Private American space company driving reusability and lunar ambitions
A consortium led by Amit Bhatia has agreed to buy roughly a one‑third minority stake in Liverpool Football Club, and Jeff Bezos and Eduardo Saverin are participating. Fenway Sports Group has retained majority control. The deal values the club at about £4.4–4.5bn and could take weeks to complete pending formalities and regulatory checks.
VinSpace has signed a contract with SpaceX to send its first satellites into orbit on a Transporter rideshare mission in 2027. The Hanoi-based company, part of Vietnam’s Vingroup, plans to develop and operate its satellites to test technology and support future commercial space services. The agreement aligns with Vietnam’s push to become a mid-level space power by 2030.
SpaceX has pledged $100 billion to build a 125,000‑acre Starbase in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, that it says will support thousands of Starship launches a year, add about 3,000 direct jobs and include propellant production, power generation and deep‑water shipping. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027; SpaceX targets initial launches by 2029 while state officials give a 2030 timeline.
The Chang’e-7 mission is delaying its launch as conditions for lift-off have not been met this year. The China Manned Space Agency has given a brief statement that the launch cannot take place within the planned window after a comprehensive assessment.
President Trump has signed an executive order to begin creating a U.S. Space Academy to train astronauts, engineers and civil operators for NASA, the U.S. Space Force and the civilian spaceflight industry. A presidential commission chaired by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman will deliver proposals within 120 days; the academy’s location and funding remain undecided.
French president Emmanuel Macron has opened a two-day International Space Summit in Paris that has gathered officials, astronauts, researchers and industry leaders from about 120 countries to press Europe to build sovereign space capabilities, debate regulation and seek commercial deals. U.S. companies SpaceX and Blue Origin are absent after White House concerns over the event’s framing.
Isar Aerospace has reached orbit on its second Spectrum flight and has deployed small satellites, making it the first purely commercial European launcher to do so. The success has prompted company plans to scale production and expand launch capacity as European governments and private firms ramp up investment in sovereign space capability.
Isar Aerospace, TEC, Stoke Space and others are expanding Europe’s independent access to space with new funding rounds and launches. Isar has already achieved orbit with Spectrum, TEC is pursuing Nyx—a reusable European heavy-lift—while Stoke Space is signaling a major Series E to scale toward orbital goals. The race to redefine who launches from Europe and beyond is intensifying as private capital backs big ambitions.
Europe is pushing to build sovereign space capabilities and reduce reliance on the United States for launches, satellites and defense-related space infrastructure. The International Space Summit in Paris has spotlighted EU ambitions, private sector growth, and tensions with U.S. and Chinese players.
Trade unions and the new Labour leadership are pushing for higher taxes on banks’ profits to fund a social tariff that could lower energy bills for millions, as energy costs and inflation remain central to the policy agenda.
The United States is accelerating its space and lunar defense posture as officials announce on-orbit space control weapons and a doubling of the Space Force. Leaders say operations will defend US interests from low Earth orbit to cislunar space, signaling a shift in the military balance in space ahead of potential actions around the Moon.
Alphabet-backed tests are validating Google’s orbital AI compute concept. A MVP satellite carries four TPUs and will run in-space workloads to evaluate space-ready AI hardware and links to future laser-connected satellites.
NASA has allocated a further $359 million to Boeing to complete Starliner upgrades and certify it for a new rocket, aiming to ensure crewed access to low-Earth orbit while SpaceX winds down Crew Dragon operations. A cargo-only mission could occur by December, with crewed flights expected in mid-2028 after safety redesigns.
SpaceX has achieved an orbital Starship flight, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites and signaling a new era of high-frequency, reusable launches. The mission faced an early engine issue but proceeded to orbit with a Pacific splashdown and a rapid return-to-flight plan taking shape for future missions.
SpaceX has warned that a growing number of satellite operators are not sharing orbital data, increasing the risk of collisions in Earth's orbit. Starlink has observed hundreds of near-miss events this year, including incidents where Starlink satellites had to alter course to avoid others. SpaceX says gaps in data collaboration heighten the danger as constellations expand, even as the company expands Starlink with plans for tens of thousands of satellites.
Berkshire Hathaway has increased its investment in Italian tech group Bending Spoons, lifting its stake to 4% after a $330 million private placement. The move comes after a strong IPO performance and follows previous investments that have helped drive the company’s growth and deal activity.
Ukraine has reported that Starlink and its military-grade Starshield service have resumed pre-restriction speeds after days of limits that capped connectivity for objects moving above about 160km/h. Kyiv said monitoring systems now record stable connections above 400km/h. Washington, SpaceX and Elon Musk have each denied clear responsibility for the throttle that disrupted drone missions.
SpaceX’s Starlink and Starshield throttling in Ukraine has heightened tensions with Kyiv and lawmakers, while Ukraine accelerates plans with Nokia, ICEYE, and Nordic partners to build sovereign comms capabilities and reduce dependence on SpaceX. EU IRIS2 and rival services loom as policymakers demand accountability.
NASA officials say Artemis III will dock with lunar landers in 2027 ahead of a 2028 moon landing, while Artemis IV remains targeted for late 2028. The agency aims to speed up development with lighter suits and faster launch cadence, as it weighs SpaceX vs. Blue Origin for the lunar lander.
NASA has opened applications for a new generation of astronauts to support the Artemis program. Applicants must be U.S. citizens with advanced degrees, relevant experience, and must submit by December 3. Final selections are expected by late 2027, with training to begin in 2028 as NASA prepares a return to the Moon by 2028 and a human presence beyond Earth.
Nvidia has announced an independent internal review into Jensen Huang amid reports of an affair with a woman linked to a Chinese intelligence asset. The board says no national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised. Shareholders have filed a class action alleging misleading disclosures. Huang is continuing as CEO throughout the investigation.