Check out the night sky this month, August 2026. Highlights include the Perseid meteor shower, a bright Venus in the evening, and both a partial solar eclipse and a partial lunar eclipse. The sights are described in these videos and links to websites:
A solar eclipse, one of the year’s best meteor showers, Venus at its brightest in the evening sky, and a partial lunar eclipse to close out the month.
On August 12, a total solar eclipse crosses northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. In parts of the United States, from Alaska to North Carolina, the eclipse will be partial. Use certified eclipse glasses or a safe solar viewer whenever any part of the Sun is visible.
Later that night, the Perseid meteor shower peaks under the dark skies of the New Moon. Around August 14 through 16, Venus shines low in the west after sunset, and on August 27-28, a partial lunar eclipse is visible from much of the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa.
0:00 Intro 0:11 Solar eclipse 0:41 Perseid meteor shower 1:27 Venus after sunset 1:41 Partial lunar eclipse 2:22 August Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.
“….where in the night sky to look for the Perseid meteor shower.” Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Astronomers Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky this month, including the August 2026 solar eclipse and the peak of one of the year’s best meteor showers.
This month we’ve got three big celestial events to cover: eclipses of the Sun and Moon, and especially good prospects for the Perseid meteor shower. Plus we’ll track down a few planets, and gaze at the center of our galaxy. So load up on the bug juice, and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.
** August 2026 Night Sky: Total Solar Eclipse, Perseid Meteor Shower & Comet Tempel 2 | Late Night Astronomy
Wondering what you can see in the night sky this August? This monthly guide covers the Total Solar Eclipse, the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, Comet 10P/Tempel, and a partial lunar eclipse.
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Timestamps: 0:00 Night Sky August 2026 0:30 Total Solar Eclipse (August 12) 2:12 Perseid Meteor Shower Peak 3:20 Partial Lunar Eclipse (August 27) 4:10 Ouranos Sponsored Ad 5:29 Comet 10P/Tempel 2 Viewing Guide 6:23 The Moon 7:04 The Planets 8:46 Deep Sky Challenge
For many decades, students in university programs have designed and built small satellites and operated them in orbit. With the arrival of standardized Cubesat designs and hardware, high school and even grade school students have joined in the smallsat fun. Such endeavors grew out of the AMSAT initiative of the amateur radio community, which launched the first non-government satellites in 1961. (For more smallsat history, see Satellite Building in the HS archives.) Note that the term Amateur Satellites refers to the use of amateur radio bands for communications, not the quality of the satellites.
Here is a brief sampling of recent student smallsat projects and programs:
On April 11, student-built satellite Lion Cub arrived at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket. The nanosatellite is scheduled to remain docked at the ISS until June 29, when it will be deployed into low Earth orbit in what Smith described as “very ceremoniously for us, kind of unceremoniously in video, it just sort of gets ejected out of a launch rail.” At that point, Lion Cub will attempt its central mission: releasing a small stuffed Roaree and photographing it against the backdrop of space.
The CubeSat team first formed in 2022, when a group of students set out to build a satellite without fully knowing how they would get it to space. In 2023, the team proposed Lioness, CSI’s larger scientific satellite mission, and secured a NASA launch contract. The team later joined a multi-university collaboration led by California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, to build Lion Cub, a smaller proof-of-concept satellite that Archer Ankrum, SEAS ’29, a member of the structures team, described as “a test to prepare ourselves” for the full process before the stakes were higher.
More than 180 Grade-8 students at Qatar Academy Doha (QAD), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), took part in the CubeSat Explorer Challenge- a hands-on learning experience organised by Boeing, INJAZ Qatar and Pure Minds Academy to spark early interest in space, satellite technology and other STEM-related careers.
“This programme didn’t just introduce students to space – it brought space to them. It’s no longer a distant concept, but an accessible, exciting career path they can pursue and build here in Qatar,” said Wael Zaoud, Boeing managing director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Qatar is steadily expanding its space capabilities and creating opportunities for the next generation of engineers and researchers. As a company that helped put the first human on the Moon, Boeing is proud to support young talent who will shape Qatar’s aerospace industry.”
The CubeSat Explorer Challenge introduced school students to the role satellites play in modern economies. Working in teams, students designed and built miniature satellite prototypes equipped with environmental sensors, programmed microcontrollers, collected live data and presented their findings. Through the experience, students gained insight into how satellite technologies support decision-making in areas such as air quality monitoring and climate research.
MARMOTSat, the second CubeSat from UVic’s Centre for Aerospace Research (CfAR) and the UVic Satellite Design Team (UVSD) is set to launch in July aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The satellite has already been integrated into its deployment canister at the Canadian Space Agency, and the team expects it to reach orbit and deploy within hours of liftoff.
Once in orbit, MARMOTSat will collect data on the structure and composition of the ionosphere, the charged layer of the Earth’s atmosphere that plays a role in everything from radio propagation to satellite navigation. Researchers are particularly interested in how the ionosphere is shifting in response to human-caused climate change, which is a connection that is still not well understood.
“MarmotSat: Student-Built Canadian CubeSat Brings Open-Source Amateur Experiments to VHF and 10 Meters” – ANS-186 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins – ANS – mailman.amsat.org – July.5.2026 – “For amateurs, the interesting part of MarmotSat is its payload, which marks the debut of the Modular CubeSat Radio (MCR), an open-source, GNU Radio-compatible software-defined radio platform developed by the team. Built around a low-power HF SDR derived from the Hermes Lite 2, the MCR for this mission includes the SDR, an onboard computer, a camera, HF and VHF RF front ends, and simple wire antennas: a base-loaded half-wave tape-measure whip for HF and a half-wave tape-measure dipole for VHF.”
** SNAPPY, the Solar Neutrino Astro-Particle PhYsics CubeSat. was developed by students and researchers at Wichita State University. The NASA funded spacecraft reached orbit on May 3, 2026 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg AFB in California.
Two College of Charleston students built ultraviolet imaging systems, one of which went to the ISS in April of 2026 and another was integrated into a Cubesat that reached orbit on July 7th:
** SPARCS ( Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat) at Arizona State University
The Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) is a small space telescope about the size and shape of a family-size cereal box, launched on SpaceX rocket into low-earth orbit on January 11, 2026.
The science mission which SPARCS will undertake is monitoring the flares and sunspot activity of low-mass stars of M and K spectral type, in the far- and near-ultraviolet to assess how habitable the space environment is for planets orbiting these kinds of stars.
BRODIE: What have you learned by doing this? Not necessarily just about sort of the data and what it is telling you, but maybe what have you learned about things that might interest you or about yourself or about sort of the universe more broadly?
SINK: Yeah, there’s there’s so many things that I’ve learned from this project. I think the realm of satellites in general, I really didn’t understand and the potential for science. So if our little toaster that’s out in space with a telescope is able to contribute to something as big as like looking for habitable planets and things like that, I think it really put in perspective like how cool science really is and how cool space is.
And on the technical side of things, I’ve learned a whole lot of data this, satellite that, right? But I think the absolute coolest thing is just the potential for what we can actually do out there.
The club brings together more than 50 students passionate about aerospace, astrophysics and space technology. Through technical projects, outreach initiatives and industry engagement, the team has built a growing presence within Canada’s space sector while giving students direct experience in mission design, systems engineering and research collaboration.
Today, the team is working on one of its most ambitious initiatives yet: the development of Carleton’s first student-led 3U CubeSat focused on wildfire detection. Alongside the CubeSat mission, CUonOrbit has also completed three high-altitude balloon launches, with a fourth mission planned for summer 2026.
By 2030, the PHAT-Sat project plans to launch a three-unit CubeSat equipped with advanced, hyperspectral cameras that can point toward Kansas and the surrounding region and help detect crop health anomalies. Farmers and drought managers could then analyze that satellite imagery to implement precision agriculture techniques for better irrigation, resource management and sustainability.
In the meantime, the class decided to formulate a “pathfinder” mission to PHAT-Sat by spinning off what had previously been a smaller, secondary payload into NuKAT, a two-unit satellite tentatively set to launch in 2027.
Students at Cal Poly’s hands-on aerospace lab watched months of design and late-night fabrication reach orbit when their latest CubeSat rode a launch vehicle out of Vandenberg late last month. The mission not only puts a small satellite into space — it also underlines how undergraduate labs are training the next generation of engineers in real flight operations. …
… Cal Poly’s PolySat Lab — a multidisciplinary, student-run workshop that builds compact research satellites — confirmed the CubeSat reached orbit after a launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base at about 4 a.m. on March 30. Ground teams have established two-way contact and continue to track and receive data from the spacecraft.
is named after Astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in Space and an inspiration for women and the LGBTQ+ community. The objectives of this mission are to evaluate CPCL’s capability of designing, manufacturing, and testing a CubeSat while simultaneously providing a project management basis for future CPCL flight missions. SAL-E launched successfully on SpaceX’s Transporter 16 rideshare mission and first contact was made soon after.
The CubeSat concept was actually first developed by a collaboration between teams at Cal Poly and Stanford.
A live CubeSat tracking demonstration and outreach sessions on space technology, healthcare and defence applications drew school students’ attention on the second day of the 5th IEEE Wireless, Antenna and Microwave Symposium (WAMS-2026) at a college in Narsapur.
[CubeCats President Everett Metzler] said leaks on the International Space Station pushed back the deployment and that he only learned a few days ago it was going ahead. The deployment is the final step in a 10-year plan to deliver LeopardSat-1 from the maker space into the hands of a NASA astronaut.
“An astronaut is going put it inside of an airlock, and then put the deployer outside, and it’s going to launch into space. So, at first, it’s going to start tumbling, then it’s slowly going to detumble over time, and then after a few hours, it’s going to start and – hopefully – transmit back to us,” Metzler said.
Metzler said the satellite carries different carbon-based materials to test how they hold up against radiation in space. He said finding the right material could help make longer missions to the moon and even Mars possible.
The CubeCats’ work will continue after deployment. The group still has to record the data and is already planning its next satellite.
** KENSAT is a one person run project that will send a CubeSat
carrying an LLM into low earth orbit — designed, owned, and operated by a single individual rather than a state or a corporation. It performs inference in space, and beams the answer back to anyone listening.
… a large language model on-orbit. A power-gated NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano executes neural-network inference in space, and the results are downlinked over a custom UHF radio link to amateur ground stations.
… a 520 km sun-synchronous orbit and circle the planet about sixteen times a day.
On board: a tiny always-on flight computer that keeps the satellite alive, a GPU that runs the language model, a UHF radio for talking to the ground, and a small lithium battery topped up by body-mounted solar panels.
The radio antenna is a pair of tape-measure strips that spring open the moment the satellite is ejected from its deployer. No motors, no actuators, no moving parts that can fail.
Getting a complex electronics project off the ground is never easy, but Ken Chan’s latest creation presents some unique challenges. That’s because Chan’s project is designed to literally get off the ground — way off. It is called KENSAT, and it is a 2U CubeSat that is scheduled to go into orbit around the Earth this fall. Perhaps the coolest thing about KENSAT is that it’s not being built in a NASA clean room, but in Chan’s home lab.
Getting Started with Amateur Satellites – “a complete guide to working amateur satellites, covering tracking, antennas, radio selection, and step-by-step operation for FM, SSB, and digital modes.”
Cal Poly’s CubeSat Laboratory (CPCL) – “where the CubeSat standard originated, and where the CubeSat Design Specification is maintained and published. In addition to providing the CDS, CPCL hosts the annual CubeSat Developer’s Workshop in San Luis Obispo, and provides a central point for CubeSat community resources.”
CubeSatSim Lite Fully Assembled – AMSAT – This “low-cost, fully assembled satellite simulator” is designed to help users learn about satellite communications by transmitting simulated telemetry signals that can be received with common amateur radio equipment.Operating on the 70 cm amateur band at 434.900 MHz, the CubeSatSim Lite allows users to receive and decode signals using a wide range of radios and software-defined radio (SDR) setups. Digital telemetry and images can be decoded using software such as FoxTelem, APRS decoders, or SSTV applications.”
Check out the night sky this month, July 2026. Here are videos and links to websites highlighting the top sights to observe.
** What’s Up: July 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA | NASA JPL
A predawn meetup between the Moon and planets, a returning comet, dark skies for the Milky Way, and Saturn’s unusually thin rings.
Before sunrise on July 11 and 12, look east/southeast for the waning crescent Moon, Mars, and Saturn. Uranus is in the same part of the sky, but you will need binoculars or a telescope to spot it.
Around July 14, use binoculars or a telescope to seek Comet 10P/Tempel 2 under dark skies of the New Moon. Those nights are also a great time to look for the Milky Way, while later in the month Saturn’s rings appear strikingly thin through a telescope.
0:00 Intro 0:11 Moon, Mars, Saturn, and Uranus before dawn 0:47 Comet 10P/Tempel 2 1:35 Dark skies for the Milky Way 2:34 Saturn’s thin rings 2:57 July Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/.
Pete Lawrence and Paul Abel reveal the best things to see in the night sky this month, from the Moon and planets to the constellations and deep-sky objects.
This month’s episode offers great tips on how to be a better stargazer. It also highlights the bright star Spica, now prominent high in the southwest after evening twilight. It’s leading the parade of constellations, along with the brilliant planet Venus, that will grace the Northern Hemisphere’s summer skies. So grab curiosity and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.
** The Night Sky | July 2026 | Comet Tempel 2 | Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower | Late Night Astronomy
A major meteor shower peaks and we continue to track a comet traveling through our solar system. Let’s take a look at what you can go out to see in the night sky for July of 2026.
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Timestamps: 0:00 Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower 1:34 The Moon 2:10 Ouranos Ad 3:21 The Planets 4:12 Comet Tempel 2 4:56 Deep Sky Challenge
Check out the night sky this month, June 2026. Here are videos and links to websites highlighting the top sights to observe.
** What’s Up: June 2026 Skywatching Tips from NASA | NASA JPL
Venus and Jupiter meet after sunset, the Moon passes in front of Venus, summer begins, and deep-sky treasures rise into view.
To start June, look west after sunset to spot Venus and Jupiter shining close together, with Mercury joining the view low in the sky.
Around June 9, Venus and Jupiter appear especially close in a planetary conjunction.
From June 11 through 15, Mercury joins the scene, creating a mini-parade of planets near the western horizon.
On June 17, from some locations, the Moon passes in front of Venus in an event called a lunar occultation. For viewers outside the exact viewing path, the Moon and Venus may still appear close together. [Important safety note: For many viewers, this event happens during the daytime. Never point binoculars, a telescope, or a camera near the Sun unless you are using proper solar-safe equipment.]
June also brings the summer solstice, marking the start of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere.
And once the sky gets dark, look for the Summer Triangle and deep-sky objects like the Dumbbell Nebula, Ring Nebula, North America Nebula, and Veil Nebula.
0:00 Intro 0:11 Venus and Jupiter after sunset 0:23 Planetary conjunction 0:35 Mercury joins the lineup 1:09 Moon passes in front of Venus 2:03 Summer solstice 2:43 Summer Triangle and deep-sky objects 3:27 Moon phases
Additional information about topics covered in this episode of What’s Up, along with still images from the video, and the video transcript, are available at https://science.nasa.gov/skywatching/whats-up/…
The evening sky in the west on June 14th. Credits: NASA
This month’s episode highlights the close pairing of Venus and Jupiter under way in the western sky after sunset. You’ll also learn why astronomers are fixated on a star in Corona Borealis — and how to find a huge but dim constellation that will likely be new to you. So grab curiosity and come along on this month’s Sky Tour.
** The Night Sky | June 2026 | Venus and Jupiter Meet | Moon Moves in front of Venus | Comet Tempel 2 | Late Night Astronomy
Venus and Jupiter make a close pass to each other right after sunset and the Moon moves in front of Venus. Let’s take a look at what you can go out to see in the night sky for June of 2026!
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Timestamps: 0:00 Jupiter and Venus Close Together 1:13 Lunar Occultation of Venus 2:18 The Moon 2:53 The Planets 3:26 Comet 10/P Tempel 2 4:24 Deep Sky Challenge
A rendering of the spacecraft docked to the International Space Station Configuration as of May.17.2026. The six spaceships parked at the station include the SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon, the SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL, the Soyuz MS-28 crew ship, and the Progress 94 and 95 resupply ships. Credits: NASA
At 6:37 a.m. EDT, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module, carrying nearly 6,500 pounds of food, supplies, and equipment for the Expedition 74 crew. This is the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the space station for NASA.
In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including a project to determine how well Earth-based simulators mimic microgravity conditions, a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, and equipment to help researchers evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. The Dragon spacecraft also will carry a new instrument to study charged particles around the Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, and a instrument designed to take highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.
The mission launched at 6:05 p.m. May 15 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
** NASA’s SpaceX 34th Commercial Resupply Services Rendezvous and Docking | NASA
** NASA Astronauts Discuss Life In Space With U.S. Naval War College – Friday, April 24, 2026 | NASA Video
Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 74 flight engineers Jack Hathaway and Chris Williams of NASA, discussed life and work aboard the orbital outpost during an in-flight interview April 24 with the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Hathaway is a graduate of the college. The two astronauts are in the midst of a long-duration mission living and working aboard the microgravity laboratory to advance scientific knowledge and demonstrate new technologies for future human and robotic exploration flights as part of NASA’s Moon and Mars exploration approach, including lunar missions through NASA’s Artemis program.
** The International Space Station: 25 Years of Innovation and Inspiration | AIAA
In November, the International Space Station (ISS) reached a historic milestone—25 years of continuous human presence in orbit. Over that time, more than 290 astronauts have lived and worked aboard the space station, driving research and development that benefits life on Earth and expands NASA’s reach into space. This session will highlight some of the most innovative advancements enabled by the ISS and explore what’s next for low Earth orbit as we look toward the future of space exploration.
MODERATOR: Patrick O’Neill, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION NATIONAL LABORATORY Michael Roberts, Chief Science Officer, ISS National Lab Robyn Gatens, Director, International Space Station and Commercial Spaceflight Divisions, NASA (Invited)”
“What Comes Next” showcases Axiom Space’s vision to transcend Earth by building era-defining space infrastructure that drives exploration and fuels a vibrant space economy for the benefit of every human everywhere. Tune in to watch our short film to learn more about how we are building what comes next for low-Earth orbit. #AxiomStation — — —
Axiom Space is building the world’s first commercial space station – Axiom Station. Serving as a cornerstone for sustained human presence in space, this next-generation orbital platform fosters groundbreaking innovation and research in microgravity, and cultivates the vibrant, global space economy of tomorrow. Today, driven by the vision of leading humanity’s journey off planet, Axiom Space is the principal provider of commercial human spaceflight services to the International Space Station and developer of advanced spacesuits for the Moon and low-Earth orbit. Axiom Space is building era-defining space infrastructure that will empower our civilization to transcend Earth for the benefit of every human, everywhere.
— Axiom Space CEO Jonathan Cirtain Explains What Sets It Apart from Competitors | New York Stock Exchange
Axiom Space CEO Jonathan Cirtain joins Ashley Mastronardi on NYSE Live to discuss his company and its. competition
“We were already at 130% of commercial demand capacity spoken for on Starlab, and that commercial demand could translate to a different solution if NASA goes a different path,” he said.
Phil de Sousa, chief financial officer, said that Starlab should start recording commercial revenue as soon as 2027 through activities such as training for future missions to the station as well as converting payload reservations into contracts. Work on Starlab has been supported so far by the companies along with a NASA Space Act Agreement, which provided $24 million to Voyager in the first quarter as it completed four milestones.
Voyager may launch Starlab even without NASA as anchor customer:
Taylor left the door open for Starlab to develop its station without NASA support when asked by an analyst if there was a “third option” beyond the current CLD plans and the alternative proposed by NASA.
“I think we’re very well positioned for CLD Phase 2, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we could independently finance this,” he said.
— Voyager partners with Rhodium Scientific to support scientific research on Starlab:
From research to real-world impact — faster.@RhScientific is partnering with Starlab Space to deliver biotech services, flight-proven hardware, and end-to-end mission support in low Earth orbit. From payload development to in-orbit operations and post-flight commercialization,… pic.twitter.com/v1ag2YIdcC
Max Space has unveiled a large sub-scale version of their expandable habitat, giving viewers a real look at how best to offer far greater habitable volume for future space endeavors. “This is more than a model,” said Saleem Miyan, co-founder and CEO of Max Space, based in Florida. “It is a physical demonstration of a new approach to space infrastructure, far greater habitable volume, lower launch mass and logistics burden, scalable architecture for commercial low Earth orbit stations, lunar surface systems, and future deep space missions.”
If we are serious about permanent human presence on the moon and in space, Miyan told Space.com, “we need real estate that is scalable and built for how humans will actually live and operate off Earth.”
Starlab Space LLC, a commercial space station developer, today announced an agreement with Plastron Group, a contract research organization focused on enabling end-to-end life sciences research and manufacturing in microgravity in the UK and Europe at large. Through the agreement, the two organizations will collaborate on expanding access to microgravity-enabled biotechnology and pharmaceutical research as the commercial space industry transitions beyond the International Space Station.
Under the agreement, Plastron will deliver a comprehensive microgravity service model for biotech and pharmaceutical customers, supporting research and manufacturing workflows from ground to orbit and back. The company’s approach integrates experiment design, payload handling and post-flight analysis into a seamless process, ensuring continuity and quality across every stage of the mission.
— The Vast step-by-step development of sustainable habitats in space:
Vast is ready to support a continuous presence in space for the US and its allies. Through our hardware-rich, stepping-stone approach to building next-generation space stations, we validate our systems early to ensure readiness, starting with the success of Haven Demo. pic.twitter.com/fYVv5cCh3R
Vast’s new 49,000-square-foot headquarters, a collaboration between its in-house team and the New York-based multidisciplinary design studio Civilian, does all those things, in a sophisticated expression of how architecture can support high-performance work and reinforce brand.
Established in 2022, Innovation Agency Lithuania is a non-profit agency under the Lithuanian Ministry of Economy and Innovation and leads the country’s innovation ecosystem, supporting business development across all stages, including space research.
Under the agreement, Vast and Innovation Agency Lithuania will explore opportunities for joint scientific research activities either in the International Space Station National Lab or Haven-1, scheduled to be the world’s first commercial space station, launching in 2027. The partnership also includes plans to further develop educational programs in Lithuania and deepen engagement with local industry.
Vast, the California-based startup developing what it calls the world’s first commercial space station, announced significant progress in March and April 2026 as Haven-1 moves toward its target launch in the first quarter of 2027. The company secured $500 million in Series C funding in March 2026, led by the Qatar Investment Authority with participation from Mitsui, MUFG, and Balerion Space Ventures.
The funding will accelerate production of the Haven-1 station and support development of the follow-on Haven-2 design. Vast has also expanded manufacturing facilities in Long Beach, California, where the station modules are being assembled. The company’s workforce has grown to over 400 employees, up from approximately 200 in early 2025.
Haven-1 entered the full integration phase in January 2026, with the spacecraft’s major subsystems being assembled and tested together for the first time. Life support systems, critical for sustaining crew members, have undergone extended testing including模拟 long-duration missions. The station’s interior has been outfitted with cargo storage systems, crew accommodations, and research equipment.
— Vast is building the first commercial space stations | NBC News
Vast hopes to be the first U.S. company to put a commercial space station into orbit, eventually replacing the ISS with it’s own, smaller stations. NBC News’ Gadi Schwartz gets a tour of their factory in Long Beach, California, where the bulk of their stations are manufactured.
— The Large Docking Adapter for the future of commercial space | VAST Youtube
Introducing the Large Docking Adapter. The future of space exploration is larger crewed vehicles and space stations. In current development at Vast HQ, the adapter is designed to standardize large spacecraft compatibility.
Introducing the Vast Astronaut Flight Suit. Shaping the future of humanity’s life in space through human-centric design is a core ethos at Vast. Developed with spaceflight experts, the suit prioritizes mobility, comfort, and on-orbit functionality.
Flight suits have played a key role, both practically and symbolically, in aviation and spaceflight history. The design of the flight suit honors that legacy while signaling the future of commercial space.
On Feb 4, 2026, Vast mission control executed a terminal deorbit burn guiding Haven Demo, our in-orbit testbed for space station technologies, to splashdown in the South Pacific Ocean. This demonstrates safe, controlled deorbit capability for future space station modules.
China’s Tianzhou-10 cargo craft completed its status setup and successfully docked with the orbiting Tiangong space station on May 11, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
** Shenzhou-21 Crew Receives New Supplies, Continues Space Experiments After Extended Mission in Orbit | CCTV Video News Agency
Nearly 200 days into their mission aboard China’s space station Tiangong, the Shenzhou-21 astronauts, Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang, remain in good physical and mental condition.
** Blue Origin plans to extract oxygen and other resources from the lunar regolith:
Lunar Permanence will require using resources on the Moon rather than hauling them from Earth. Our in-situ resource utilization system extracts oxygen from lunar regolith to create breathable air for astronauts and propellant for refueling landers and fuel cells. It also produces… pic.twitter.com/qPjDpkuyUe
The Unknown Quantity explores how capital, and technology shape the future of the space economy and deep tech markets.
Hosted by Thomas Andrew Olson of the Center for Space Commerce and Finance and produced by Better Futures Inc., the show breaks down regulatory risk, investment dynamics, and strategic decision making across the commercial space industry.
Each episode is designed for founders, investors, policymakers, and industry professionals seeking clear, structured insight into how space and emerging technology companies form, attract capital, manage risk, and scale.
Dr. Doug Plata, President and founder of the Space Development Network, is interviewed. The Network is a volunteer space advocacy group that focuses on “the establishment of humanity’s first, small but permanent off-Earth settlement as soon as possible“.
Here is a sneak peak of Komatsu on the moon. At the dawn of space exploration, Komatsu is taking on a challenge to develop a machine whose line of job is construction on the moon!
The study of lunar construction equipment utilizes the results of research and development commissioned by the Project for Promoting the Development of Innovative Technologies for Outer Space Autonomous Construction (A Japanese government project lead-managed by MLIT with the collaboration of MEXT)
** The Space Habitat Diaspora – Humanity Spreads Without Planets | Isaac Arthur
Humanity may not colonize planets—we may build our own worlds. Explore how rotating space habitats could spread across the Solar System and beyond, forming a vast diaspora of artificial worlds that reshape civilization and interstellar expansion.
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0:00 Intro – Rethinking What a World Can Be 2:37 Why Habitats Win on Physics, Engineering… and Scalability 10:13 The Birth of a Habitat Civilization 14:54 Nebula 15:54 Life Without Planets: Cultures That Grow in Steel Valleys 18:59 Resilience: Fragile Shells, Immortal Civilizations 21:37 The True Diaspora: Leaving the Solar System
** SRIC4 #17: “Building and living in space” with Isaac Arthur | Space Renaissance
This is the 17th preliminary webinar of the IV SRI World Congress. We, at Space Renaissance, are very interested to understanding more on a few concepts illustrated by Isaac Arthur in his online lectures program:
Orbital Foundries & Zero G Manufacturing, Building in Space ( • Orbital Foundries & Zero G Manufacturing -… ), Space Habitat Clusters & Conglomerations ( • Space Habitat Clusters & Conglomerations ).
All of these topics are of great actuality, in the incoming scenario of the cislunar space economy and the kick-off of civilian space development, a key focus for our IV SRI World Congress. Some of our experts, plus Adriano V. Autino, will pose questions to Isaac, in a broad conversation-interview style. Participants to the panel include:
Alberto Cavallo, co-chair of the Space Tech & Industry Commitee (expert in Energy and scholar of space transportation and propulsion) Werner Grandl, chair of the Space Tech & Industry Commitee (expert of architecture and civil enginneering) Jerry Stone, chair of the Space Habitats Committee (father of the Island Zero project) Adriano V. Autino, SRI, CEO & Founder
An essential bio Isaac Arthur — President, National Space Society — is the creator of the wildly successful “Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur,” an award-winning weekly science education and entertainment show with over 700,000 subscribers and over 400 episodes on YouTube. The show covers a wide range of futuristic concepts including space technology, development, and exploration, and …
** Space Tech & Industry Committee +Space Habitats meeting #12 02 04 2026 | Space Renaissance
Participants: Werner Grandl [WG], Alberto Cavallo [AC], Walter Hammond [WH], Dennis O’Brien [DOB], Adriano V. Autino [AVA]
=== Space settlement – General topics
** SRIC4 #19: “Space capitalism” with Prof. Giancarlo Genta | Space Renaissance
Space capitalism – Private companies and states in the new race beyond Earth Giancarlo Genta – Professor Emeritus, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
ABSTRACT In the last years, the number of private actors engaged in space missions has grown, and their importance has increased. This trend is usually referred to as New Space. While this trend has started with economic activities in LEO and in supplying transportation services to Space Agencies, now these activities are expanding to deep space (or BLEO: Beyond Low Earth Orbit) and to space exploration with missions designed and implemented by private industries, and space agencies buying tickets to send their astronauts on exploration missions. The overall advantages of this approach to exploration will be the decrease of costs and times of exploration missions, which will lead to start a spacefaring civilization without waiting long times. In particular, the recent statements by Elon Musk, of SpaceX, about performing a sample return mission to Mars in the 2028 launch opportunity as a test to proceed with a human mission in 2030 are very interesting. Even if there will be a delay, the timeframe for Mars human exploration will be greatly reduced.
SHORT BIO Giancarlo Genta obtained degrees in Aeronautical Engineering in 1971 and Aerospace Engineering in 1972. Taught courses in Astronautical Propulsion, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Design of Aircraft Engines and Space robotics at Politecnico di Torino. Full Professor in Machine Design, head of the Department of Mechanics from 1989 to 1995, now is Professor Emeritus, member of the Academy of Sciences of Torino and of the International Academy of Astronautics, where since 2012 heads the Study Group on Human Mars Exploration. Member of the Advisory Board of the Starshot Project. Author of more than 400 scientific papers, 5 patents and 40 textbooks, research monographies and popular science books. Author of 6 science fiction novels, published in Italian and English.
=== A sampling of space habitat and settlement news and articles:
Calendar:
Securing a Cislunar Future: Markets, Minerals, and Momentum. Wed, May 27, 2026, Time: 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT. | Beyond Earth: Long Term Thinking about Space. This webinar is sponsored by Lunar Helium 3 Corporations and oganized by the Beyond Earth Working Group Report Webinar Series.
“Once viewed primarily through the lens of exploration, cislunar space is now becoming a platform for sustained commercial activity, scientific innovation, and international competition. Panelists will discuss emerging market opportunities, infrastructure needs, investment and risk-sharing models, and the role of policy and international norms in enabling sustainable growth.“
ISS in Real Time – “Explore 25 years onboard the International Space Station. This multimedia project replays every day of the past 25 years onboard and consists entirely of historical mission material.“
Auroras, thunderstorms, and brightly lit cities streak across this nighttime timelapse captured by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot during the 2026 Lyrids meteor shower.
** Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream) | NASA
Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.
The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It’s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8
Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov
