Space News for Wednesday, April 22, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:24) Commerce Department budget proposal would halt work on TraCSS(01:13) China backs orbital data center startup with $8.4 billion in credit lines(01:54) Northrop Grumman takes $71 million charge on Vulcan booster issue(02:36) Trump taps Raytheon executive for top military space acquisition post(03:23) SpaceX launches final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force(04:09) FCC Grants AST SpaceMobile Authority for 248-Satellite Constellation and Direct-to-Cell Service(04:49) ISS National Lab Launches 2026 Orbital Edge Accelerator to Scale Space-Based R&D(05:30) SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: Carsten Drachmann, GomSpace(06:06) RF-Design Launches FiberLink CompactLine FCLR1811S4 for Ground Segment Optimization(06:42) Kymeta Chief Scientist Discusses Metamaterial Antenna Evolution and Orbital Sustainability(07:24) Belts of Green in the Washington Suburbs(08:11) Artemis II Mission Milestones: An Image and Video Recap(08:41) Curiosity Blog, Sols 4867-4872: Sand Fill In Antofagasta Crater and Finding Our Next Drill Target(09:31) NASA Invites Media to Jordan Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony(10:03) New NASA Views of Earth, From (S)PACE(10:47) NASA and Axiom react to OIG Report on delays in Next-Generation Spacesuit Program(11:17) Payload Field Guide: Golden Dome(12:11) Opportunities Beyond the Moon Opened by CLPS(12:41) Economics of Orbital Data Centers Report: Part 1(13:12) Mysterious rings around Uranus point to hidden moons orbiting the ice giant(13:50) The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's next great observatory, is finally complete(14:37) 'Dancing' jets erupting from a cannibalistic black hole have the power of 10,000 suns(15:20) NASA rolls out Artemis 3 SLS rocket's huge core stage to gear up for 2027 launch (photo)