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
260orbital 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
71/ 100 vs 21-day high
▼ coolingMethod · GDELT DOC 2.0 (article volume)The Feed
Live · 17:00 UTCNews Wire SNAPI · RSS · multi-source
NOV 117:00Space.com'Metroid Prime' needs some 'Resident Evil'-style remakes to rediscover its sci-fi shooter mojoNOV 115:00Space.comPlanetary defense: How military and civil satellites are watching fireballs to help keep Earth safe from space rocksNOV 114:50Space.comOn this day in space! Nov. 1, 1962: The Soviet Union Launches Mars 1 spacecraft to Red Planet during the Space RaceNOV 113:00Space.comNASA's Swift space telescope is about to crash to Earth. Where will it fall?NOV 108:16European SpaceflightCanadian MDA Space Secures €64 Million IRIS2 Antenna AgreementNOV 104:05NASAAPOD: 2026 November 1 – Colors of the MoonNOV 103:36NASASpaceflightIsaacman outlines Artemis III multi-launch checkout sequence and Blue Origin priorityNOV 103:06Universe TodayMartian Polar Crater Ice Shifts with Seasonal FrostOCT 3123:35Universe TodayCeres' Water Ice Can Mask Massive Surface Salt DepositsOCT 3119:24Universe TodaySpace Outposts Beyond the Moon May Rely on Planetary AIOCT 3104:05NASAAPOD: 2026 October 31 – Night on a Spooky PlanetOCT 3101:52Universe TodayHera Probe Sees Asteroid Pair Separately for First TimeOCT 3022:46Spaceflight NowLive coverage: SpaceX to close out October with Halloween eve Falcon 9 launchOCT 3021:53NASASpaceflightSpaceX Completes Three Static Fires in Three Days for Flight 15OCT 3019:31NASANASA Releases MAX POWER Key Events for Media, ParticipantsOCT 3018:54SpaceNewsESI supplying solar array components to missile defense programsOCT 3018:46SpacePolicyOnline.comGovernment Spending on Civil Space Topped $42 Billion in FY2026OCT 3017:50NASASpace Crops and Advanced Tech Wrap Up Week Following SpacewalkOCT 3016:12ArstechnicaAnalysts find looming launch crisis is "more severe" than anticipatedOCT 3015:50Spaceflight NowTurkey aims for first Moon-orbiting mission in 2027OCT 3015:00ESAWhat happened this month at the European Space Agency? (October 2026)OCT 3014:15ESAWeek in images: 26-30 October 2026OCT 3012:00PayloadTelesat Stays Quiet on C$2.4B GEO Debt Due in DecemberOCT 3011:02European SpaceflightGround Qualification Testing Begins for Callisto Reusable Rocket DemonstratorSignal Bluesky · AT Proto
Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialNOV 1 · 19:35Jonathan's Space Report No. 861 published at planet4589.org/jsr.htmlSpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialNOV 1 · 13:26Google runs AI model on satellite chip, advancing orbital data center ambitions
Spacecraft built by Planet Labs demonstrates Google's data-center processor in orbit...
https://spacenews.com/google-runs-ai-model-on-satellite-chip-advanci…NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comNOV 1 · 10:14Expanding on Artemis III via NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's comments to NSF on Friday.
written by Chris Bergin
www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/10/isaa...Andrew Parsonson@andrewparsonson.bsky.socialNOV 1 · 08:18MDA Space has secured a €64 million agreement to develop antennas for the EU’s IRIS2 constellation as Canada explores participation in the programme.
europeanspaceflight.com/canadian-mda...NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comOCT 31 · 23:36So what happens if we reach the planned end of life of the ISS and commercial destinations aren't there yet? We don't de-orbit the ISS, is what @nasaadmin would recommend.
That's what he told EJ when he joined us on last week's Flame Tre…SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 23:16Cape pressing ahead with spaceport upgrades despite near-term launch downturn
Despite a downturn in launches from Cape Canaveral this year, the Space Force is continues work to support much higher launch rates, including assigning anothe…ESA Space Science@science.esa.intOCT 31 · 21:02Happy Dark Matter Day from the #DarkUniverse detective, Euclid!
Earlier this year, @ec-euclid.bsky.social scientists published this first demonstration that Euclid can trace massive structures dominated by usually invisible dark matter.
…Andrew Jones@andrewjonesspace.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 10:36China has reaffirmed its commitment to landing its first astronauts on the Moon before 2030, reports Global Times from the 7th Manned Space Symposium, in Beijing (Oct 31–Nov 1). This is despite apparent delays to key milestone tests this …Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 10:33LAUNCH at 1821 UTC Oct 30 of Indian's IRNSS-1L navigation sat on a GSLV Mk II from Satish Dhawan.Garrett Reisman@astro-g-dogg.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 05:02These kids were inspiring but they also are very concerned about the future of our country. We have a lot of work to do.Jeff Foust@jfoust.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 00:16NASA released today a media advisory for its Max Power (er, MAX POWER) airshow listing various briefings planned for the event—weeks after the deadline for media accreditation. Another win for NASA comms.
www.nasa.gov/news-release...Kevin M. Gill@kevinmgill.bsky.socialOCT 31 · 00:15Adding the ability to create meshes from stereo pairs in Mars Raw Utils. The results so far are...not great. Lots of fine tuning and error left to work through. Also cleaned up a boatload of technical debt.Rocket Lab@rocketlabcorp.comOCT 30 · 19:22Neutron’s Stage 2 and Thrust Module have arrived to Launch Complex 3 – another major step forward for the team that brings us closer to Neutron’s debutSpacePolicyOnline@spacepolicyonline.bsky.socialOCT 30 · 18:54Government Spending on Civil Space Topped $42 Billion in FY2026 https://
spacepolicyonline.com/news/governm...European Space Agency@esa.intOCT 30 · 14:38Meet our Space Safety fleet.
These missions help us monitor solar storms and asteroids, deal with space debris, and keep Earth and space safer for everyone.
🔗 esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2025/10/ESA_Space_Safety_Fleet
@operations.es…ESA Operations@operations.esa.intOCT 30 · 14:09👻 Space can be scary. Solar storms ⚡asteroids ☄️ and orbital debris 🛰️ pose risks to the services we rely on every day. Check out our ESA Space Safety fleet and explore the missions keeping Earth and space safe: www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed…