https://cislunar.news/ Infrastructure journalism covering the emerging Earth-Moon economy. en-us Sat, 09 May 2026 14:15:22 GMT https://cislunar.news/og-image.png https://cislunar.news/ The 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. https://cislunar.news/article/artemis-accords-explained Sat, 02 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Policy PolicyNASAInternationalLegal Framework cislunar-article-artemis-accords-explained Rocket Lab has evolved from a small-lift launch startup into a vertically integrated space systems company with proven cislunar capability. Its Photon bus delivered NASA's CAPSTONE to lunar orbit in 2022, and the upcoming Neutron rocket will extend its reach into medium-lift. With $445M in 2025 revenue and profitability, Rocket Lab is a rare profitable player in commercial space. https://cislunar.news/article/rocket-lab-company-profile-cislunar Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:08:07 GMT Rocket Lab Rocket LabElectronNeutronCAPSTONEPhotonPeter Becksmall-liftmedium-liftcislunarcompany-profile cislunar-article-rocket-lab-company-profile-cislunar United 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. https://cislunar.news/article/vulcan-srb-recurring-problem-cislunar-2026 Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineering VulcanULASolid Rocket BoostersLaunch VehiclesEngineeringNational SecurityCislunar InfrastructureNorthrop Grumman cislunar-article-vulcan-srb-recurring-problem-cislunar-2026 Firefly 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. https://cislunar.news/article/firefly-ocula-lunar-imaging-service-2026 Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Technology Firefly AerospaceOculalunar imagingBlue Ghost Mission 2Elytracislunarcommercial spacelunar mappingSciTecESA Lunar Pathfinder cislunar-article-firefly-ocula-lunar-imaging-service-2026 NASA'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. https://cislunar.news/article/viper-rover-mission-status-update-2026 Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Infrastructure VIPERRoverExplorationIce Mapping cislunar-article-viper-rover-mission-status-update-2026 Despite 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. https://cislunar.news/article/space-nuclear-power-bottleneck-lunar-infrastructure-2026 Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Infrastructure nuclear powerfissionlunar surfaceNASAinfrastructureArtemis cislunar-article-space-nuclear-power-bottleneck-lunar-infrastructure-2026 Japan 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. https://cislunar.news/article/japan-jaxa-lunar-lander-funding-2026 Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Policy JapanJAXALanderInternational cislunar-article-japan-jaxa-lunar-lander-funding-2026 NASA 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. https://cislunar.news/article/nasa-force-talent-initiative-2026 Sun, 08 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Policy NASAArtemisworkforcepolicyIsaacmanMoonNASA ForceOPM cislunar-article-nasa-force-talent-initiative-2026 NASA 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. https://cislunar.news/article/sls-centaur-5-upper-stage-contract-2026 Sat, 07 Mar 2026 01:06:25 GMT Engineering SLSCentaur 5ULAArtemisNASAExploration Upper StageBoeing cislunar-article-sls-centaur-5-upper-stage-contract-2026 Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander successfully completed thermal vacuum testing, moving closer to its mid-2026 mission to deliver NASA payloads to the Moon's Mare Crisium region. The commercial lander represents a new generation of smaller, cost-effective vehicles designed for frequent lunar missions. If successful, Blue Ghost will join the first wave of commercial spacecraft to achieve soft lunar landings. https://cislunar.news/article/firefly-blue-ghost-lander-test-2026 Fri, 06 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Transport Firefly AerospaceLanderCommercialTesting cislunar-article-firefly-blue-ghost-lander-test-2026 The 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. https://cislunar.news/article/senate-nasa-authorization-artemis-march-2026 Thu, 05 Mar 2026 01:05:49 GMT Policy ArtemisSenateNASA AuthorizationSLSLunar BaseArtemis 2Moon cislunar-article-senate-nasa-authorization-artemis-march-2026 The European Space Agency's ESPRIT module, designed to provide fuel storage, advanced communications, and a crew observation cupola for NASA's Gateway lunar station, remains on schedule for 2027 delivery. This critical European contribution will enable Gateway's full operational capability as a deep-space refueling hub and communications relay between Earth and lunar surface operations. https://cislunar.news/article/esa-esprit-module-delivery-schedule-2026 Wed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Infrastructure ESAGatewayInfrastructureModules cislunar-article-esa-esprit-module-delivery-schedule-2026 NASA 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. https://cislunar.news/article/2026-03-02-artemis-overhaul-new-roadmap Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:06:02 GMT Policy ArtemisNASALunar LandingSLSCommercial LandersJared Isaacman cislunar-article-2026-03-02-artemis-overhaul-new-roadmap Elon 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. https://cislunar.news/article/spacex-moonbase-alpha-pivot-20260301 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 01:00:00 GMT Economics SpaceXMoonbase AlphaxAIElon Muskorbital data centerslunar economyStarshipcislunarmass driver cislunar-article-spacex-moonbase-alpha-pivot-20260301 SpaceX'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. https://cislunar.news/article/spacex-company-profile-cislunar Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT SpaceX SpaceXStarship HLSArtemislunar landerorbital refuelingcompany-profile cislunar-article-spacex-company-profile-cislunar NASA 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. https://cislunar.news/article/artemis-architecture-overhaul-2026-02-28 Sun, 01 Mar 2026 01:05:57 GMT Exploration ArtemisSLSNASAlunar landingArtemis 2cislunarSpace Launch SystemBlue OriginSpaceX cislunar-article-artemis-architecture-overhaul-2026-02-28 NASA's $2.9 billion bet on SpaceX's unproven Starship as the Artemis lunar lander was the largest and most controversial Moon contract in history. Despite technical risks including orbital refueling and autonomous precision landing of the 50-meter vehicle, recent test flights show the ambitious gamble may be paying off as humans prepare to return to the Moon for the first time since 1972. https://cislunar.news/article/spacex-starship-hls-29-billion-gamble Sat, 28 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Economics SpaceXStarshipHLSNASA Artemis cislunar-article-spacex-starship-hls-29-billion-gamble NASA has awarded contracts to three companies to develop lunar communications relay satellite systems that will provide continuous coverage for Artemis missions and robotic operations. The satellites will solve critical communication gaps at the lunar south pole, where terrain blocks direct Earth contact up to 50% of the time, creating safety risks for crews. These commercial relay networks will enable voice, video, navigation services, and emergency communications for sustained lunar operations. https://cislunar.news/article/lunar-communications-relay-contract-2026 Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Infrastructure CommunicationsInfrastructureNASAContracts cislunar-article-lunar-communications-relay-contract-2026 Cislunar 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. https://cislunar.news/article/welcome-to-cislunar-news Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Editorial cislunarlaunchmissionaboutpodcast cislunar-article-welcome-to-cislunar-news In 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. https://cislunar.news/article/spacex-moon-pivot-the-strategic-case-for-lunar-first Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Transport SpaceXStarshipMoonLunar SettlementElon MuskArtemisHLSCislunar EconomyNASAOrbital Refueling cislunar-article-spacex-moon-pivot-the-strategic-case-for-lunar-first Lunar Outpost raised $30 million in a Series B round led by Industrious Ventures as NASA accelerates its lunar surface plans and the commercial rover market starts to harden into a real infrastructure category. The company says it has eight contracted lunar and cislunar missions before 2030, and its smaller Pegasus rover points to a practical strategy: get lighter, faster mobility systems flying first, then scale into a fuller Moon base logistics stack. https://cislunar.news/article/lunar-outpost-series-b-pegasus-rover-2026 Sat, 09 May 2026 01:09:01 GMT Infrastructure Lunar OutpostPegasus roverlunar roverNASAArtemislunar mobilitycislunar infrastructuremoon baselunar terrain vehiclespace economy cislunar-article-lunar-outpost-series-b-pegasus-rover-2026 NASA's Gateway lunar space station faces another major delay, with the launch of its first two modules—the Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost—now pushed to 2027. The setback stems from integration complexities, supply chain issues, and challenges developing humanity's first autonomous deep-space station. This delay cascades through the Artemis program, potentially pushing the first crewed Gateway assembly mission to 2028. https://cislunar.news/article/gateway-ppe-halo-launch-delayed-2025 Fri, 08 May 2026 18:00:00 GMT Infrastructure GatewayNASAPPEHALOArtemis IVLanterisNorthrop Grummandeep space stationcislunar infrastructure cislunar-article-gateway-ppe-halo-launch-delayed-2025 NASA's new Blue Moon cabin trainer at Johnson Space Center is a practical milestone for Artemis because it creates a full-scale environment for crew operations, mission control rehearsals, spacesuit checks, and simulated moonwalk prep. It also gives Blue Origin a direct feedback loop on the human side of its Mark 2 lander design. For cislunar infrastructure watchers, that means the program is moving from architecture charts into the kind of physical rehearsal that usually precedes serious flight execution. https://cislunar.news/article/blue-moon-training-cabin-artemis-2026 Fri, 08 May 2026 01:10:16 GMT Infrastructure NASABlue OriginBlue Moon Mark 2ArtemisJohnson Space Centerhuman landing systemlunar landercrew trainingcislunar operations cislunar-article-blue-moon-training-cabin-artemis-2026 Blue Origin has launched an intensive drop test campaign for its Blue Moon Mark 2 lunar lander, part of the company's $3.4 billion NASA contract to provide an alternative to SpaceX's Starship for Artemis missions. The tests validate critical systems including landing gear performance, hazard detection sensors, and structural integrity before the lander attempts its first Moon landing mission, targeted for commercial service by 2028. https://cislunar.news/article/blue-origin-blue-moon-lander-test-campaign-2026 Thu, 07 May 2026 18:00:00 GMT Transport LanderBlue OriginTestingCommercial cislunar-article-blue-origin-blue-moon-lander-test-campaign-2026 NASA has opened public access to more than 12,000 Artemis II images, a release that goes far beyond public relations. The archive gives researchers and mission planners a dense new visual record of the first crewed lunar flyby in the Artemis era, while also highlighting the data infrastructure future cislunar operations will need. https://cislunar.news/article/artemis-ii-photo-archive-lunar-science-2026 Thu, 07 May 2026 01:07:29 GMT Exploration Artemis IINASAOrionlunar flybycislunar spacelunar scienceastronaut photographyArtemisMoonspace imagery cislunar-article-artemis-ii-photo-archive-lunar-science-2026 Orbit Fab, founded in 2018 by Daniel Faber and Jeremy Schiel, is building standardized orbital refueling infrastructure using RAFTI ports and GRIP tanker nozzles. The company has raised over 0 million, secured contracts from ESA, UKSA, and U.S. Space Force, and is targeting 2026 for its first in-orbit refueling demonstrations. Its architecture scales from GEO satellite servicing toward cislunar propellant depots to support lunar missions. https://cislunar.news/article/orbit-fab-in-space-refueling Wed, 06 May 2026 18:00:00 GMT Companies Orbit Fabin-space refuelingRAFTIsatellite servicingcislunar infrastructurepropellant depotcompanies cislunar-article-orbit-fab-in-space-refueling Firefly Aerospace has grown from a rebooted launch company into one of the most credible cislunar infrastructure players in the market. Blue Ghost Mission 1 proved it could land on the Moon and deliver NASA payloads, while Elytra gives it a serious transfer-vehicle story that extends beyond launch. With CLPS wins, defense work, and a growing public-market profile, Firefly is starting to look like a genuine logistics company for lunar space rather than a one-product startup. https://cislunar.news/article/firefly-aerospace-company-profile Wed, 06 May 2026 01:16:00 GMT Companies Firefly AerospaceBlue GhostElytraAlpha rocketCLPSlunar landercislunar infrastructureNASAmoon logistics cislunar-article-firefly-aerospace-company-profile Former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine is now CEO of Quantum Space, a company developing the Ranger spacecraft for long-endurance operations from geostationary orbit to cislunar space. The appointment matters for lunar industry watchers because it comes right after Quantum secured a DARPA LASSO study slot, linking the company more directly to water prospecting, space domain awareness, and the infrastructure layer future Moon missions will need. https://cislunar.news/article/jim-bridenstine-quantum-space-cislunar-2026 Wed, 06 May 2026 01:15:54 GMT Infrastructure Jim BridenstineQuantum SpaceRangercislunar spaceDARPA LASSOlunar water mappingspace domain awarenessArtemislunar infrastructurenational security space cislunar-article-jim-bridenstine-quantum-space-cislunar-2026 China's lunar program has moved from abstract ambition to stacked hardware milestones. Chang'e 7 has arrived at Wenchang for launch processing, the crewed lunar architecture already cleared its hardest abort-and-recovery test in February, and the delayed but still-expected Long March 10B debut remains the last major near-term proof point before China begins collecting fresh south-pole data ahead of Artemis hardware. https://cislunar.news/article/china-lunar-base-progress-2026 Tue, 05 May 2026 18:08:33 GMT Policy ChinaInfrastructureLunar BaseInternational cislunar-article-china-lunar-base-progress-2026 As agencies and commercial operators target the lunar south pole, frozen elliptical relay orbits have emerged as a leading architecture for communications and positioning. This explainer covers why the Moon's gravity field destabilizes simpler orbits, how frozen ellipses create long south-pole dwell times, how ESA's Moonlight and NASA's lunar networking plans use them, and why they may become the first real utility infrastructure around the Moon. https://cislunar.news/article/frozen-elliptical-lunar-relay-orbits-explained Tue, 05 May 2026 01:10:00 GMT Lunar Infrastructure lunar relayfrozen elliptical orbitMoonlightLunaNetlunar south polenavigationcislunar infrastructure cislunar-article-frozen-elliptical-lunar-relay-orbits-explained NASA has awarded Seattle startup Interlune a $6.9 million, 18-month Phase III SBIR contract to develop Prospect Moon, a payload suite that will collect lunar soil, heat it on the surface, and measure gases including helium-3 and hydrogen. If the system flies in 2028 as planned, it could provide the first on-site data set showing how much useful volatile material lunar regolith yields and how much power extraction actually requires, a key input for any serious lunar industry. https://cislunar.news/article/interlune-helium-3-nasa-contract-may-2026 Tue, 05 May 2026 01:09:05 GMT Economics Interlunehelium-3NASASBIRProspect MoonISRUlunar miningArtemisCLPSlunar economy cislunar-article-interlune-helium-3-nasa-contract-may-2026 The U.S. Space Force is dramatically expanding its space surveillance capabilities to monitor the vast cislunar region between Earth and the Moon—covering an area 1,000 times larger than current operations. The new Cislunar Domain Awareness Network will use upgraded ground telescopes, space-based sensors, and AI-driven data fusion to track increasing military and civilian traffic in this strategically important domain. https://cislunar.news/article/ussf-cislunar-domain-awareness-network-2026 Mon, 04 May 2026 18:00:00 GMT Defense USSFMilitaryDomain AwarenessTracking cislunar-article-ussf-cislunar-domain-awareness-network-2026 NASA restructured the Artemis lunar program on February 27, 2026, inserting a new Artemis 3 mission in 2027 that will test commercial landers and the Axiom Space spacesuit in low Earth orbit before any crew attempts a lunar landing. The first crewed Moon landing is now Artemis 4 in 2028. At the same time, NASA canceled development of the SLS Block 1B upper stage, opting to standardize on a "near Block 1" configuration to accelerate launch cadence. Administrator Jared Isaacman cited competition with China, which targets a crewed lunar landing around 2030, as a driving factor. https://cislunar.news/article/nasa-artemis-restructure-2026 Sun, 03 May 2026 18:00:00 GMT Policy ArtemisNASASLSLunar LandingBlue OriginSpaceXArtemis 3Artemis 4China Space RaceOrion cislunar-article-nasa-artemis-restructure-2026 SpaceX 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. https://cislunar.news/article/spacex-starship-orbital-refueling-test-2026 Sat, 02 May 2026 10:28:00 GMT Transport SpaceXStarshipTechnologyPropellant Transfer cislunar-article-spacex-starship-orbital-refueling-test-2026 Experts warn that the Earth-Moon corridor is developing the structural conditions of a strategic chokepoint: valuable resource flows, constrained transit routes, and no enforceable international rules governing access denial. With Artemis III's ground campaign now active and China's CZ-10B on the pad, analysts say the window for establishing governance norms is measured in years, not decades. https://cislunar.news/article/cislunar-space-chokepoint-hormuz-strategic-risk-2026 Thu, 30 Apr 2026 03:00:00 GMT Policy cislunarpolicygeopoliticsspace-securityLagrange-pointsStrait-of-HormuzArtemisChinaSpace-Force cislunar-article-cislunar-space-chokepoint-hormuz-strategic-risk-2026 NASA's Artemis III, originally planned as the first crewed lunar landing since 1972, has been reprofiled as a low Earth orbit rendezvous and docking mission targeting no earlier than late 2027. The mission will send astronauts to orbit to test SpaceX Starship HLS and Blue Origin Blue Moon landers before committing them to a lunar landing on Artemis IV. With the SLS core stage arriving at Kennedy Space Center on April 27 and the Artemis II Orion capsule returning April 28, the ground campaign for Artemis III is now underway. https://cislunar.news/article/artemis-iii-leo-rendezvous-mission-2027 Wed, 29 Apr 2026 03:00:00 GMT Exploration Artemis IIINASASLSOrionStarship HLSBlue MoonKennedy Space CenterLEOlunar landingAxEMU cislunar-article-artemis-iii-leo-rendezvous-mission-2027 Founded in 2015 on additive manufacturing principles, Relativity Space pivoted from Terran 1 to the much larger Terran R after a single 2023 launch attempt. With Eric Schmidt as CEO, $1.335 billion in funding, and over $1.2 billion in launch contracts from customers including SES and Impulse Space, the company is racing toward its first Terran R flight at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 16. https://cislunar.news/article/relativity-space-company-profile Wed, 29 Apr 2026 01:17:50 GMT Companies Relativity SpaceTerran Rlaunch vehiclesreusable rockets3D printingcommercial launchEric Schmidtcislunarheavy lift cislunar-article-relativity-space-company-profile A deep dive into the economics of the lunar economy: its five core revenue models, the market stack from launch to ISRU, key players including Intuitive Machines and Astrobotic, the propellant economy thesis, structural risks, and the three transitions needed for commercial self-sufficiency. https://cislunar.news/article/lunar-economy-explained-commercial-business-models Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:18:08 GMT Economy lunar economycislunar commerceISRUpropellant depotIntuitive MachinesAstroboticCLPSspace economicsknowledge cislunar-article-lunar-economy-explained-commercial-business-models Lonestar Space and Sidus Space are constructing the first commercial cislunar data storage network, placing radiation-hardened cloud storage satellites in the Earth-Moon zone. The partnership recently upgraded to Atomic-6 Light Wing redeployable solar arrays for the deep space radiation environment, and is targeting both orbital and eventual lunar surface storage tiers for sovereign and enterprise customers. https://cislunar.news/article/lonestar-sidus-cislunar-data-network-2026 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 01:07:14 GMT Infrastructure Lonestar SpaceSidus SpaceCislunar InfrastructureData StorageAtomic-6Commercial SpaceLunar Economy cislunar-article-lonestar-sidus-cislunar-data-network-2026 China's crewed lunar program reached a milestone in February 2026 with a successful in-flight abort test of the Mengzhou capsule and a controlled propulsive splashdown of the CZ-10A prototype booster. The Linghangzhe, a 144-meter autonomous recovery ship using a unique cable-catch system, participated in the test and is now positioned for potential booster recovery on the next CZ-10A flight. An uncrewed Mengzhou orbital demo is planned for later in 2026, and the full CZ-10 heavy-lift rocket needed for crewed lunar missions is on track for its debut flight. https://cislunar.news/article/china-mengzhou-cz10-march-2026 Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Exploration ChinaMengzhouChang Zheng 10Lunar ProgramBooster RecoveryCrewed SpaceflightCislunar cislunar-article-china-mengzhou-cz10-march-2026 Starship Block 3 passed its static fire milestones in April 2026, putting Flight 12 on track for early May. The Block 3 vehicle carries hardware critical for orbital refueling, which is the gating NASA requirement before Starship HLS can fly astronauts to the lunar south pole under Artemis III. https://cislunar.news/article/starship-block3-flight12-ready-may-2026 Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:08:52 GMT Engineering StarshipSpaceXBlock 3Flight 12Artemis IIIRaptor 3Orbital RefuelingNASALunar Landing cislunar-article-starship-block3-flight12-ready-may-2026 NASA's OIG released report IG-26-006 on April 20, 2026, warning that historical delay patterns for NASA programs could push the next-generation spacesuit demonstrations from Axiom Space to 2031, three years after the planned 2028 Artemis III crewed Moon landing. Collins Aerospace exited the xEVAS program in June 2024 after delivering no hardware, leaving Axiom as the lone provider. The report identifies firm-fixed-price contracting for developmental work, a limited bidder pool, and no interoperability standards as structural flaws that created the current single-provider risk. https://cislunar.news/article/nasa-oig-spacesuit-axemu-delay-artemis-2026 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 03:00:00 GMT Engineering spacesuitAxiom SpaceAxEMUArtemis IIIxEVASNASA OIGEngineeringlunar landing cislunar-article-nasa-oig-spacesuit-axemu-delay-artemis-2026 Propellant depots — fuel storage stations positioned in cislunar space — could transform the economics of lunar missions by letting spacecraft refuel mid-journey rather than launching fully loaded from Earth. This explainer covers the physics driving depot design, the competing orbit location options from LEO to EML-1 to NRHO, the hard technical challenge of storing cryogenic propellants in space for months without losing them to boiloff, and the companies actively developing the technology. The connection to lunar ISRU and the long-term vision of a Moon-sourced propellant economy is also explored. https://cislunar.news/article/lunar-propellant-depots-explained Sun, 26 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT propellant depotcislunarISRUin-space refuelingcryogenicsorbital mechanicsSpaceXOrbit Fablunar economy cislunar-article-lunar-propellant-depots-explained NASA is racing a White House-mandated December 2026 deadline to establish Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC), a GPS-like timekeeping standard for cislunar space. Without it, relativistic drift from the Moon's weaker gravity causes clocks there to gain 58.7 microseconds per day versus Earth, translating to kilometer-scale navigation errors for landers, rovers, and relay satellites. The article explains the physics, the architecture challenges, the geopolitical stakes of a U.S.-led versus internationally governed standard, and why Artemis IV's crewed South Pole landing makes LTC an urgent operational requirement, not a long-term policy goal. https://cislunar.news/article/coordinated-lunar-time-moon-timekeeping-2026 Sat, 25 Apr 2026 01:06:54 GMT Infrastructure infrastructurenavigationtimekeepingLunaNetLTCcislunarArtemisNASAatomic clockGPS cislunar-article-coordinated-lunar-time-moon-timekeeping-2026 The 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. https://cislunar.news/article/space-force-cislunar-acquisition-taskforce-april-2026 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 01:05:28 GMT Policy Space Forcecislunaracquisitionspace policydomain awarenessnational securityOraclePrimeLunaNet cislunar-article-space-force-cislunar-acquisition-taskforce-april-2026 At an April 22 House Science Committee hearing on the FY2027 NASA budget, Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined a revised Artemis strategy: a 2027 low Earth orbit lander test, two crewed Moon landings in 2028, and the rejection of the Lunar Gateway in favor of direct surface infrastructure. Isaacman's central framing was competitive urgency, saying the margin over China would be measured in months, not years. https://cislunar.news/article/isaacman-artemis-2028-testimony-april-2026 Thu, 23 Apr 2026 03:00:00 GMT Policy ArtemisNASAJared IsaacmanMoon LandingLunar GatewayCongressFY2027 Budget2028ChinaCislunar cislunar-article-isaacman-artemis-2028-testimony-april-2026 New Glenn's third flight on April 19, 2026 achieved the first-ever reuse of a New Glenn first stage booster while simultaneously failing to deliver its payload. A thrust deficiency in one BE-3U upper stage engine during the circularization burn left BlueBird 7 in an orbit too low to recover, forcing deorbit the following day. The FAA grounded New Glenn pending investigation, putting pressure on Blue Origin's cislunar launch ambitions. https://cislunar.news/article/new-glenn-ng3-upper-stage-failure-blue-moon-april-2026 Wed, 22 Apr 2026 18:00:00 GMT Transport New GlennBlue OriginNG-3BE-3UFAAAST SpaceMobileBlueBirdlaunch failureBlue Moonupper stage cislunar-article-new-glenn-ng3-upper-stage-failure-blue-moon-april-2026 Founded in 2013 by former NASA officials Steve Altemus, Kam Ghaffarian, and Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines built the Nova-C lander and became the first American company to soft-land on the Moon since Apollo 17. After two lunar missions, both with tipping incidents, the company has diversified far beyond landers with a $4.82B NASA communications relay contract, the $800M Lanteris Space Systems acquisition, an SDA satellite manufacturing contract, and a five-task-order CLPS pipeline. The company reported $210.1M in 2025 revenue and is guiding toward $900M to $1B in 2026. https://cislunar.news/article/intuitive-machines-company-profile Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:35:37 GMT Companies Intuitive MachinesLUNRNova-CNova-DCLPSNASAlunar landercommercial spacecislunar cislunar-article-intuitive-machines-company-profile Revolutionary mining technology could transform the Moon into a self-sustaining outpost by extracting water ice from shadowed polar craters and oxygen from lunar soil. With an estimated 600 million metric tons of water ice available and oxygen comprising 43% of lunar regolith, these resources could eliminate the million-dollar-per-kilogram cost of launching materials from Earth for deep space missions. https://cislunar.news/article/isru-mining-moon-water-oxygen Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:00:00 GMT Engineering ISRUResourcesTechnologyMining cislunar-article-isru-mining-moon-water-oxygen Sierra Space Corporation, founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Sierra Nevada Corporation, has raised over $2.25 billion and is building two products that no other company has at the same scale: the Dream Chaser reusable spaceplane and the LIFE inflatable habitat. Dream Chaser targets a Q4 2026 orbital demonstration on Vulcan Centaur; LIFE is in development for the Orbital Reef commercial station. The company also has a growing defense business in satellite buses and propulsion. https://cislunar.news/article/sierra-space-company-profile Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:05:25 GMT Companies Sierra SpaceDream ChaserLIFE habitatcommercial spaceinflatable habitatsOrbital Reefcompany profile cislunar-article-sierra-space-company-profile