How 'spacewalking' underwater made me feel like I was really in space

space.com Oct 28, 2026

How ‘spacewalking’ underwater made me feel like I was really in space

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 28, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Dr. Michaela Musilova, an award‑winning astrobiologist and explorer, has led 40 simulated Moon and Mars missions—the most of any commander—to date. She now heads the nonprofit XtremeFrontiers, which launched the Astro Seven Summits project, a world‑first initiative that pairs ascents of each continent’s highest peak with scientific research, NASA collaborations, educational programs, and documentary filming. Musilova’s career spans work with NASA, ESA, CalTech, the Canada‑France‑Hawaii Telescope and other institutions, and she has consulted for global companies and museums, including the Smithsonian. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, Top 100 Women in Aerospace and Aviation, and the Emerging Space Leaders Grant, she also serves as a frequent keynote speaker, media commentator, and co‑author of the biography “Woman from Mars.”

💡 Why It Matters

· By merging extreme mountaineering with space research, the Astro Seven Summits creates a novel platform for testing technologies and engaging the public in planetary science beyond traditional labs.

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Ukrainian startup, GomSpace test satellite for future communications network

Ukrainian defense‑tech startup Himera and Danish small‑sat maker GomSpace have begun testing their Obria Nano satellite, launched on SpaceX’s Transporter‑18 rideshare on Oct. 1. The experimental unit is intended to validate technologies for a future Ukrainian‑controlled communications constellation that would blanket the country with secure links. The effort follows recent mid‑October restrictions that throttled SpaceX’s Starlink and Starshield services, disrupting Ukrainian military command, drone operations and field communications. Himera, founded in 2022, builds tactical radios resistant to electronic warfare, while GomSpace supplies nanosat platforms and payloads. Both firms said the in‑orbit tests will shape design of a larger network, though they disclosed no details on capacity, financing or planned satellite count. The partnership also aims to reduce reliance on foreign providers.

💡 An indigenous satellite network would give Ukraine autonomous command‑and‑control communications, insulating its defense operations from external service disruptions.

space.com · Oct 27

On this day in space! Oct. 27, 1961: NASA launches Saturn I…

On Oct. 27 1961 NASA lifted off Saturn I’s inaugural test flight, SA‑1, from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 34. The 162‑foot, 460‑ton vehicle, the United States’ first heavy‑lift rocket, rose to 85 miles before splashing down in the Atlantic after a 15‑minute flight. Engines shut down 1.6 seconds early due to excess liquid oxygen, a minor anomaly that engineers quickly diagnosed. The mission demonstrated the Saturn family’s core design, delivering 1.3 million pounds of thrust—nearly ten times that of the earlier Jupiter‑C and approaching the 1.5 million‑pound goal set by Wernher von Braun’s Saturn C‑1 project. NASA hailed the flight as essentially flawless, marking the first of 32 successful Saturn launches that would culminate in the Saturn V moon missions and paved the path for Apollo.

💡 The SA‑1 success showed the U.S. could field a heavy‑lift launcher, a critical capability for achieving a lunar landing before the Soviet Union.

space.com · Oct 27

Astroscale proposes fleet of ‘bodyguard’ spacecraft to protect satellites from orbital attacks

Astroscale announced plans to deploy “bodyguard” spacecraft that would patrol and protect critical satellites from hostile maneuvers. The company’s ELSA‑D mission, which successfully captured debris in low Earth orbit (LEO) from 2021 to 2024, demonstrated the technology that could be repurposed for defensive use. Astroscale’s head of defense said a protective satellite could launch within three years, costing about one percent of a military‑grade geostationary constellation’s value. The proposal follows recent Russian satellite incursions, including a close‑proximity maneuver around a Finnish radar satellite.

💡 By offering a low‑cost, agile defense platform, Astroscale could shift space security from reactive to proactive, reducing the risk of covert satellite attacks that threaten national security and commercial services.

space.com · Oct 27

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches early morning Starlink mission from California (video)

SpaceX lifted off a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 3:25 a.m. EDT on Oct. 27, delivering 27 Starlink Group 15‑16 satellites to low‑Earth orbit. The first‑stage booster B1082 performed a controlled separation after 2.5 minutes, steered toward the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship and touched down at T+8:23, marking its 21st Starlink flight and 26th overall mission. The upper stage reignited 53 minutes post‑launch for a brief three‑second burn to circularize the orbit before deploying the payload. The launch was the 117th Falcon 9 flight of 2026, with roughly three‑quarters dedicated to expanding the constellation that now exceeds 11,000 active satellites. Falcon 9’s continued cadence comes as SpaceX pivots toward its larger Starship vehicle and phases out the Falcon 9 for Starlink deployments.

💡 Maintaining a rapid Falcon 9 launch rhythm while transitioning to Starship lets SpaceX grow its broadband network and validate reusable‑booster turnover, securing its dominance in low‑Earth‑orbit services.

spacenews.com · Oct 27

Craft Prospect kicks off PERSEUS project to advance optical communications for space

Craft Prospect, a satellite communications firm, has launched the PERSEUS project aimed at developing next‑generation optical communication technologies for space applications. The initiative will focus on creating high‑throughput laser links capable of transmitting data at rates far exceeding current radio‑frequency systems, targeting both low‑Earth‑orbit constellations and deep‑space missions. Partnering with several research institutions, the project plans to conduct ground‑based testing followed by in‑orbit demonstrations within the next two years. Funding sources include a mix of private investment and government grants, with milestones set for prototype validation, system integration, and scalability assessments. Craft Prospect intends the technology to reduce latency, lower bandwidth costs, and enable more robust inter‑satellite networking, positioning the company as a leader in space‑based optical communications.

💡 Laser‑based links could redefine data flow between satellites, unlocking capabilities that radio bands can’t support.

space.com · Oct 27

Record breaker! Astronomers spot powerful cosmic explosion that lasted 27 days

Astronomers have identified GRB 220706A, a gamma‑ray burst that remained active for approximately 27 days, surpassing the previous record of six days for delayed X‑ray flaring. Detected on July 6, 2022, the burst’s prolonged activity suggests an ongoing central engine, possibly a magnetar or interaction with surrounding material. The event also produced a bright supernova, hinting at a massive progenitor star. This unprecedented duration challenges current models of ultra‑long GRBs and their underlying mechanisms.

💡 The 27‑day flare forces astronomers to reconsider the energy sources that can sustain gamma‑ray bursts, potentially redefining the boundary between ordinary and ultra‑long events.