Short Takes – 10-30-26 - Space Geek Edition

Pentagon backs Stoke Space launch expansion with $150 million loan commitment. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “Unlike SpaceX’s Starship, which relies on thousands of thermal protection tiles, Stoke is developing a metallic heat shield cooled by liquid hydrogen circulating through internal channels. The system is integrated with an upper-stage engine featuring 24 thrust chambers.” 

Cowboy Space unveils launch vehicle for deploying its orbital data center constellation. SpaceNews.com article. Very ambitious development plan. Pull quote: “Bhatt outlined in the presentation a concept called Trailhead that would combine a factory with a launch site. Each Trailhead would cost about $1 billion to develop and include five launch pads capable of launching 660 megawatts of computing capacity per year, a rate of nearly two launches per day.” 

This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “That means Reflect Orbital will need permission on a national and local level to reflect sunlight onto the ground, but if the beams spread as much as Kocifaj and his team predict, “the company could need approvals in more than one jurisdiction,” says Hanlon. “There may also be aviation-safety and cross-border questions.”” 

SR-1 on track for late 2028 launch. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The agency has said little else about development of the mission. In June, Lori Glaze, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate, said NASA was working to “streamline the processes” for managing the mission to enable a launch in late 2028. Any delay would push the mission back to the next Mars launch opportunity at the end of 2030.” 

Satellogic and HEO extend non-Earth imaging contract. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The new agreement is largely an extension of previous agreements, he said, with no new technical capabilities. “We’ll continue to invest in higher agility, better ways to capture this imagery and improving RPO maneuvers,” he said. Satellogic has not modified its imaging satellites to support NEI applications but has updated software for operating the satellites.” 

Landspace tops bid to launch China’s Haolong reusable cargo spaceplane. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The notice does not describe the payload. However, the 611 Institute, best known for designing fighter aircraft including the J-20, has only one publicly known spacecraft project, the 10-meter-long, 7,000-kilogram Haolong reusable spaceplane for cargo. China National Radio previously reported that Haolong was planned to launch on Landspace’s Zhuque-3, and the tender now appears to formalize that arrangement.”