The Mars Society – During this summer’s expedition, Crew 19, commanded by Trevor Jahn of the Aerospace Corporation, will conduct a wide range of research and field studies focused on exploration science, operational readiness, environmental monitoring, technology demonstration, and analog astronaut activities.

SpaceNews – The supplier selections shed new light on the industrial teams behind the first operational phase of PTS-G, a U.S. Space Force effort to build a more resilient military communications network using commercially derived satellites in geostationary orbit.

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

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.

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.”

The Journal of Space Commerce – The Aerospace Corporation in Colorado Springs, CO, is hosting a tabletop exercise, “Campaigning with Commercial Partners,” in June 2026. Operators and prime contractors who participate will shape the government’s expectations for what a cybersecurity-ready commercial partner looks like.

Air and Space Forces — The U.S. Space Force’s attempt to cancel the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar program, appears to be a show of confidence that LEO and MEO Resilient Missile Warning/Missile Tracking satellites are a more viable alternative.

SpaceNews — NASA is reserving a small amount of space on a Mars telecommunications spacecraft for science, which could include one or more cubesats.