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Explore the latest space news, missions, and discoveries.
Xona plans a 258-satellite low-Earth-orbit positioning network using signals up to 100 times stronger than GPS, with initial satellites launching from late 2026. Rather than replacing GPS, the company aims to bring jam resistance and improved urban positioning into practical use as part of a multi-layered PNT approach.
A new theory has been published that explains the physical necessity behind the '2-to-1' mass ratio between dark matter and its mediator particle—a ratio required to satisfy resonance conditions. By naturally deriving this ratio from special geometric boundary conditions in a fifth dimension, the theory eliminates the artificial fine-tuning that was previously indispensable in conventional models.
A four-carbon sugar called erythrulose, tied to the blueprint of life, has been detected for the first time ever in a molecular cloud at the center of our galaxy. This overturns the conventional theory of carbon atoms being added one at a time, instead supporting a new synthesis pathway in space where two-carbon molecules bond together and grow all at once.
By applying black hole energy extraction theory to create synthetic rotation within an electronic circuit, researchers have succeeded in amplifying electromagnetic waves. This new principle promises to solve the power consumption and heat dissipation challenges plaguing conventional amplifiers, positioning it as a revolutionary technology to underpin next-generation ultra-high-speed optical communication infrastructure.
Intel's space-oriented SoC "Starfire" targets up to 75 TOPS using 18A and Foveros, but radiation tolerance figures and spaceflight qualification remain undetermined. Judging its real capability will have to wait for Q3 2026 samples and test results.
A Swiss research team has achieved a power conversion efficiency of 30.02% with a triple-junction solar cell stacking silicon and perovskite, breaking through the theoretical limit of a single material. The fusion of low-cost materials and nanotechnology is paving the way to bring ultra-high-efficiency power generation—once confined to space exploration—down to Earth.
Three U.S. startups have successively revealed commercial contracts and demonstration plans for space-based solar power, while NASA's independent estimates swing by roughly 20-fold depending on assumptions. The industry's targets align almost exactly with the best-case scenario in those estimates, leaving feasibility hinging on verification of launch costs and power-transmission efficiency.
New Zealand's Zenno has successfully completed the world's first on-orbit demonstration of a magnetic actuator using superconducting magnets. The device generates torque by interacting with Earth's magnetic field while maintaining extremely low temperatures, positioning it as a next-generation technology for satellite attitude control and momentum management without consuming fuel.
Leaked information and a Linux kernel patch suggest Intel's next-generation CPU 'Nova Lake' will implement AVX-512 on both P-cores and E-cores. This piece examines the possibility that an instruction set fused off in silicon since 2021's Alder Lake could return five years later with a redesigned approach—and how thin the evidence for that actually is.
The satellite BOHR, developed by Miami-based City Labs, carries a NanoTritium battery that generates electricity from the decay energy of tritium rather than a fission reactor, and is reported to have launched on July 7, 2026. The question now is whether this marks the starting gun for a nuclear battery development race with China's Betavolt, and confirming the output and even the payload itself will be the focus going forward.
