Space News for Wednesday, March 18, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:23) Space Force overhauls buying structure with new mission portfolios(01:07) Telesat pivots Lightspeed toward defense as delays push global service to 2028(01:46) Office of Space Commerce weighing options for TraCSS user fees(02:44) Space boom strains supply chain, industry report warns(03:34) Golden Dome cost estimate rises to $185 billion as Pentagon expands space layer(03:54) Space launches 29 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket on St. Patrick’s Day morning(04:38) MDA Space Strategic Growth Cemented by NYSE Listing and S&P/TSX Performance(05:03) GomSpace Joins EDA Consortium to Develop VLEO Military Satellite Concept(05:46) BAE Systems Secures U.S. Air Force Contract to Modernize U-2 Advanced Defensive System(06:01) The Rise of the Orbital Data Center: Solving the Space Data Bottleneck(06:26) Kepler Commissions First NVIDIA-Powered “Cloud Infrastructure” Across Optical Constellation(07:03) Wave of Dust Rolls Through Texas(07:28) NASA’s X-59 Prepares for Second Flight(08:09) Dim Delights in Cancer(08:32) Solving Asteroid Bennu’s Mysteries(09:06) How Congress Can Grow the Space Supply Chain(09:58) Nvidia Unveils New Hardware to Unlock Orbital Data Centers(10:31) Canadian Launchers and Spaceport Get Funding Boost(10:47) Beyond Artemis 2: NASA pursuing a 'more achievable' path back to the moon(11:27) Watch live today: NASA astronauts conducting spacewalk delayed by ISS medical evacuation(11:47) X-ray spacecraft watches monster black hole wake up and fire cosmic bullets at starburst galaxy(12:36) Where are all the aliens? Maybe they just don't want to talk to us(13:15) Ryugu asteroid sample contains all five key components of DNA, scientists find(13:46) Trump's plan to shut down weather and climate center triggers lawsuit(14:30) A large meteor is visible from much of Ohio and parts of neighboring states