Cislunar Newshttps://cislunar.news/2026-06-02T01:22:20.486ZInfrastructure journalism covering the emerging Earth-Moon economyCislunar NewsSpace Force's Cislunar Office Now Has a $6.2B SDA Signalcislunar-article-space-force-cislunar-acquisition-taskforce-april-20262026-05-17T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-17T18:00:00.000ZThe U.S. Space Force launched a cislunar acquisition task force in April 2026 to coordinate military buying across domain awareness, communications relay, and logistics for the Earth-Moon system. The new office sits inside Space Systems Command and will oversee AFRL's OraclePrime satellite, coordinate with NASA's commercial relay contracts, and engage with the commercial sector on dual-use infrastructure. The move comes as Artemis III targets a 2027 rehearsal, China's crewed lunar program advances toward 2030, and no single Space Force owner previously existed for cislunar acquisition.Cislunar NewsVulcan's SRB Fix Moves to the Test Stand, but Return to Flight Still Waitscislunar-article-vulcan-srb-recurring-problem-cislunar-20262026-05-20T18:00:00.000Z2026-04-01T00:00:00.000ZUnited Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur rocket experienced a solid rocket booster nozzle burn-through for the second time in four flights during the USSF-87 national security mission on February 12, 2026. The anomaly, identical to one observed during Vulcan's second certification flight in October 2024, raises serious questions about the root cause and the vehicle's reliability for the cislunar missions, Gateway components, and high-cadence national security launches it is scheduled to carry.Cislunar NewsFirefly Lights the Way: Ocula Is the First Commercial Lunar Imaging Servicecislunar-article-firefly-ocula-lunar-imaging-service-20262026-03-26T18:00:00.000Z2026-03-26T00:00:00.000ZFirefly Aerospace announced Ocula, the first commercial lunar imaging and mapping service, using Elytra orbital vehicles with LLNL-built telescopes at 0.2m resolution. Launching with Blue Ghost Mission 2 on a Falcon 9 in November 2026, it will orbit the Moon for 5+ years providing data for landing site scouting, mineral mapping, and cislunar domain awareness. SciTec AI enables on-orbit processing for real-time ground intelligence.Cislunar NewsVIPER's Ride to the Moon Is Real. Now Blue Moon Has to Land.cislunar-article-viper-rover-mission-status-update-20262026-05-27T18:00:00.000Z2026-03-23T00:00:00.000ZNASA's VIPER rover will spend 100 days exploring the Moon's permanently shadowed craters, where temperatures reach -230°C, to map water ice deposits at the lunar south pole. This SUV-sized rover represents the first ground-truth mission to confirm whether enough water ice exists to support permanent human lunar settlements and future space exploration. UPDATE: In September 2025, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $190M CLPS task order to deliver VIPER aboard the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, targeting a late-2027 lunar south pole landing.Cislunar NewsNuclear Power Is the Bottleneck for Moon Basescislunar-article-space-nuclear-power-bottleneck-lunar-infrastructure-20262026-03-19T18:07:24.202Z2026-03-19T00:00:00.000ZDespite sixty years of nuclear reactor knowledge and mature fission power concepts from companies like Lockheed Martin, the United States has no vacuum-capable test facility for integrated reactor-lander systems, no nuclear payload integration capability at Kennedy Space Center, and no modern demonstration complex for space fission hardware. NASA's Fission Surface Power program is paused pending the White House response to its December 2025 executive order on space nuclear power. Administrator Isaacman promises action by 2028, but the 2030 lunar reactor target requires infrastructure that takes years to build—and construction hasn't started.Cislunar NewsJapan's Lunar Program: Reusable Lander Funded, HTV-X1 Reaches Station, H3 Suffers Second Failurecislunar-article-japan-jaxa-lunar-lander-funding-20262026-03-11T18:07:23.719Z2026-03-11T00:00:00.000ZJapan has secured government funding to develop an independent reusable lunar lander that can service Gateway missions and deliver cargo to the Moon's surface. Building on the success of January 2024's SLIM precision landing demonstration, the new vehicle will give Japan autonomous lunar access while maintaining its position as a key Artemis program partner. The strategic investment strengthens Japan's space capabilities amid growing competition from China's lunar initiatives.Cislunar NewsNASA Force: Isaacman's Plan to Rebuild the Workforce That Will Return America to the Mooncislunar-article-nasa-force-talent-initiative-20262026-03-09T01:04:55.906Z2026-03-08T00:00:00.000ZNASA Force is a term-based hiring initiative that brings private-sector technical talent into the agency for approximately two-year stints. Announced jointly with OPM Director Scott Kupor on March 3, 2026, the program targets aerospace engineers, software developers, and systems integration specialists. It is designed to rebuild technical competencies lost when roughly 4,000 NASA civil servants departed in early 2025, and to staff the accelerated Artemis launch cadence aimed at landing astronauts on the Moon by 2028.Cislunar NewsNASA Locks In ULA's Centaur 5 as New SLS Upper Stage, Officially Ending Boeing's Exploration Upper Stage Programcislunar-article-sls-centaur-5-upper-stage-contract-20262026-05-19T20:21:38.155Z2026-03-07T01:06:25.860ZNASA has confirmed United Launch Alliance's Centaur 5 as the sole-source upper stage for the Space Launch System starting with Artemis 4, ending Boeing's troubled Exploration Upper Stage program after 12 years and nearly $2.8 billion. The decision, disclosed in contract documents published Friday, trades payload capacity to the Moon for schedule certainty and cost control.Cislunar NewsBlue Ghost Lands on the Moon, and Mission 2 Raises the Stakescislunar-article-firefly-blue-ghost-lander-test-20262026-05-24T18:05:00.000Z2026-03-06T00:00:00.000ZThe May 24 update reframes Firefly's Blue Ghost story around Mission 2. The new section adds the late-2026 far-side mission plan, Elytra Dark's relay and five-year orbital role, LuSEE-Night's two-year science objective, international payloads, and Ocula's 0.2-meter lunar imaging service.Cislunar NewsSenate Advances NASA Bill Reshaping Artemis, Authorizing Moon Basecislunar-article-senate-nasa-authorization-artemis-march-20262026-05-19T20:21:37.848Z2026-03-05T01:05:49.101ZThe Senate Commerce Committee voted unanimously on March 4 to advance a NASA authorization bill that codifies a permanent lunar base directive, extends the ISS to 2032, restructures the Artemis flight manifest, and cancels the Exploration Upper Stage. The same day, NASA confirmed engineers had fixed the helium flow problem that forced an Artemis 2 rollback, keeping an April 2026 launch attempt on schedule.Cislunar NewsESA ESPRIT Module Faces New Role as NASA Pauses Gateway for Moon Basecislunar-article-esa-esprit-module-delivery-schedule-20262026-05-19T18:00:00.000Z2026-03-04T00:00:00.000ZNASA has paused Gateway in its current orbital-station form while shifting Artemis planning toward a surface-first Moon base. ESA's ESPRIT module remains technically valuable for propellant handling, communications, crew viewing, and payload interfaces, but its delivery path now depends on a revised NASA-ESA architecture decision.Cislunar NewsNASA Just Rewrote the Artemis Schedule. Again.cislunar-article-2026-03-02-artemis-overhaul-new-roadmap2026-05-17T18:13:05.410Z2026-03-03T01:06:02.305ZNASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the Artemis lunar program on February 27, 2026, restructuring Artemis III into an Earth-orbit docking test with commercial landers before any crewed moon landing is attempted. The agency now targets two crewed lunar surface missions in 2028 and aims to sustain a cadence of one flight per year, while the Artemis 2 rocket sits in the VAB recovering from a helium pressurization fault that pushed its launch to no earlier than April 1.Cislunar NewsSpaceX's Moonbase Alpha Pivot: AI Data Centers, xAI, and the New Lunar Economycislunar-article-spacex-moonbase-alpha-pivot-202603012026-05-19T20:21:38.549Z2026-03-02T01:00:00.000ZElon Musk announced on February 8, 2026, that SpaceX had already pivoted from Mars to building a Moon city, citing faster iteration speed. The announcement was followed by SpaceX's acquisition of xAI, an FCC filing for a million-satellite orbital data center constellation, and a blueprint for a lunar mass driver that would manufacture and launch AI satellites from the Moon's surface. The move aligns commercial AI demand with the US government's lunar security imperatives in a way that could accelerate cislunar development faster than any previous roadmap.Cislunar NewsSpaceX: The Starship Lunar Gambitcislunar-article-spacex-company-profile-cislunar2026-03-02T19:04:46.105Z2026-03-02T00:00:00.000ZSpaceX's Starship Human Landing System represents the most ambitious lunar lander ever contracted by NASA, capable of delivering 100 metric tons to the lunar surface. With contracts for both Artemis III and Artemis IV, SpaceX is positioning Starship as the backbone of America's return to the Moon.Cislunar NewsNASA Restructures Artemis, Races to Fix SLS Before April Window Closescislunar-article-artemis-architecture-overhaul-2026-02-282026-05-19T20:21:37.549Z2026-03-01T01:05:57.861ZNASA has overhauled the entire Artemis lunar program, inserting a new 2027 test mission, cancelling the Block 1B rocket upgrade, and pushing the first lunar landing to 2028. At the same time, teams are working an aggressive three-week schedule to repair the Artemis 2 upper stage and preserve an early April launch window.Cislunar NewsLunar Communications Relay Race Moves From Standards to Flight Hardwarecislunar-article-lunar-communications-relay-contract-20262026-05-28T18:00:00.000Z2026-02-24T00:00:00.000ZThe lunar communications relay story has moved beyond concept work. NASA's LunaNet Version 5 standard, Intuitive Machines' $4.82 billion Near Space Network contract, and Firefly's Blue Ghost Mission 2 with Elytra Dark and ESA's Lunar Pathfinder clarify how the first interoperable relay layer could form before sustained south-pole and far-side operations.Cislunar NewsWelcome to Cislunar News: Covering Humanity's Next Frontiercislunar-article-welcome-to-cislunar-news2026-02-16T23:22:30.392Z2026-02-16T00:00:00.000ZCislunar News is a brand new publication from RuneStone Media dedicated to covering the space between Earth and the Moon. As the cislunar economy accelerates with Artemis, Gateway, SpaceX's lunar pivot, and a wave of commercial activity, we're here to be your go-to source for every development.Cislunar NewsSpaceX's Moon Pivot: The Strategic Case for Lunar-Firstcislunar-article-spacex-moon-pivot-the-strategic-case-for-lunar-first2026-02-16T23:54:51.968Z2026-02-16T00:00:00.000ZIn a dramatic strategic reversal, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX has shifted its primary focus from Mars colonization to building a 'self-growing city' on the Moon. Coming just 13 months after dismissing the Moon as 'a distraction,' the pivot aligns with NASA's Artemis program, a Trump executive order demanding a permanent lunar outpost by 2030, and SpaceX's own acquisition of xAI and plans for orbital data centers — revealing a unified grand strategy that could reshape the entire cislunar economy.Cislunar NewsLunar Landing Pads Explained: The Moon Base Infrastructure Nobody Can Skipcislunar-article-lunar-landing-pads-explained2026-06-02T01:20:52.350Z2026-06-02T01:18:13.405ZLunar landing pads are early Moon base infrastructure, not a luxury. This explainer covers plume erosion, sintered regolith, ICON, Masten FAST, robotic construction, and why dust control comes before a durable lunar economy.Cislunar NewsSPACECOM’s Mobility Priority Puts High-Thrust Cislunar Tugs in the Spotlightcislunar-article-spacecom-mobility-priority-astraeus-cislunar-20262026-06-02T01:05:30.724Z2026-06-02T01:05:30.724ZU.S. Space Command’s new technology priorities put on-orbit mobility first, with cislunar and xGEO operations also moving into public defense planning. Orbital Operations’ Astraeus concept, a high-thrust cryogenic maneuver vehicle, shows how propulsion, long-duration propellant storage, and refueling could become essential infrastructure for both defense and commercial lunar logistics.Cislunar NewsNew Glenn Explosion Leaves Artemis Leaning Harder on Starshipcislunar-article-new-glenn-explosion-artemis-spacex-dependency-20262026-06-01T01:04:28.107Z2026-06-01T01:04:28.107ZBlue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a pad explosion during a May 28 engine-firing test, grounding the rocket tied to Blue Moon lunar lander launches. The accident does not end Blue Origin’s Artemis role, but it leaves NASA leaning harder on SpaceX Starship while the agency tries to turn Moon base plans into a reliable logistics campaign.Cislunar NewsSPACECOM Puts Offensive Cislunar Operations on the Tablecislunar-article-spacecom-offensive-cislunar-ops-20262026-05-31T01:04:32.055Z2026-05-31T01:04:32.055ZU.S. Space Command is publicly studying technologies that could support future offensive space control in cislunar space. The effort remains exploratory, with no disclosed weapon or budget, but it signals that awareness, mobility, navigation, communications, and doctrine for the Earth-Moon system are becoming military planning priorities.Cislunar NewsSpace Force Hands SpaceX a $4.16B Sensor Job, and the Military Space Stack Is Changingcislunar-article-space-force-spacex-amti-starshield-20262026-05-30T01:05:35.843Z2026-05-30T01:05:35.843ZThe U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $4.16 billion agreement for the first increment of a space-based Air Moving Target Indicator network. The award, paired with a separate $2.29 billion Space Data Network Backbone contract, puts SpaceX at the center of a fast-forming military space architecture that combines sensing, transport, and targeting data in low Earth orbit.Cislunar NewsFirefly's Blue Ghost Mission 3 Clears Design Review for a Volcanic Moon Targetcislunar-article-firefly-blue-ghost-mission-3-cdr-gruithuisen-domes-20262026-05-29T01:04:03.360Z2026-05-29T01:04:03.360ZFirefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 3 has completed critical design review, advancing a NASA CLPS mission aimed at the silica-rich Gruithuisen Domes no earlier than 2028. The mission combines a Blue Ghost lander, Elytra Dark orbital support, a Honeybee Robotics rover, and NASA science payloads, making it a key test of repeat commercial lunar delivery and rover-supported field geology.Cislunar NewsNASA Sets June 9 Artemis III Crew Reveal for the Mission That Must Prove Lunar Dockingcislunar-article-nasa-artemis-iii-crew-announcement-june-20262026-05-28T01:12:29.831Z2026-05-28T01:12:08.711ZNASA will name the Artemis III astronauts on June 9 during a live Johnson Space Center event, then make the crew available for limited interviews. The assignment matters because Artemis III is now a low Earth orbit demonstration of Orion docking with commercial lunar landers, a test flight meant to reduce risk before NASA sends astronauts back to the lunar surface.Cislunar NewsBlue Origin Finally Has Its Cislunar Stack in Motioncislunar-article-blue-origin-company-profile2026-05-27T01:22:59.693Z2026-05-27T01:22:59.693ZBlue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000 and spent two decades building reusable vehicles, engines, and lunar systems. Its $3.4 billion NASA Human Landing System award, New Glenn heavy-lift rocket, BE-4 engine base, and Blue Moon lander now place it directly in the cislunar infrastructure race.Cislunar NewsNASA Picks Lunar Drones for the Moon Base Scout Teamcislunar-article-nasa-moonfall-lunar-drones-firefly-20282026-05-27T01:03:52.506Z2026-05-27T01:03:52.506ZNASA used its May 26 Moon Base briefing to put MoonFall on the roadmap as a four-drone scouting mission for the lunar south pole. The JPL-led mission, transported by Firefly Aerospace, is meant to map hard-to-reach terrain, measure subsurface water clues, and leave survive-the-night payloads operating after the flying phase ends.Cislunar NewsLunar Mass Drivers Explained: How the Moon Could Launch Cargo Without Rocketscislunar-article-lunar-mass-drivers-explained2026-05-26T01:27:33.061Z2026-05-26T01:27:33.061ZLunar mass drivers use electromagnetic acceleration to launch durable cargo from the Moon. This explainer covers escape velocity, power, guidance, dust, payloads, safety, and why the idea only makes sense once lunar industry exists.Cislunar NewsIM-3's Nova-C Lander Brings Reiner Gamma Back Into the Artemis Storycislunar-article-im3-reiner-gamma-novac-ready-20262026-05-26T01:04:40.865Z2026-05-26T01:04:40.865ZIntuitive Machines' IM-3 Nova-C lander is being prepared for a 2026 CLPS mission to Reiner Gamma, where NASA wants surface data on lunar swirls and magnetic anomalies. The mission combines Lunar Vertex science, CADRE autonomous rovers, ESA laser ranging hardware, and KASI particle monitoring, making it a compact test of commercial lunar delivery and Artemis-era surface operations.Cislunar NewsChina's Shenzhou-23 Launch Turns Tiangong Into a Lunar Rehearsalcislunar-article-china-shenzhou-23-lunar-ambitions-20262026-05-25T01:04:42.781Z2026-05-25T01:04:42.781ZChina's Shenzhou-23 mission launched May 24 as a Tiangong crew rotation, but its longer stay, docking operations, and rice biology experiments have direct relevance to lunar endurance planning. The flight shows how China is using low Earth orbit to build the operational base for a 2030 crewed Moon landing.Cislunar NewsSpaceX's Lunar Starlink Idea Puts Bandwidth at the Center of Artemiscislunar-article-spacex-starlink-lunar-laser-relay-20262026-05-24T01:10:16.623Z2026-05-24T01:10:16.623ZSpaceX has started talking publicly about extending Starlink's laser-link model toward the Moon, turning lunar communications into a near-term infrastructure question for Artemis. The idea is early, with no deployment schedule or NASA contract attached, but it fits a real bottleneck: astronauts, rovers, landers, and habitats will need far more bandwidth than Apollo-style direct links can provide.Cislunar NewsNASA Opens Artemis CubeSat Slots, and the Small Payload Race Is Backcislunar-article-artemis-cubesat-rfi-20262026-05-23T01:04:02.451Z2026-05-23T01:04:02.451ZNASA has opened a request for information for organizations interested in flying 6U and 12U CubeSats on future Artemis missions. The June 1 deadline could shape how small spacecraft support Artemis III, IV, and V through science, technology demonstrations, communications, navigation, and cislunar operations tests.Cislunar NewsThe Artemis Accords Explained, Updated for 67 Signatoriescislunar-article-artemis-accords-explained2026-05-22T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-22T18:00:00.000ZThe Artemis Accords have grown into the leading governance framework for civil lunar activity, with 61 nations signed on as of May 2026. Artemis II has now completed the first crewed cislunar mission of the Artemis era, making the Accords operational in a way they had not been before. The next key test comes at the Lima workshop, where signatories need to make progress on safety zones, emergency protocols, transparency, and interoperability.Cislunar NewsSpace Force Puts Orbital Logistics on the 2027 Launch Manifestcislunar-article-space-force-ussf23-orbital-logistics-20272026-05-22T01:10:00.000Z2026-05-22T01:10:00.000ZThe Space Force is preparing USSF-23, a 2027 mission that will test commercial satellite refueling, an Orbit Fab depot, and Starfish Space augmented maneuver services in geostationary orbit. The mission is not lunar, but it matters for cislunar infrastructure because the same logistics model, fuel, servicing, inspection, and forward orbital nodes, is the backbone future Moon operations will need.Cislunar NewsNASA Just Put Its Moon Base Plans on the Calendarcislunar-article-nasa-moon-base-strategy-may-20262026-05-21T01:00:00.000Z2026-05-21T01:00:00.000ZNASA's May 20 media advisory sets a May 26 news conference on Moon Base strategy, new industry partners, and mission plans. The briefing matters because Artemis has shifted toward staged system tests before the next crewed landing, making clear surface interfaces and partner roles essential for a real lunar base.Cislunar NewsNASA's New Space Chip Is Being Tested for the Autonomy Moon Missions Needcislunar-article-nasa-hpsc-space-processor-testing-lunar-autonomy-20262026-05-20T01:04:17.948Z2026-05-20T01:04:17.948ZNASA's High Performance Spaceflight Computing processor is undergoing radiation, thermal, shock, power, performance, and reliability testing at JPL. Early results show the chip working as designed and running at about 500 times the performance of current radiation-hardened processors, which could give future lunar rovers, habitats, landers, and deep-space spacecraft the local autonomy Artemis needs.Cislunar NewsLunar Surface Power Explained: Solar Towers, Batteries, and Fission on the Mooncislunar-article-lunar-surface-power-explained-solar-fission-grid2026-05-19T01:37:09.122Z2026-05-19T01:37:09.122ZA practical explainer on the power systems needed for sustained lunar operations, from vertical solar arrays and storage to fission baseload and ISRU loads.Cislunar NewsIntuitive Machines Just Took Over a Key Part of NASA's Lunar Map Roomcislunar-article-intuitive-machines-lroc-shadowcam-contracts-20262026-05-19T01:04:43.304Z2026-05-19T01:04:43.304ZIntuitive Machines announced two NASA lunar reconnaissance contracts totaling $20 million over three years, covering operations for LROC and ShadowCam. The awards put the company closer to the mapping, shadowed-region imaging, and data services that Artemis and commercial lunar missions will need before repeated operations near the south pole can work safely.Cislunar NewsGreen Bank's Artemis II Radar Test Shows the Moon Needs More Than Radioscislunar-article-green-bank-telescope-artemis-ii-radar-tracking-20262026-05-18T01:04:31.543Z2026-05-18T01:04:31.543ZThe NSF Green Bank Telescope supported Artemis II by receiving radar echoes from Orion while a Deep Space Network antenna transmitted toward the spacecraft near the Moon. The result, accurate to within 0.2 millimeters per second of NASA projections, shows why cislunar operations will need independent tracking capacity as human, commercial, and defense activity expands.Cislunar NewsNASA's Moon Plan Just Hit the Budget Wallcislunar-article-nasa-fy2027-budget-artemis-moon-base-20262026-05-17T01:05:20.258Z2026-05-17T01:05:20.258ZNASA's FY2027 budget request would cut the agency's topline by 23% while keeping Artemis and Moon-to-Mars exploration near the center of the plan. The proposal protects lunar landers, spacesuits, surface systems, and a Moon base push, but it does so by placing science, technology, education, and operations under heavy pressure. The real question now moves to Congress: whether a smaller NASA can still deliver a faster lunar program without weakening the scientific and technical base that makes Artemis useful.Cislunar NewsNASA's Spacesuit Problem Now Has a 2027 Test Windowcislunar-article-nasa-oig-spacesuit-axemu-delay-artemis-20262026-05-16T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-16T18:00:00.000ZUpdated May 16, 2026: Axiom Space is preparing a yearlong AxEMU qualification campaign with vibration, thermal vacuum, and lander-interface testing aimed at mid-2027. NASA's May 15 Artemis III outline turns that mission into a low Earth orbit docking and lander-interface rehearsal with SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin Blue Moon Mark 2 pathfinders, giving the suit program a possible orbital interface test before Artemis IV's planned surface mission.Cislunar NewsPwC Puts a $127 Billion Price Tag on the Lunar Economycislunar-article-pwc-lunar-economy-127-billion-20502026-05-16T01:06:59.895Z2026-05-16T01:06:59.895ZPwC projects the lunar economy could generate up to $127.3 billion in cumulative revenue by 2050, with major activity across mobility, communications, habitation, energy, and water. The forecast depends on lower transport costs, reusable systems, local resource extraction, continuous power, and clearer rules for commercial lunar operations.Cislunar NewsSpaceX's $2.9B Moon Bet: Artemis III Becomes the HLS Dress Rehearsalcislunar-article-spacex-starship-hls-29-billion-gamble2026-05-15T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-15T18:00:00.000ZUpdated May 15 with NASA's preliminary Artemis III plan: Orion will test rendezvous and docking with SpaceX and Blue Origin lander pathfinders in low Earth orbit, using an SLS spacer and Orion's service module rather than a lunar mission profile.Cislunar NewsNASA Built a Dry Freezer for Moon Hardware. That Matters More Than It Sounds.cislunar-article-nasa-glenn-lestr-lunar-night-testing-20262026-05-15T01:05:02.980Z2026-05-15T01:05:02.980ZNASA Glenn’s LESTR test rig can expose lunar hardware materials to 40 Kelvin in a dry vacuum without liquid cryogens. The capability gives Artemis teams and suppliers a more repeatable way to test spacesuit fabrics, rover tire alloys, electronics, and construction materials before those parts become Moon base infrastructure.Cislunar NewsArtemis II: From VAB Crisis to Completed Lunar Test Flightcislunar-article-artemis-2-repair-april-launch-20262026-05-14T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-14T18:00:00.000ZNASA has completed initial Artemis II assessments after splashdown. Orion, SLS, and ground systems performed well, with reduced heat shield char loss and only targeted follow-up work on the urine vent line.Cislunar NewsNorthrop's Webb-Derived Navigation Unit Targets the Cislunar GPS Gapcislunar-article-northrop-lr450-cislunar-navigation-20262026-05-14T01:07:10.923Z2026-05-14T01:07:10.923ZNorthrop Grumman's LR-450 turns deep-space guidance heritage into compact hardware for satellites operating beyond reliable GPS coverage. The product is a signal that cislunar navigation is becoming a real infrastructure market, driven by lunar missions, relay networks, and Space Force interest in activity beyond Earth orbit.Cislunar NewsVast Space: The Billion-Dollar Race to Build the First Real Private Space Stationcislunar-article-vast-space-company-profile2026-05-13T01:18:27.337Z2026-05-13T01:15:00.000ZA company profile of Vast Space, covering its 2021 founding, $500 million 2026 financing, Haven-1 station, SpaceX partnership, commercial model, risks, and role in future cislunar infrastructure.Cislunar NewsStar Catcher Raises $65 Million to Build a Power Grid in Orbitcislunar-article-star-catcher-space-power-grid-20262026-05-13T01:06:19.165Z2026-05-13T01:06:19.165ZStar Catcher Industries raised $65 million in a Series A round to fund orbital demonstrations of its satellite power-beaming network. The company is starting in low Earth orbit, but if it can reliably deliver energy to existing spacecraft solar arrays, the same infrastructure logic could eventually affect higher-orbit and cislunar missions where power, maneuvering, and payload duty cycles are major design constraints.Cislunar NewsStarship Flight 12 Is Now the Refueling Gate for Artemiscislunar-article-spacex-starship-orbital-refueling-test-20262026-05-12T18:00:00.000Z2026-05-12T18:00:00.000ZSpaceX successfully completed its first orbital propellant transfer test, moving cryogenic liquid oxygen between two connected vehicles in space—a milestone never achieved at scale before. This breakthrough validates the keystone technology for lunar missions, as Starship requires orbital refueling to carry enough fuel for Moon landings. The test demonstrated critical capabilities including fluid management in microgravity and thermal control systems.Cislunar NewsNASA Is Teaching Robots to Build Moon Dirt Wallscislunar-article-nasa-lunabotics-regolith-berms-artemis-20262026-05-12T01:07:06.471Z2026-05-12T01:07:06.471ZNASA's 2026 Lunabotics Challenge is asking 50 college teams to build autonomous rovers that can shape simulated lunar regolith into protective berms. The competition is student-focused, but the job is directly tied to Artemis infrastructure needs, including plume debris protection, cryogenic tank shading, and shielding for surface power systems.Cislunar News