Space News for Wednesday, August 12, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:24) Firefly increases vehicle production even as launches lag(00:47) U.S. expands missile production as Army seeks more depth in its arsenal(01:41) Golden Dome faces 2027 funding cliff(02:35) Golden Dome money starting to reach contractors, but long-term funding still unclear(02:57) Firefly Aerospace pushes debut of Alpha Block 2 rocket to the fourth quarter of 2026(03:27) SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB(04:11) Optus Completes First Phase of Project Aurora Following On-Orbit Servicing Undocking(04:47) Arianespace Pauses ICARUS Carbon-Composite Upper Stage Upgrade to Focus on Ariane 6 Production Ramp(05:17) DamoTech Joins Space ISAC to Expand Space-Based Cyber Threat Intelligence and Resilience(05:58) Marlink to Acquire GRC to Expand Sovereign European Defense and Critical Infrastructure Capabilities(06:38) Stops Along the Path of Totality(06:50) What Is the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope? (Grades 5-8)(07:30) NASA Completes Astronaut-Deployed Science Instrument for Lunar Surface(08:20) Starbase Production lining up future vehicles(08:55) Bill Spotlight: Space Superiority Readiness Act(09:40) Rocket Lab Unveils GHOST on a Record Quarter(10:17) Astrolight, ATMOS Partner on Laser Comms Reentry Demo(10:46) SpaceX could make $500 billion in 2028, Elon Musk says(11:14) Scientists create largest 2D map of the universe with 5.6 trillion pixels and nearly 4 billion cosmic objects(11:35) Scientists find 2 million active black holes, exploding stars and more, nearly doubling our view of the high-energy universe(12:32) 1-billion-year-old Mars meteorite found in Algeria is like nothing we've seen from the Red Planet(13:17) SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida (video, photos)