Space News for Tuesday, June 16, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:22) Gilat to buy Comtech satcoms business six years after failed merger(00:49) Space Force orders two more GPS satellites from Lockheed Martin for $514 million(01:13) DARPA to explore ways to rapidly rebuild satellite networks if attacked(02:01) Sustained maneuver has a propulsion problem(02:14) Astrobotic showcases Griffin-1 lander ahead of environmental testing in California(02:42) SpaceX launches its first Falcon 9 rocket since Nasdaq debut(03:29) Space-Based Underwriting: Liberty and ICEYE Launch Satellite-Powered Parametric Wildfire Insurance(04:08) Rapid Deployment: ZeroUSV Streamlines Uncrewed Vessel Portability for Defense and Survey Missions(04:41) Explore JPL to Take Place Oct. 10, 11(05:16) NASA Astronauts to Answer Questions from New Jersey Students(05:46) Isar Aerospace scrubs second launch of Spectrum rocket after weeks of delays(06:35) Space Stocks Dip After SpaceX IPO(07:19) JAXA Nails H3 Return to Flight(07:58) Watch SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule head home to Earth today(08:26) Astrobotic unveils Griffin-1 lunar lander for NASA Moon Base mission(09:07) SpaceX sends 24 Starlink satellites to orbit on 1st launch as a public company (video)(09:23) NASA X-ray spacecraft discovers supernova wreckage at the heart of the Milky Way(10:15) Live from the moon! How lasers connected us all to NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts on their epic lunar trip(10:32) Key mission for Europe's commercial space enterprise scrubbed again