Space News for Wednesday, February 04, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:25) NASA examining hydrogen leaks during Artemis 2 fueling test(00:54) Flight heritage? It isn’t what you think(01:21) SpaceX pauses Falcon 9 launches after upper stage anomaly(01:48) Artemis 2 slips to March(02:16) SpaceX acquires xAI in bid to develop orbital data centers(02:48) At Blue Origin, Hegseth escalates criticism of legacy defense procurement(03:18) UK Space Agency CEO stepping down as agency folds into government(03:47) NASA waves off February launch for Artemis II moon mission; now targeting early March(04:26) Amazon Leo seeks 24-month extension from FCC due to launch shortages(04:57) Universal Seamless Connectivity: The OTI’s Vision for a Frictionless 6G Future(05:26) Germany boosts military space program with satellites and lasers(05:59) NASA Launches “Space to Soil” Challenge to Pioneer Onboard AI for Earth Observation(06:28) UK Invests in Satellite Timing Infrastructure to Strengthen National Resilience(07:01) Italian Space Agency and Telespazio to enhance satellite communications beyond Earth orbit(07:33) Verum Messenger Launches Offline Architecture for True Digital Sovereignty(08:00) Chilled New York City(08:26) Full Moon over Artemis II(08:49) NASA Space to Soil Challenge(09:21) Cracking Antarctic Sea Ice(09:49) NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from Students in Pennsylvania(10:24) NASA’s Orion Spacecraft at Launch Pad(10:50) NASA to Discuss Early Results of Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal(11:19) Booster 19 Rolls out to Masseys for Cryogenic Proof Testing(11:51) Artemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal, critical milestone to launch – Attempt 1 scrubbed(12:20) Congress is Considering a NASA Authorization Bill—Again(12:49) HawkEye 360 Taps Hale for Space Weather Forecasts(13:18) CesiumAstro Raises $270M Series C(13:44) Mars Rover Drives with the Help of Anthropic AI(14:01) Blue Origin Pauses Space Tourism to Focus On the Moon(14:28) A 'cold Earth' exoplanet just 146 light-years away might be in its star's habitable zone  —  if it exists(15:11) With the Mandalorian and Grogu movie arriving in our galaxy soon, start building the excitement with this fantastic Lego set(15:41) NASA had 3 years to fix fuel leaks on its Artemis moon rocket. Why are they still happening?(16:11) NASA's Perseverance Mars rover completes its 1st drive planned by AI(16:39) SpaceX grounds its Falcon 9 rocket after a problem with its upper stage. Will the Crew-12 astronaut mission be affected?(17:12) 'It's insightful, it's informative.' Neil deGrasse Tyson on his 5-hour backyard audio chat with William Shatner (interview)(17:46) 'Yes Bueno!': The new Kinder Bueno Super Bowl LX ad is sweet sci-fi goodness (video)