Space News for Wednesday, February 11, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:23) Reusable launch vehicles will change everything in space, and on Earth(00:40) Eutelsat gets nearly 1 billion euros in French-backed ECA financing(00:59) Stoke Space adds $350 million to Series D round(01:18) China tests crewed spacecraft abort and rocket recovery in major lunar milestone(01:36) FCC approves thousands more Amazon Leo satellites as Gen 1 deadline looms(01:59) Satellite manufacturers see emerging market for ‘mini-constellations’(02:18) National Reconnaissance Office adds HEO, SatVu and Sierra Nevada to commercial imaging program(02:36) ULA sets sights on ramping up launch cadence in 2026(03:03) SatService to Deploy Q/V-band Ground Station for German Bundeswehr University(03:16) D2D’s Hype Hangover: The Physics Finally Bite Back(03:37) Silicon Valley to Aerospace: Code is the New Steel(04:02) Space Has a Plumbing Problem, and It’s Getting Expensive(04:31) The New Orbital Guard: Commercial Tech Steps Up as the Pentagon’s Watchtower(05:04) The New Space Playbook Faces a Physics Cliff at the Moon(05:27) The Commercial Mask Slips: Space is Now a Sovereign Arms Race(05:37) Summer Heat Hits Southeastern Australia(06:06) Curiosity Blog, Sols 4798-4803: Back for More Science(06:55) CubeSats’ Missions Begin(07:07) Grants(07:23) NASA’s Hubble Captures Light Show Around Rapidly Dying Star(07:47) Core Survey by NASA’s Roman Mission Will Unveil Universe’s Dark Side(08:13) SpaceX complete Booster 19 testing at upgraded Massey’s(08:35) Stoke Space Adds $350M to Series D Fundraise(09:04) Rep. Mike Haridopolos On Cutting Red Tape, Passing NASA Bill(09:11) Spaceium Tests Robot Gas Attendant Piece in Orbit(09:38) Momentus and NASA Will Collab on RPO Demo(09:55) UK to Invest Nearly £1M In In-Orbit Manufacturing(10:04) Artemis 2 rocket chills with the 'Snow Moon' | Space photo of the day for Feb. 11, 2026(10:26) James Webb Space Telescope uncovers secret supermassive black holes that escape traditional detection(10:44) Could the remains of a 'dead' comet still be in the solar system? Astronomers are still searching 6 years later(11:12) Life on Earth is lucky: A rare chemical fluke may have made our planet habitable(11:30) Earth orbit is getting crowded. Can this map of 1 million routes around our planet help prevent satellite collisions?(11:58) How are gas giant exoplanets born? James Webb Space Telescope provides new clues(12:31) Italy's 2026 Winter Olympic venues from space | Space photo of the day for Feb. 10, 2026(13:01) SpaceX's next-gen Super Heavy booster aces four days of "cryoproof" testing