The deal is expected to shave months off the development timeline and reduce costs for Phantom's 66-satellite constellation. The acquisition comes as Phantom plans to launch a Block I demonstration mission in 2027, comprising two spacecraft, and aims to establish an open orbital data platform for data backhaul and edge processing.

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Satellite AI Inference Clears Orbit: Gemma 3 Ran Aboard YAM-9 in April

Loft Orbital's YAM-9 spacecraft successfully demonstrated the first publicly disclosed execution of a vision-language model in orbit. Aboard the spacecraft, Google DeepMind's Gemma 3 performed natural language queries, classified Earth imagery, and produced plain-English summaries without transmitting raw pixels to the ground. This achievement marks a significant shift in the value layer of Earth observation, moving from ground-based processing to onboard inference capabilities. The model, running on an Nvidia Jetson Orin AGX graphics processing unit, utilized a software harness developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to fit within the spacecraft's memory budget and processing constraints.

💡 This breakthrough enables Earth observation satellites to operate more autonomously, reducing reliance on ground-based processing and potentially leading to faster and more efficient analysis of satellite imagery.

space.com · Jun 17

‘Best. Mars. Mission. Ever.’ Scientists hail MAVEN’s legacy as NASA retires Red…

NASA has officially begun decommissioning the MAVEN orbiter, marking the end of an 11-year mission that significantly advanced scientists' understanding of Mars. The spacecraft lost contact in December 2025 after a routine communications blackout, and despite months of recovery efforts, it was determined that MAVEN was not recoverable. The mission, which was originally planned to last two years, far exceeded its goals, providing crucial insights into Mars' atmosphere, including the impact of solar storms on atmospheric gas loss. MAVEN's findings have contributed to over 800 scientific publications and have helped establish a clearer picture of the forces that transformed Mars over billions of years.

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spacenews.com · Jun 17

Dawn Aerospace raises $25 million

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💡 This investment will accelerate Dawn Aerospace's growth in emerging markets, including hypersonics testing and in-space mobility. By delivering reusable, responsive access across the air and space domain, Dawn can unlock the economic potential of space and solve critical national security challenges.

spacenews.com · Jun 17

America’s next economic frontier is 240,000 miles away

NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts have completed the first crewed lunar orbit in 50 years, marking a new era of returning to the moon. The moon is no longer just a place of scientific curiosity, but America's next great economic frontier, with its surface holding valuable resources such as water ice, hydrogen, and helium-3. Commercial space companies like Firefly Aerospace are already involved, with plans for repeatable missions to the moon, including a mission to the far side within the year. The goal is to establish a permanent moon base, with mining, resource extraction, and manufacturing driving a massive economic boom. NASA and commercial space companies are working together to achieve this, with the global space economy expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. The moon's resources will support sustained human presence and enable new industries beyond Earth, with the US at the forefront.

💡 The moon's low gravity makes it an ideal location for launching materials into space, reducing costs and enabling new opportunities for space exploration. Establishing a permanent moon base will also drive innovation in industries such as energy and technology.

space.com · Jun 17

Watch European rocket launch record-breaking mission for Amazon on June 17

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spacenews.com · Jun 17

Swiss decision to not contribute to Copernicus tests program’s value model

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💡 The Swiss decision highlights the financial sustainability of Copernicus' open-data policy, which may become a concern if more countries question why they should pay into a system that non-contributors can still use.