Space News for Thursday, February 12, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:22) ULA’s Vulcan launches U.S. Space Force mission to geosynchronous orbit(00:48) FCC Space Bureau chief shares agenda for regulatory reform(01:09) SpaceX IPO may suck oxygen from market before unleashing broad capital surge(01:31) UK launcher Orbex files for administration after failed funding efforts(01:53) Space companies bet on Golden Dome as questions persist over scope and funding(02:20) Integrate Raises $17M to Commercialize the World’s First Ultra-Secure Project Management Platform for Classified Programs(02:47) Demand for sovereign systems extends to the Earth-observation stack(03:01) SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB(03:18) Compliance Becomes the New Gatekeeper for Space Startups(03:42) The FCC Is Converting Space Regulation Into an Assembly Line(04:12) SmallSat Launch Prices Rise as Competitors Stall on the Pad(04:35) The Dumb Pipe Is Dead: Why Physics Is Forcing AI Into Orbit(04:48) FCC Proposes Assembly Line Licensing to Replace Decades-Old Space Rules(04:59) The End of the Open Range: LEO’s Spectrum Crunch Hits Home(05:11) The Space Tourist Is Dead. Long Live the Orbital Industrialist.(05:21) Reaching Top Speed in the Dolomites(05:37) NASA Completes First Flight of Laminar Flow Scaled Wing Design(05:57) I Am Artemis: Jesse Berdis(06:14) Crew-12 Members and Insignia(06:40) NASA Marks Milestone in Preparation for Artemis IV Testing(07:05) Inaugural Ariane 64 to launch Amazon Leo satellites from Kourou(07:35) Proton-M launches Elektro-L No.5 on its final mission with Blok-DM upper stage(07:59) 39A CAA removed, ending crew launch from historic site, for now(08:26) ULA launches first mission of 2026 with USSF-87 aboard Vulcan – SRB issue observed(09:05) Can a nonprofit help protect Earth from dangerous asteroids? How the B612 Foundation has taken on the challenge(09:35) Vulcan Centaur rocket launches 'neighborhood watch' satellites for the US military(09:42) China aces test of next-gen lunar capsule and rocket in effort to land humans on moon before NASA (video)(10:02) Hubble Space Telescope captures the stunning final breaths of a dying star(10:12) Asteroid samples NASA brought to Earth suggest life's building blocks may be widespread in the universe(10:42) SpaceX Falcon 9 deploys 24 Starlink satellites after California launch(11:05) Why are the launch windows for NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission so short?(11:32) SpaceX takes down Dragon crew arm, giving Starship a leg up in Florida(11:46) What's next after the Trump administration revokes key finding on climate change?