Open Space Report

Musk is merging rockets, satellites, social, and AI; NASA’s Artemis hits cold-weather delays; and Axiom is eyeing another human spaceflight. Meanwhile, China is ramping up its space tourism play; just as the University of Arizona makes history. The next frontier isn’t just digital. It’s physical.

Satellites are swarming. NASA is rolling out its latest Moon rocket. And Amazon is aiming for LEO. Twin Chinese rockets, meanwhile, signal Beijing’s seriousness, just astronomers cradle baby black holes in their lenses. All of this, of course, wrapped around chat with Chiara Manfletti, CEO at Neuraspace.So strap in.

This week, space reminds us it’s as messy as it is magnificent: astronauts cut their mission short, Congress played defense for NASA, Artemis 2 is now gearing up for lunar orbit, satellites are relighting our skies, and China is shaking things up with a commercial twist.

In this Open Space Report, LEO grows tighter, near-misses rise, and orbital imagery gets razor-sharp. Meanwhile, NASA stakes its claim on space data, JWST uncovers a gargantuan black hole, SpaceX dazzles the Southwest sky, and Celestis prepares a voyage around the Sun. So strap in.

Your weekly briefing on what’s shaping this new space era. Whether it’s NASA leadership shifts, commercial breakthroughs, or daring scientific discoveries, we’ve got you covered.

A weekly rundown of the most important developments in space; covering commercial activity, national security, geopolitics, and exploration—breaking down what happened, why it matters, and what’s coming next.

With an Indian spacecraft becoming the first to land on the lunar South Pole, Intuitive Machines President and CEO Steve Altemus is pressing his team to make the first ever commercial landing there in November, in a space race that is clearly heating up. 

Russia's first lunar lander in 47 years has spun out of control and crashed into the moon, highlighting not only Roscomos’ mounting problems, but also just how hard it is to land on the moon ... especially on the lunar south pole.

A conversation with Dr. Nadia Maarouf, a clinical scientist working at the Mars Desert Research Station in the Utah desert, about new vaccines that could help ward off space-induced heart problems in astronauts, as well as those of humans back here on Earth.   

A conversation with Michelle Munk, NASA’s Acting Chief Architect for the Space Technology Mission Directorate, on everything from rovers and extraterrestial microbiology to building a sustainable human presence on the Red Planet.

In a bold move that marked the dawn of a new military era, the U.S. Space Force was created. But after a recent Pentagon squabble with SpaceX over satellite services in Ukraine, America’s growing reliance on the private sector in space has raised questions over how much influence and leverage the commercial sector should have on U.S. foreign policy.  

After nearly half a century, Russia is again making a lunar play. Its Luna-25 mission is endeavoring to put a robotic lander near the moon’s south pole. This podcast provides some context as to how and why.

How realistic are warp drives and faster-than-light travel? What does it take to ride a bubble in space? Those are questions  former NASA propulsion physicist Sonny White and theoretical physicist Miguel Alcubierre have been working on ... with somewhat different conclusions. 

Dr. Janet Kavandi, a distinguished astronaut and veteran of three space Shuttle missions, is the current president and chief science officer of Sierra Space, a Colorado-based aerospace company developing a commercial space plane and space station, known as The Dream Chaser and Orbital Reef. Kavandi explains not only what is to be gained in space, and what Sierra Space is up to, but also what humanity itself might begin to look like once it lives there.