New Glenn Explodes as Brussels Narrows 2 GHz Spectrum Access

Blue Origin's New Glenn problem moved from development schedule to pad recovery. The rocket exploded during a Cape Canaveral hotfire test; Blue Origin said personnel were accounted for, and officials said there was no public threat while the U.S. Space Force worked with the company to evaluate data. The next facts are root cause, damage, rebuild scope, and launch schedule.

Europe put a hard policy constraint in front of direct-to-device satellite plans. The European Commission proposed a new authorization process for the 2 gigahertz mobile-satellite band after current licenses expire, with capacity reserved for government communications and European commercial operators. If that structure survives negotiations, SpaceX, Viasat, and EchoStar-linked plans face a narrower lane for phone-to-satellite and aviation-broadband service in Europe.

NASA supplied the day's noncommercial substance. Roman is preparing transit and microlensing observations that could widen exoplanet demographics beyond the local neighborhood. On the International Space Station, Expedition 74 is testing blood-stem-cell expansion for pharmaceutical and clinical use, a practical biomanufacturing case for microgravity.