Wired – NASA presented the details of its phased plan to create the first lunar base at the moon’s south pole. The Moon Base project replaces the Gateway program, an orbital station that would have served as a node between the Earth and the moon

Ars Technica – SpaceX won a contract to provide the U.S. military with a means of distributing space-based sensing and targeting data, forming the “backbone” of a rearchitected network. Space Systems Command (SSC), the Space Force’s primary procurement and acquisition center, announced the $2.29 billion firm-fixed-price agreement.

Orange Slices – This 5-year contract will provide mission operations support for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS) Landsat program. It delivers critical land remote sensing data used across science, government, and resource management applications

Aerospace America – A lively panel of leaders in the space industry took on the question of how the United States can keep its edge in space with competitors nipping at our heels. The panel was moderated by Jamie Morin, The Aerospace Corporation VP of Defense Strategic Space.

Aerospace’s principal engineer for space cybersecurity Brandon Bailey said that 10 commercial partners are tinkering with SpaceCOP, a software package Aerospace built that can detect and possibly repel hostile cyber activity onboard.

Aerospace America – AIAA hosted its inaugural ASCEND Classified Day at The Aerospace Corporation’s corporate headquarters in Chantilly, Va.

Aerospace America – At ASCEND 2026, Brig. Gen. Nick Hague, assistant deputy chief of staff for space operations, said there’s a need for more partnerships with the commercial space industry and academia. “We need your ideas. We need your technology. We need your speed.”

SpaceNews – The acting director of the Space Development Agency, Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo, has been appointed to a dual role overseeing both the agency and a new U.S. Space Force acquisition office responsible for missile-warning satellite procurements.

Kent Rominger brings decades of experience solving complex challenges across the space enterprise as a former vice president at Northrop Grumman and Orbital ATK, a NASA astronaut, and a U.S. Navy veteran. He has received the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Air and Space Forces — “The Space Force plans to stand up a Mission Operations Center to manage the backbone of its hybrid commercial-government data transport constellation, the Space Data Network.”