Category: Space Exploration

The space industry is experiencing a new wave of growth and investor excitement. From satellite communications providers to rocket launch startups, companies around the world have seen stock prices soar over the past year, followed by a period of consolidation. This report dives into the current stock market performance of publicly traded satellite and space-related…
Read more

Introduction: A New Era of Military Satcom is Here The U.S. Space Force has quietly teamed with SpaceX to create a secretive satellite Internet constellation for the military. Dubbed “MILNET,” this government-owned but SpaceX-operated network will comprise “480-plus” small satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) breakingdefense.com. Announced in June 2025, the MILNET contract marks a…
Read more

Background: A Long-Defunct NASA Satellite (Relay 2) Relay 2 is an experimental communications satellite NASA launched on January 21, 1964, as part of the early Relay programen.wikipedia.org. Similar in design to its predecessor Relay 1, this satellite was built by RCA and tasked with relaying television signals and studying Earth’s radiation beltsen.wikipedia.or en.wikipedia.org. After a successful launch atop…
Read more

In June 2025 the French government announced a €1.35 billion capital injection into Eutelsat, Europe’s leading satellite operator marketscreener.com. Under the plan, the state (via its Agence des participations de l’État) will invest €717 million and absorb France’s existing 13.6% stake (held by the state bank Bpifrance), boosting its holding to 29.99% marketscreener.com spacenews.com. This deal makes…
Read more

Executive Summary: The Pentagon has long sought a “space internet” – an integrated military satellite network that automatically routes data across U.S., allied, and commercial satellites. This enterprise SATCOM vision promises resilience and high-speed connectivity, but it has been dogged by technical, bureaucratic, and industrial challenges. Recent reporting and studies show that legacy hardware, fragmented…
Read more

China’s space program has rapidly transformed into a space empire of global scale, guided by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). In just a few decades, China went from launching its first satellite in 1970 to operating a fleet of over 1,000 satellites and a fully crewed space station in orbit andrewerickson.com space.com. Today, China…
Read more

Iranian Space Agency (ISA) History and Founding Timeline Iran’s involvement in space activities dates back to the late 1950s, when it became a founding member of the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1958 en.wikipedia.org. Early efforts focused on satellite communications and remote sensing: by 1976, Iran had established a “Remote…
Read more

Jupiter: The Solar System’s Giant Planet Jupiter’s turbulent atmosphere, as captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft in 2019, showcases its reddish-brown cloud bands and the iconic Great Red Spot (lower right) science.nasa.gov science.nasa.gov. A Planet of Superlatives: Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system – so big that if it were a hollow shell,…
Read more

Ultimate Guide to Satellites: From Sputnik to SpaceX and Beyond Satellites are the unseen workhorses of modern life. Every time you check the weather, follow GPS directions, or watch live international events, you’re benefiting from satellites orbiting high above. But what exactly are satellites, and how did we go from the humble beginnings of Sputnik in 1957…
Read more

Introduction to Spy Satellites Spy satellites – officially known as reconnaissance satellites – are orbiting spacecraft used by governments to secretly monitor activities on Earth for national security purposes. They serve as high-tech “eyes in the sky,” peering down from space to collect intelligence on foreign military forces, weapons developments, missile launches, and other strategic…
Read more