Space News for Friday, May 08, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:23) SatVu zooms in energy facilities in Cuba, India and Australia(01:01) Lunar Outpost raises $30 million(01:41) Rocket Lab joins Raytheon on space interceptor program for Golden Dome(01:59) Military space boom meets Beltway friction(02:38) Rocket Lab announces five-launch Neutron deal as it continues aiming for late 2026 debut(03:02) Anduril Secures $100M Modification to Modernize Space Surveillance Network(03:38) AST SpaceMobile Pivots to SpaceX for Mid-June Launch of Three BlueBird Satellites(04:12) Real Wireless Tapped by UK Spectrum Policy Forum for Lunar Connectivity Study(04:29) PROFEN and Azercosmos Expand Satellite Services Across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa(04:50) Meet the Fleet: NASA Armstrong Continues Legacy of Flight Research(05:47) NASA Welcomes Paraguay as 67th Artemis Accords Signatory(06:20) NASA Pushes Next-Gen Mars Helicopter Rotor Blades Past Mach 1(07:11) China prepares cargo, crew, and deep space missions, as commercial sector steps towards reusability(07:32) South Korea Pushes to Commercialize Quantum Research(07:57) NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts saw flashes on the far side of the moon that cameras struggle to capture. Here's why scientists are excited(08:41) A bizarre 'decapitated' asteroid likely made the moon's largest impact crater. NASA's Artemis astronauts may land near the proof(09:06) A 29-pound Mars rock held NASA's Curiosity rover hostage for 6 days(09:24) Where does Earth's mysterious 'ring current' come from? NASA and the US Space Force are launching a mission to find out(10:03) Moon joy at Jupiter | Space photo of the day for May 7, 2026