SpaceX ignited all 33 next-gen Raptor V3 engines on the Super Heavy booster at Starbase, Texas, marking a critical milestone toward the next Starship flight.
Russia launched its first 16 operational Rassvet broadband satellites on March 23, 2026, beginning a long climb toward a 900-satellite LEO constellation. Built by Bureau 1440 and funded by billions in government and private capital, Rassvet is a technological sovereignty project driven by a hard lesson from the war in Ukraine. When your military depends on someone else's satellites, they can turn them off.
SpaceX shifts launch priorities to Vandenberg as Falcon 9 era winds down, while Anthropic signs orbital data center deal with the company.
SpaceX's reported IPO structure grants Elon Musk unchecked control and forces 220,000-GPU Colossus AI deal into the spotlight.
SpaceX launched 24 Starlink satellites on mission 17-29, marking the 44th dedicated constellation flight of 2026 from Vandenberg SFB.
As of late April 2026, Amazon has 231 production satellites in orbit after eleven launches. The FCC license requires 1,618 by July 30. The math, the rockets, and what happens when the calendar runs out on a mega-constellation.
