NASA Picks Blue Origin for a $700M Mars Relay, PLD Space Adds €108M and HyImpulse €50M, and Intuitive Machines Books Two IM 300 Satellites

[ 01 ]

The briefing

NASA handed Blue Origin the biggest award of the day: a firm-fixed-price contract worth up to about $700 million to design, build, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network, with a high-performance orbiter due to NASA by December 31, 2028 and service at Mars targeted for 2030. The award follows NASA's May request for proposal and makes Blue Origin the commercial relay for data, imagery and navigation at Mars under the services model NASA uses in Earth orbit and for the Moon Base.

European launch got a second capital push in as many days. PLD Space added €108 million to its Series C, led again by Mitsubishi Electric, taking the round to €288 million ahead of a Miura 5 debut targeted before year-end and less than a week after its €158.9 million European Launcher Challenge award. HyImpulse extended its Series A by more than €50 million, co-led by JOIN Capital and Ace Capital Partners, taking total funding to €125 million against an order book above €350 million.

Intuitive Machines booked two IM 300 satellite platforms for an unnamed commercial customer, the same bus that has flown on Space Development Agency missions, to be built in Palo Alto. The company said the award opens a new market segment for the platform, on top of the $600 million three-satellite geostationary orbit (GEO) contract disclosed in its second-quarter update. Maritime Launch Services and Isar Aerospace pushed their Spaceport Nova Scotia statement of work to September 15, with the November 1 pad handover and 2028 first-launch target unchanged.

SpaceX flew its 79th Starlink mission of the year from Vandenberg at 1:42 a.m. PDT on booster B1063's 35th flight, its 104th orbital launch of 2026, with Starlink launch operations now based on the West Coast while Cape Canaveral prepares for Starship's East Coast debut.

[ 02 / 6 items ]

The headlines

NASA awards Blue Origin up to $700M for Mars Telecommunications Network

NASA selected Blue Origin for a firm-fixed-price contract with a maximum potential value of approximately $700 million to develop the Mars Telecommunications Network, delivering a high-performance orbiter to NASA no later than December 31, 2028. Blue Origin will design, build, launch and operate the relay under NASA's Space Communications and Navigation program, with service targeted to begin at Mars by 2030 to support current and future robotic and human missions.

PLD Space adds €108M to Series C, taking round to €288M

PLD Space secured a €108 million extension to its Series C round, again led by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, bringing the total raise to €288 million. Executive president Ezequiel Sánchez said proceeds will fund Miura 5 industrialisation, launch infrastructure and the transition to commercial operations, coming less than a week after ESA awarded PLD a €158.9 million European Launcher Challenge contract. The company still targets a Miura 5 debut before the end of 2026.

HyImpulse extends Series A by more than €50M to €125M total

German launch provider HyImpulse added more than €50 million to its Series A, taking total funding to €125 million, in an extension co-led by JOIN Capital and Ace Capital Partners. CEO Christian Schmierer said the capital will accelerate commercialization of the company's hybrid rockets, with a stated order book above €350 million across suborbital and orbital programmes. HyImpulse is preparing a second SR75 suborbital flight from SaxaVord Spaceport before year-end and the inaugural SL1 orbital attempt.

Intuitive Machines books unnamed customer for two IM 300 platforms

LUNR

Intuitive Machines said it won a contract from an unnamed commercial customer for two IM 300 satellite platforms, the same bus used on Space Development Agency missions and geared toward proliferated, serially manufactured constellations. Company president of space systems Chris Johnson said the modularity of the IM 300 let it scale to a heavier, higher-power payload class. The satellites will be built at the Palo Alto facility acquired via the former Maxar Space Systems/Lanteris business earlier this year.

SpaceX flies 79th Starlink of 2026 from Vandenberg as Florida shifts to Starship

SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4-East at 1:42 a.m. PDT on September 2, deploying 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites in the company's 104th orbital launch of 2026 and 79th Starlink mission of the year. Booster B1063 flew its 35th time and landed on Of Course I Still Love You. SpaceX confirmed that Starlink launch operations are now based on the West Coast while Cape Canaveral prepares for the East Coast debut of Starship.

Maritime Launch and Isar Aerospace push Nova Scotia work plan to September 15

Maritime Launch Services and Isar Aerospace extended the deadline for their statement of work covering a dedicated launch complex at Spaceport Nova Scotia to September 15, 2026, saying planning is progressing but needs more time. Key facility-usage terms are unchanged, including handover of the designated launch pad to Isar by November 1, 2026 and completion of additional spaceport infrastructure by December 31, 2027. Both sides still target first orbital launches from Nova Scotia in 2028.

[ 03 / +29 / -16 ]

Market pulse

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

Gainers+29

Decliners-16

Big mover TSAT+5.4%

Telesat led the delayed public space tape at +5.4% the same day it announced the Cailabs optical ground-segment collaboration for U.S. Government missions, though no source connects the move to the news.

Asset	Snapshot	Move
TSATTelesat	$46.44	+5.4%
VOYGVoyager Space	$34.19	+4.6%
GLWCorning	$152.00	+4.1%
FJETStarfighters Space	$2.705	-2.7%
SIDUSidus Space	$2.075	-2.1%
ETLEutelsat	€1.798	-1.9%

[ 04 / 4 tracked ]

Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-09-02 edition.

T-1D 21H

GSLV Mk II | GISAT-1A (EOS-05)

ISRO · GSLV Mk. II · Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad · Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India · GTO

T-3D 20H

Spectrum | Onward and Upward

Isar Aerospace · Spectrum · Orbital Launch Pad · Andøya Spaceport · SSO

T-4D 11H

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-24

SpaceX · Falcon 9 Block 5 · SLC-4E · Vandenberg SFB · LEO

T-7D 09H

Long March 2D/YZ-3

CASC · Long March 2D/YZ-3 · Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603) · Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center

[ 05 / 7 in window ]

Filings

Form 4

The Boeing Company · Form 4

2026-09-01 · The Boeing Company filed a Form 4 ownership update: Stephen Kenneth Parker (EVP, Pres. & CEO, BDS) disposed of 630 shares for tax withholding at $209.08 (40,600 shares after). These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

Form 4

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. · Form 4

2026-09-01 · AST SpaceMobile, Inc. filed a Form 4 ownership update: Adriana Cisneros (director) reported 10,822 shares acquired (797,023 shares after). These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

144

Viasat, Inc. · 144

2026-09-01 · Viasat, Inc. filed 144 through EDGAR.

144

Viasat, Inc. · 144

2026-09-01 · Viasat, Inc. filed 144 through EDGAR.

Form 4

HEICO Corporation · Form 4

2026-09-01 · HEICO Corporation filed a Form 4 ownership update: Alan Schriesheim (director) reported 125 shares disposed (407 shares after). These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

144

Materion Corporation · 144

2026-09-01 · Materion Corporation filed 144 through EDGAR.

[ End of Issue 068 ]

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