Space – The Defense Post

May- 2026 -

14 May

Americas

Ethan M. Encarnacion

Northrop Unveils GPS-Free Navigation System for Deep Space Missions

Spacecraft could soon navigate far beyond Earth without relying on GPS or satellite signals.

13 May

Technology

Jodesz Gavilan

Accelint, Vitesse Merge to Build Faster AI-Enabled Battlefield Decision Systems

Defense firms Accelint and Vitesse Systems have merged under the Lyntris name to combine sensor hardware, mission software, and AI tools for US and allied military programs.

7 May

Europe

Giulia Bernacchi

Loft, Magellium to Develop Next-Gen Earth Observation Network for France

Loft Orbital and Magellium Artal Group secured a contract to develop a next-generation Earth observation constellation for France.

7 May

Europe

Akhsan Erido Elezhar

France’s New SSA Camera Can Spot 10-Centimeter Objects in Space

Simera Sense France is rolling out a new space situational awareness camera designed to improve how satellites detect, track, and react to activity in orbit in real time.

5 May

Europe

The Swedish Armed Forces' first operational satellite.

Giulia Bernacchi

Sweden Deploys First Military Reconnaissance Satellite Into Orbit

Sweden placed its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, marking the country’s initial operational step into the space domain.

Apr- 2026 -

22 April

Space

Jodesz Gavilan

Poland Advances Secure Military Satellite Program With EU Firms

Poland is moving to secure dedicated military satellite communications as it teams up with European industry to build a new geostationary defense satellite system.

21 April

Americas

Telescopes operated by the 15th Space Surveillance Squadron at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex are shown on Maui, Hawaii, Sept. 16, 2025. The MSSC is located on Haleakala, is the third best place on Earth from which to view space, and the best location for daytime space domain awareness. GBOSS upgrades to the legacy Ground Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System at the White Sands Missile Range were completed and reached operational acceptance on June 27, 2025, and the upgrades to the MSSC in Hawaii are currently underway. The GBOSS system was built to continue to meet the Space Surveillance Network mission needs and to increase SDA by more accurately identifying and tracking resident space objects in orbit. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman noted, “GBOSS improves our ability to map the space operating environment. The upgrade not only improves sensitivity and boosts the number of objects we can track, it also takes advantage of data provided by commercial sensors to help with our unquenchable thirst for more SDA data.” (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Laura Anderson)

Rojoef Manuel

US Space Force Expands Orbit Tracking With New Ground Sensor in Hawaii

The US Space Force has approved upgrades for its Ground-Based Optical Sensor System at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex in Hawaii, expanding its ability to track objects across Earth’s orbits.

21 April

Americas

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink 10-44 mission successfully launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on Mar. 30, 2026. This was the 34th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, SES O3B mPOWER-A, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, Galileo L13, Koreasat-6A, and now 23 Starlink missions. (U.S. Space Force photo by Gwendolyn Kurzen)

Rojoef Manuel

Starlink Glitch Leaves US Navy Drone Boats Drifting: Report

A global outage in Elon Musk’s Starlink network disrupted US Navy drone tests, cutting communications and leaving approximately two dozen unmanned surface vessels adrift off California for nearly an hour.

20 April

Space

Jodesz Gavilan

Rheinmetall Plans Satellite Test Facility in Norway

Rheinmetall has taken a step toward building a satellite processing and test facility in northern Norway through a new agreement with the municipality of Andøy.

14 April

Americas

A Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket launches the Department of War Space Test Program S29A (STP-S29A) mission from Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base Calif., April 7, 2026. The STP-S29A mission carried a variety of DoW, U.S. Space Force, and academic institution payloads into orbit, marking the 23rd launch of 2026 from Vandenberg. (Courtesy photo by Northrop Grumman)

Rojoef Manuel

Northrop Grumman Launches US Space Force Experiments on Minotaur IV

Northrop Grumman has launched the US Space Force’s Space Test Program S29A mission module aboard its Minotaur IV rocket, deploying multiple experimental payloads into low Earth orbit.

Trends Shaping the Defense World

JOIN 100,000+ FOR DEFENSE NEWS, TRENDS & INSIGHTS