OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsFriday, September 18, 2026 / Issue 080
[ OST Daily ]

NASA Prepares to Order Two More Starliner Missions as SpaceX Plans to Retire Crew Dragon by 2030, Impulse Space Extends Its Series D to $808M, and an Ariane 6 Turbopump Fault St...

Outerspace Today6 min read / 2026-09-18
OST Daily September 18, 2026 — NASA is preparing to order two additional Starliner crew missions from Boeing, help pay for thruster fixes and support certifying the capsule on a new rocket after Atlas V retires, as SpaceX signals it will retire Crew Dragon by 2030; Impulse Space added $308 million to its Series D at a reported $5.4 billion valuation; and an engine turbopump anomaly found in August means Ariane 6 will miss its eight-launch goal this year and may finish with six.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-09-18
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The briefing

NASA is preparing to order two additional Starliner crew missions from Boeing, pay part of the cost of fixing the capsule's thrusters and support certifying it on a new rocket once Atlas V retires, according to multiple sources. SpaceX has told agency officials in recent months that it intends to retire Crew Dragon by 2030 if not before, as it pivots Starship toward Starlink and an orbital data-centre constellation. Asked this week whether SpaceX would keep flying Dragon, President Gwynne Shotwell said Boeing should fly the capsule: the government paid a lot of money for it.

Impulse Space added $308 million to its Series D, taking the round to $808 million at a valuation a source close to the company put at $5.4 billion, up from $4.26 billion in June. CEO Tom Mueller said the money goes to hiring and manufacturing as Mira production ramps and Helios prepares for 2028, with Caravan 2 and 3 sold out and dedicated flights booked for Astranis and SES. In Europe, an engine turbopump anomaly found in August means Ariane 6 will miss its eight-launch goal this year and may finish with six, industry officials said.

The European Commission said it can preempt commercial capacity on the €15.6 billion IRIS² network for European military and security forces in an emergency, and is reviewing industrial progress regularly to hold the schedule. Vantor picked EnduroSat buses and CACI payloads for its 24-satellite, 40-centimetre Pulse imaging constellation, a day after EnduroSat's $205 million round, and Orange and Telesat commissioned Europe's first Telesat Lightspeed gateway at Bercenay-en-Othe in France, sized to support the planned initial 225 satellites.

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The headlines

01

NASA to order two more Starliner crew missions as SpaceX signals Crew Dragon wind-down

SpaceX BA

NASA is preparing to order two additional crewed Starliner missions from Boeing, help fund thruster fixes and support certifying the capsule on a new rocket once its Atlas V retires, a contract move multiple sources say could be announced as early as next week. The move follows SpaceX making clear to agency officials in recent months, and now publicly, that it intends to retire Crew Dragon, today NASA's only operational crew vehicle for low Earth orbit, by 2030 if not before, as it pivots Starship toward Starlink and a new orbital data-centre constellation.

02

Impulse Space extends Series D to $808M at reported $5.4B valuation

Impulse Space added a $308 million extension to its Series D on September 16, bringing the round total to $808 million at a valuation a source close to the company put at $5.4 billion, up from $4.26 billion in June. Returning backers included 137 Ventures, BANNER VC, DFJ Growth, Linse Capital, Lux Capital and Valor Equity Partners. CEO Tom Mueller said proceeds will fund hiring and manufacturing as Mira production ramps and Helios prepares for a 2028 debut, with Caravan 2 and 3 rideshares sold out and dedicated flights booked for Astranis and SES. The company also hired former VIZIO finance chief Adam Townsend as its first CFO.

03

Ariane 6 turbopump anomaly stalls the ramp-up, with Europe likely to finish the year at six launches

SpaceX

Europe's Ariane 6, in the middle of a ramp toward an initial rhythm of nine to ten launches a year, will be unable to reach its goal of eight missions this year and might end up with six after an anomaly was found in an engine turbopump in August, industry officials said. The problem may be amenable to an on-site repair at the Guiana Space Centre, leaving likely only one or two more Ariane 6 launches in 2026.

04

Brussels says it can requisition IRIS² commercial capacity for military use in an emergency

The European Commission said it is managing the €15.6 billion ($18 billion) IRIS² multi-orbit secure communications network with regular reviews of industrial progress to keep it on schedule, and that it holds the right to preempt commercial capacity on the network and assign it to European military and security forces during an emergency, officials from the Commission and from the 23-nation European Space Agency, which oversees the network's technical development, said in Paris.

05

Vantor picks EnduroSat buses and CACI payloads for its 24-satellite Pulse imaging constellation

Vantor selected EnduroSat to build the buses and CACI to build the imaging payloads for its Pulse constellation of 24 electro-optical satellites with 40-centimetre resolution, designed to revisit locations every 15 minutes, a day after EnduroSat announced its $205 million round. EnduroSat said the funding will also let it begin producing larger spacecraft and open a US manufacturing facility whose location it has not disclosed, adding to the 188,000-square-foot Space Center it opened in October with a target of two satellites a day; other investors in the round include Google Ventures, Founders Fund, Lux Capital and Omnes Capital.

06

Telesat and Orange commission Europe's first Telesat Lightspeed gateway in France

TSAT

Orange and Telesat's Lightspeed subsidiary inaugurated the first European gateway for the Telesat Lightspeed constellation at Orange's WTA Tier-4 certified teleport in Bercenay-en-Othe, France, connected via a secure high-speed link to Telesat's planned Paris point of presence. The site will support deployment of the planned initial 225 Telesat Lightspeed satellites, using Intellian-supplied gateway antennas, and is designed for enterprise, telecom, government and defence users leveraging optical inter-satellite links to keep traffic in space until it reaches a Telesat landing station or private landing facility.

[ 03 / +36 / -10 ]

Market pulse

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

Gainers+36
Decliners-10
Big mover FJET+20.1%

Intuitive Machines shares rose 12.9% in the delayed provider snapshot, without a specific supplied news catalyst tied to today's session.

AssetSnapshotMoveTrend
FJETStarfighters Space$1.97+20.1%
YSSYork Space Systems$9.76+14.2%
LUNRIntuitive Machines$15.72+12.9%
RBCRBC Bearings$492.56-1.7%
KRMNKarman Space$35.21-1.5%
HXLHexcel$86.94-1.4%
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Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-09-18 edition.

Long March 8A

CASC · Long March 8A · Commercial LC-1 · Wenchang Space Launch Site

Long March 6A

CASC · Long March 6A · LC-9A · Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center

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Filings

[ End of Issue 080 ]

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