Latest · Jun 20, 2026
Who Will be the First Woman on the Moon?
We now know a woman won’t fly with ArtemisArtemis — NASA's program to return humans to the Moon and build a sustained lunar presence. III, but what of the big one: Artemis IV?
Read the column →The J Mission Index · Flagship
How far are we to a self-sustaining cislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. economy?
11/ 1008/38 milestones · data 2025
Earth-to-Orbit Access 16.7%28
LEO Commercialization & Habitation 16.7%4
In-Space Logistics & Refueling 11.1%7
CislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. Transport 16.7%15
Lunar Surface Infrastructure 11.1%0
ISRU & Resource Use 11.1%0
Economic Self-Sufficiency 16.7%13
0–100 distance to a self-sustaining cislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. economy · 7 pillars, weighted · continuous indicators (GCATGCAT — The General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects — an authoritative launch and payload catalog kept by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.) normalized distance-to-target + cited milestone checklists (OECD/JRCOECD / EC-JRC handbook — The standard recipe for building a composite indicator: a stated framework, explicit normalization, and transparent weights.) · methodology →
The Indexes
All indexes + methodology →Launch Cadence Index
249orbital YTD 2026
~311 projected · record 2025: 324Method · Launch Library 2 (live) + SpaceNews (excl. suborbital Starship)SpaceX Dominance
48% of launches
2025: 50.9%Method · Launch Library 2 (live) + SpaceNewsSpace-Economy Growth
38/100 · activity 2025
+7.8 vs 2024 · +25.3% YoYMethod · GCAT (McDowell) + Space-Track · computed in code; YoY min-max normalized, equal-weight (OECD/JRC)Space News Heat
90/ 100 vs 21-day high
▲ risingMethod · GDELT DOC 2.0 (article volume)The Feed
Live · 14:00 UTCNews Wire SNAPI · RSS · multi-source
OCT 1914:00Space.comElephant Island is an icy sight from orbit | Space photo of the day for Oct. 19, 2026OCT 1913:00PayloadExclusive: EraDrive Lands $13M DoD Award For Autonomy ModuleOCT 1913:00PayloadWarpWare Closes Pre-Seed to Bring Agentic Tools to Flight SoftwareOCT 1912:00Space.comDid a giant object collide with Earth to form the moon?OCT 1910:00Space.comJapan launching bold sample-return mission to Mars moon Phobos today: Watch it liveOCT 1904:05NASAAPOD: 2026 October 19 – Treble Clef: Unusual X-ray Hot Radio SourceOCT 1904:01NASAAutumn Paints Poland’s Bieszczady MountainsOCT 1821:25SpacePolicyOnlineWhat’s Happening in Space Policy October 18-24, 2026OCT 1819:20Space.comReturning the first samples from a Martian moon: Inside the science of Japan's bold MMX mission to MarsOCT 1816:32Spaceflight NowPoor weather forces scrub of Monday launch attempt of Bandwagon-5, SpaceX now targeting TuesdayOCT 1804:05NASAAPOD: 2026 October 18 – Sonified: Eagle Nebula PillarsOCT 1723:11Universe TodayNew Research Reveals How Long Stays in Space Affects the Human GenomeOCT 1707:47Universe TodayEnigmatic Mercury Will Remain A Puzzle Until Someone Sends A LanderOCT 1704:05NASAAPOD: 2026 October 17 – 3D 67POCT 1619:30Universe TodayIn the Search for Exoplanets, Some Failures Are A SuccessOCT 1616:00Universe TodayThe Flavor of Neutrinos Could Determine How a Large Star DiesOCT 1613:17Spaceflight NowBlue Origin to add new Florida launch pads, seeks aggressive increase in New Glenn flight rateOCT 1612:00PayloadRATLOG Wants to Cut ~90% of a Rocket Engine’s PartsOCT 1605:30PayloadSeraphim Space Investment Trust Doubled its Value in 2026OCT 1600:14SpacePolicyOnlineJAXA’S MMX Mars Mission Readies for Launch with Two NASA InstrumentsOCT 1519:11Spaceflight NowSpaceX launches a classified payload for U.S. Space ForceOCT 1400:40SpacePolicyOnlineShip 40 Back At Starbase After Surprise Reentry SurvivalOCT 1314:07Spaceflight NowSpaceX launches NASA science and cargo to the International Space StationOCT 1119:37SpacePolicyOnlineWhat’s Happening in Space Policy October 11-17, 2026Signal Bluesky · AT Proto
SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialOCT 19 · 14:01EraDrive wins Space Force contract for vision-based hardware
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Space Force awarded a $13 million contract to Silicon Valley startup EraDrive for Era-Nodes, vision-based hardware modules designed for satellite auton…SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialOCT 19 · 13:00The space superiority imperative to increase ground and network resilience
The past three decades have seen a marked increase in the capability, capacity and integration of American space capabilities to enhance and conduct combat operat…ESA Space Science@science.esa.intOCT 19 · 12:00Euclid discovers its first comet ☄️
That's quite impressive for a Dark Universe detective 🕵️ meant to take deep, steady images of distant galaxies, not fast-moving tiny objects.
Discover more about the comet 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Exp…European Space Agency@esa.intOCT 19 · 11:20We're developing a service station for the Moon. 🌕
OASIS will provide power, communications and data services to scientific experiments, helping them survive the two-week lunar night and operate for years.European Space Agency@esa.intOCT 19 · 08:30The future of space activities depends on the choices we make today 🌎🛰️♻️
On 4 and 5 November, the 8th Summit for Space Sustainability will bring policymakers, industry leaders, researchers and civil society to Brasília to discuss prac…NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comOCT 19 · 04:23The "Dancefloor 2.0" service structure has been removed from the Pad 2 OLM this evening. There is a road delay scheduled for 10am-2pm CDT Monday. Will we get a booster rollout?NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comOCT 18 · 22:43SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission is set to launch from SLC-40 in Florida on Monday, Oct. 19. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:30 AM EDT (10:30 UTC) during a one-hour launch window.
Eleanor Day with details on the launch and payloads ⬇️
…SpacePolicyOnline@spacepolicyonline.bsky.socialOCT 18 · 21:33Pick of the wk is a tie between JAXA's MMX launch tomorrow EDT (Tuesday in Japan) and NASA's Artemis update on Friday.
What’s Happening in Space Policy October 18-24, 2026 spacepolicyonline.com/news/whats-h...Kevin M. Gill@kevinmgill.bsky.socialOCT 18 · 17:53Bladed crystals covering bedrock in Curiosity's current parking spot. Imaged on Sol 5047 (yestersol) using MAHLI.
flic.kr/p/2sGYSvR
flic.kr/p/2sGWPfnKevin M. Gill@kevinmgill.bsky.socialOCT 18 · 01:57I was a little late to it, but it was a nice sunset tonight :-)Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialOCT 17 · 21:14I booked a flight at WHAT time tomorrow morning?? Aaargh.... Present me hates past me.Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialOCT 17 · 17:03This afternoon's orbital data suggests - subject to confirmation - that Russia's Kosmos-2612 has carried out a rendezvous with the US ICEYE X36 radar sat, within a few km. To my knowledge this is the first LEO rendezvous of two active sat…ESA Space Science@science.esa.intOCT 17 · 07:02Bepi and Mio are almost at Mercury, and they would love to hear from you 💌
Send them a #WelcomeToMercury message for a chance to win a trip to ESA's mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, this December.
Wish them well 👉 esa.int/Welcom…SpacePolicyOnline@spacepolicyonline.bsky.socialOCT 16 · 22:37Press release from HSS&T Chm Brian Babin (R-TX) about today's GAO report re NOAA's GeoXO weather satellite program:Andrew Parsonson@andrewparsonson.bsky.socialOCT 16 · 14:56The UK plans to award a £25 million contract for space surveillance radar in July 2027, after several revisions to the project's procurement plan.
europeanspaceflight.com/uk-to-award-...ESA Operations@operations.esa.intOCT 16 · 12:03Hera’s initial 93-minute braking manoeuvre on Thursday morning is confirmed to have performed within required parameters; the follow-up braking manoeuvre is scheduled for Thursday 22 October. Want to know more? Ask our Hera Space Companio…