🚀 SPACE HEADLINES

NASA’s twin ESCAPADE probes have successfully completed dual Earth flybys and are now officially en route to Mars. In military space developments, France awarded an Airbus and Thales joint team a contract valued at over €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) for new military Earth-observation satellites, while the U.S. Space Force selected Viasat for a $450 million contract to construct a unified network operations center. In civil space infrastructure, NASA chose Viasat, SES, and Astranis to provide Ka-band space relay capabilities compatible with its Tracking and Data Relay Satellite system. In commercial launch developments, Rocket Lab increased pricing for its Neutron launch vehicle ahead of a planned 2027 debut. Scientific highlights include a NASA study demonstrating how gravitational waves can be used to detect undiscovered exoplanets, as well as new research leveraging the James Webb Space Telescope to explain mysterious early-universe "little red dots." Looking ahead, launch tracking observers should monitor SpaceX as technicians conduct pad testing on the Starship Flight 15 Super Heavy booster ahead of an upcoming double-catch landing attempt.