OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsWednesday, August 26, 2026 / Issue 063
[ OST Daily ]

SpaceX Commits $100B to Starbase Louisiana, Ends Florida Falcon 9 Starlink Runs, and BlackSky Says International Growth Now Outpaces the US

Outerspace Today6 min read / 2026-08-26
OST Daily August 26, 2026 — SpaceX unveiled a 10-pad Starship spaceport on Louisiana's Gulf Coast with at least $100 billion in planned investment, flew what a company vice president called the last planned Starlink mission on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, and set an initial Louisiana launch as soon as 2029.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-08-26
[ 01 ]

The briefing

SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry unveiled Starbase Louisiana on Tuesday, a Gulf Coast spaceport designed for 10 Starship launch pads on roughly 130,000 acres of coastal marsh near Pecan Island. The company committed to invest at least $100 billion and create more than 3,000 direct jobs over a decade, with construction targeted to begin in 2027 and an initial Starship launch as early as 2029, pending federal environmental review. The site will run its own power plant, airport, deep-water shipping and a plant turning local natural gas into liquid methane.

The Louisiana announcement landed the same day SpaceX vice president of launch Kiko Dontchev said Tuesday's predawn Starlink 10-49 mission was the last planned Starlink launch on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral until Starship begins flying from Florida. SpaceX flew Starlink 15-22 from Vandenberg hours later on booster B1082's 24th flight, and West Coast launches will carry the Starlink manifest going forward. Florida's Space Coast, which carried most of last year's 165 Falcon 9 flights, could see monthly pace fall from eight or nine to roughly two until Starship arrives.

Away from SpaceX, commercial operators kept posting growth. BlackSky said international revenue grew 200% year over year in the quarter ended June 30, driven by foreign government subscriptions to its 35-cm Gen 3 satellites, with non-US business now outpacing its US core. Kratos reported Kratos Government Systems revenue up 22% organically and 36.4% to $379.4 million including the Orbit and Nomad acquisitions. Kepler Communications opened commercial service on its optical data relay network and said follow-on spacecraft supporting up to 100 Gbps will fly in 2028, including on a dedicated Rocket Lab Neutron mission.

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The headlines

01

SpaceX picks Louisiana for a 10-pad Starship spaceport with at least $100B committed

SpaceX

SpaceX and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry announced Starbase Louisiana on Tuesday, a Gulf Coast spaceport in Vermilion Parish designed for 10 Starship launch pads on roughly 130,000 acres of coastal marsh. The company committed to invest at least $100 billion and create more than 3,000 direct jobs over 10 years, with construction targeted for 2027 and an initial Starship launch as soon as 2029 pending federal environmental review. Vermilion Parish will collect $25 million a year for 25 years in place of ordinary property tax, plus $20 million upfront.

02

Cape Canaveral loses Falcon 9 Starlink flights as SpaceX pivots to Vandenberg and Starship

SpaceX

SpaceX vice president of launch Kiko Dontchev said Tuesday's predawn Starlink 10-49 mission was the last planned Starlink launch on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral until Starship begins flying from Florida. Later Tuesday, Falcon 9 delivered 27 Starlink satellites on the Starlink 15-22 mission from Vandenberg, with booster B1082 landing on Of Course I Still Love You for its 24th flight. The Florida pace could fall from eight or nine Falcon 9 launches per month to about two until Starship arrives, which SpaceX targets by year end and observers see slipping into 2027.

03

BlackSky says international revenue grew 200% in Q2 on Gen 3 demand

BKSY

Geospatial operator BlackSky Technology said non-US revenue grew 200% in the three months ended June 30, with international subscription revenue also up 200%, as foreign governments took subscriptions on its Gen 2 satellites and its 35-cm-resolution Gen 3 constellation. Four Gen 3 satellites are now in orbit. Executives said non-US growth is now running faster than the US core market.

04

Kratos reports space-heavy KGS revenue up 36.4% including Orbit and Nomad

KTOS

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions said its Kratos Government Systems division, which houses most of the company's space technology, grew organic revenue 22% in the quarter ended June 30 and was up 36.4% to $379.4 million including the Nomad Global Communications Solutions and Orbit Technologies acquisitions. Executives said the growth is difficult to describe publicly because most of KGS's large contracts are classified.

05

Kepler opens commercial service on optical data relay network and books Neutron for 2028

SpaceX

Kepler Communications said its optical data relay network entered commercial service following the constellation's initial deployment in January 2026, with an IP-based framework using optical inter-satellite links and distributed edge computing. CEO Mina Mitry said the milestone lets Kepler support time-critical mission needs today while it scales hardware production. Kepler plans to deploy follow-on spacecraft across multiple 2028 launches, including a dedicated medium-lift flight on Rocket Lab's Neutron, with terminals supporting up to 100 Gbps and integration with third-party hosted payloads and ESA's HydRON program.

06

White House space transportation policy leaves Canada's export status unresolved

The National Space Transportation Policy signed August 20 by President Trump sets a target of more than 1,000 U.S. launches and reentries a year by 2030 and requires U.S. government payloads to fly on vehicles manufactured in the United States, with narrow exceptions. It directs State and Commerce to update export policy and controls within 120 days to enable exports to allies and partners, but does not name Canada or NATO's STARLIFT initiative, leaving Canada's export-control status open until roughly mid-December. Bill C-28, Canada's proposed Canadian Space Launch Act, resumes second reading when Parliament returns September 21.

[ 03 / +24 / -21 ]

Market pulse

Archived snapshot from this edition. Prices and moves are not live.

Gainers+24
Decliners-21
Big mover SATL-4.2%
AssetSnapshotMoveTrend
ATROAstronics$77.51+4.0%
GLWCorning$152.78+3.8%
RBCRBC Bearings$513.95+3.6%
SATLSatellogic$5.13-4.2%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile$59.88-3.4%
LUNRIntuitive Machines$16.11-3.0%
[ 04 / 6 tracked ]

Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-08-26 edition.

Ariane 62 | MTG-I2

Arianespace · Ariane 62 · Ariane Launch Area 4 · Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana · GTO

Angara 1.2 | Kosmos ()

Russian Space Forces · Angara 1.2 · 35/1 · Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Pallas-1 | Demo Flight

Galactic Energy · Pallas-1 · Pallas-1 Launch Pad · Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

[ 05 / 5 in window ]

Filings

[ End of Issue 063 ]

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