Space News for Friday, August 07, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:24) Bipartisan Senate bill would sharpen Space Force training for conflict with China(01:03) Lessons for the future of NASA Mars exploration from a 1970s mission(01:24) Redwire to fly dedicated Starfall mission for microgravity research(01:49) Three companies building the tech to grow crops on the moon(02:17) NASA, Northrop Grumman repurpose Gateway elements for Moon Base demo missions(02:43) SpaceX Launches NROL-95 Mission as NRO Executes Dual-Track Architecture for 2026 Fleet Operations(03:25) U.S. Space Force Seeks $71 Billion FY2027 Budget to Support Orbital Combat Operations and Missile Defense(04:06) Viasat Advances Equatys D2D Joint Venture Toward Initial Constellation Procurement(04:28) Viasat and BMW Group Demonstrate Integrated Automotive Satellite Voice Capability Over L-Band Network(05:16) SpaceX Regulatory Strategy at the FCC: Disruptive Expansion Meets Administrative Oversight(05:59) Educators & Teens Get Hands-On With TEMPO Data to Help Investigate Local Air Quality(06:41) I Am Artemis: Tom Percy(07:14) Scaleup Europe Fund Makes its First Space Bet(07:51) Endeavor Optical Networks Emerges from Stealth(08:47) 'One more step': NASA astronauts conduct 6.5-hour spacewalk to prep ISS for solar array upgrade(09:34) Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observing satellite after 5-week delay (video, photos)(10:24) SpaceX rocket's impact crater on the moon spied by Korean lunar orbiter (photos)(11:08) Blue Origin traces origin of huge New Glenn rocket explosion to oxygen valve, CEO says(11:43) On this day in space! Aug. 6, 2012: NASA lands huge Curiosity rover on Mars with a rocket-powered sky crane