SpaceX Rolls Super Heavy to the Pad for Starship's First Orbital Attempt as Soon as September 28, Exolaunch Books the First Commercial Starfall Reentry, and Carney and Macron Or...

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The briefing

SpaceX placed Super Heavy booster B21 on the Pad 2 launch mount at Starbase early Monday, setting up a first orbital Starship flight targeted for September 28 at 7:15 a.m. Central. The flight can only proceed once the FAA approves a license modification, which would be the agency's first orbital authorization for an object the size of Starship's 52-metre upper stage. Exolaunch signed its first Starship commitment, as payload integrator for a SpaceX Starfall reentry mission no earlier than 2029 carrying biotech, pharmaceutical and in-space manufacturing payloads, ahead of its acquisition by EQT closing in the fourth quarter.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Emmanuel Macron, meeting in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, directed their space agencies, defence ministries and industries to develop and share launch systems and ground stations, with no timeline or funding attached, and Macron welcomed a contract signed Friday for Toulouse-based Aldoria to supply space surveillance data to Canada's military space division. In Ottawa, Kongsberg Canada signed a memorandum of understanding with MDA Space and a letter of intent with Telesat's Lightspeed subsidiary during Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre's official visit, under the Canada-Norway strategic cooperation agreement signed in March.

In Europe, Aerospacelab CEO Benoit Deper said the Belgian manufacturer reached profitability early this year, before booking its $2.75 billion IRIS² platform contract, after a 2025 loss of €17.75 million on sales of €14.6 million, and SES said it will supply the payloads for the 18 IRIS² medium Earth orbit satellites it is also overseeing, a role the industry had expected Thales Alenia Space to win. TransDigm disclosed that its Extant Aerospace unit agreed to buy a portfolio of commercial rotorcraft, land-systems and business-jet products, including a California facility, for about $240 million in cash, closing in fiscal 2027.

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The headlines

SpaceX rolls Super Heavy B21 to Pad 2 as Starship's first orbital attempt awaits FAA sign-off

SpaceX

SpaceX placed Super Heavy booster B21 on the launch mount at Starbase's Pad 2 early Monday, about two hours after it left the assembly building shortly before midnight, targeting the first orbital Starship flight as soon as September 28 at 7:15 a.m. Central pending FAA approval of a license modification.

Exolaunch signs first commercial Starfall Starship reentry mission

SpaceX

German launch integrator Exolaunch signed an agreement to support customer payloads on a SpaceX Starfall reentry mission scheduled to launch on Starship no earlier than 2029, its first commitment to Starship and first Earth-return mission. Exolaunch will act as payload integrator across biotech, pharmaceutical and in-space manufacturing customers and is considering building or acquiring new hardware for the vehicle, with the previously announced EQT acquisition expected to close in Q4 2026.

Carney and Macron direct Canada-France space push, Aldoria signs surveillance deal

Prime Minister Mark Carney and President Emmanuel Macron directed their space agencies, defence ministries and industries to develop and share common space infrastructure such as launch systems and ground reception and control stations, a program set out in a readout of their Sunday meeting in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the first official Canadian prime ministerial visit to the archipelago, with no timeline or funding attached.

Kongsberg Canada signs an MoU with MDA Space and a letter of intent with Telesat's Lightspeed unit in Ottawa

MDA TSAT

Kongsberg Canada announced an expansion of its Canadian space and defence presence with a memorandum of understanding with MDA Space and a letter of intent with Telesat's Lightspeed subsidiary, coinciding with the official Ottawa visit of Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The agreements are framed around the Canada-Norway strategic cooperation agreement signed in March and are aimed at strengthening technical collaboration and sovereign communications across both countries' space and defence industries.

Aerospacelab says it reached profitability early this year, before booking its $2.75B IRIS² contract

Aerospacelab CEO Benoit Deper said the Belgian satellite manufacturer, which reported a 2025 loss of €17.75 million on sales of €14.6 million ($17.2 million), reached profitability early this year on a mix of satellite component contracts and small numbers of complete satellites, before it booked its $2.75 billion IRIS² platform contract. The company, founded in 2018, is building a 20,000-square-metre megafactory in Belgium designed to produce up to 500 satellites a year in the 15 to 1,000 kilogram class.

SES will supply the payloads for the 18 IRIS² medium Earth orbit satellites it is also overseeing

SES confirmed it has been given the role of providing the payloads for the 18 medium Earth orbit satellites of Europe's IRIS² secure connectivity constellation, in addition to overseeing their construction, one of the surprises of the contract awards: the industry had assumed Thales Alenia Space would win the payload contract, OHB would build the platforms and SES would oversee production for schedule, cost and capacity compliance.

[ 03 / +36 / -8 ]

Market pulse

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

Gainers+36

Decliners-8

Big mover FJET+20.1%

Asset	Snapshot	Move
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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Filings

8-K

TransDigm Group Incorporated · 8-K

2026-09-21 · TransDigm Group Incorporated filed 8-K through EDGAR.

144

Globalstar, Inc. · 144

2026-09-21 · Globalstar, Inc. filed 144 through EDGAR.

Form 4 x2

Globalstar, Inc. · Form 4 x2

2026-09-21 · Globalstar, Inc. grouped 2 Form 4 ownership updates: James F. Lynch (director) sold 361,600 shares at $82.52 (351,114 shares after); James Iii Monroe (10% owner) reported 361,600 shares acquired (408,253 shares after). These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

Form 4 x8

TransDigm Group Incorporated · Form 4 x8

2026-09-21 · TransDigm Group Incorporated grouped 8 Form 4 ownership updates from 8 reporting owners, covering stock awards or grants involving 380 shares acquired at $1,085.00. These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

144

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. · 144

2026-09-21 · Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. filed 144 through EDGAR.

Form 4 + Form 4/A

Graham Corporation · Form 4 + Form 4/A

2026-09-21 · Graham Corporation grouped 2 Form 4 ownership updates: Mauro Gregorio (director) reported 1,200 shares acquired and 936 shares disposed at $49.01 (1,200 shares after). These filings are routine insider-ownership disclosures, not operating updates.

[ End of Issue 082 ]

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