On 4 November 2015 the U.S. Air Force attempted the inaugural flight of the rail‑launched Super Strypi from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. The three‑stage solid‑motor vehicle lifted off at 9:45 p.m. local time but began tumbling within seconds, crashing less than a minute after launch. The failure destroyed the primary payload, the ORS‑4 (HiakaSat) Earth‑observation satellite, and twelve secondary payloads, including eight cubesats for NASA’s Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks and four university experiments. Investigators traced [...]

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the “Fortress America” plan, incorporating the 15‑Minute City model that promotes walkable, bike‑able access to essential services on military bases. The initiative, endorsed by the Department of Defense and supported by Rutgers University research, aims to enhance base resilience, improve quality of life, and reduce reliance on cars. It aligns with broader urban planning trends that emphasize health, equity, and sustainability, while drawing criticism from conservative groups who view it as [...]

In May 2026, four Russian military satellites performed a close‑approach maneuver on ICEYE‑X36, a private SAR satellite believed to support Ukraine’s war effort, prompting concerns about hostile actions in orbit. The incident, repeated in October 2026 at a distance of 500 m, has accelerated Western interest in satellite defense. U.K. startup Shield Space is developing swarms of up to 100 attritable cubesats—microwave‑sized, low‑cost spacecraft launched from a car‑sized carrier—that can autonomously intercept threats using lasers, microwaves or kinetic [...]

White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico inaugurated a 700‑kW solar microgrid in February 2025, integrating photovoltaic panels, a 500‑kW natural‑gas generator, and a 500‑kW lithium‑ion battery bank. The system supplies backup power to four groundwater wells, meeting Army requirements for 14 days of autonomous operation during grid outages. The project, built by HSGS‑Ameresco and supported by Cantsink’s specialized foundations, demonstrates the Department of Defense’s commitment to resilient, hybrid energy solutions at military sites.

Europe’s Hera spacecraft, launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in October 2024, has entered the Didymos binary asteroid system and captured the first resolved image of Dimorphos, the smaller body targeted by NASA’s DART impact test. From 795 miles (1,280 km) away, Hera’s cameras now distinguish Dimorphos as a distinct pixel separate from its parent asteroid. The mission will conduct detailed surveys of the impact damage and refine models of asteroid deflection. Hera’s arrival is slated for 25 November, with higher‑resolution [...]

Czech satellite builder Spacemanic and Belgian optics firm Simera Sense have announced a joint offering that pairs Simera’s xScape200 Dual‑Use camera with Spacemanic’s 16U CubeSat platform. The xScape200, a 12U‑sized, low‑size‑weight‑power (SWaP) imager, delivers high‑resolution, dual‑use (commercial and defence) imagery without requiring a larger, more expensive spacecraft. Spacemanic integrates the camera into its in‑house‑designed platform and the SPACE CANNON deployer, which can accommodate up to 16U and provides an expanded envelope for side‑protruding payloads and a “tuna‑can” bottom section. [...]

Ukrainian startup CODE380 has unveiled the D·Vision SDR, a 10‑ounce pocket receiver that intercepts unencrypted video feeds from Russian drones and displays them in time. The device captures streams transmitted over radio frequencies used by Russia’s Molniya UAVs, which began broadcasting video, and presents the live footage on a screen, allowing Ukrainian units to track a drone’s flight path and target before impact. Weighing less than half of comparable Ukrainian systems, the SDR is praised for its [...]