OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsWednesday, October 14, 2026 / Issue 098
[ OST Daily ]

Czech Defense Group CSG Becomes MDA Space's Largest Shareholder, NASA Sets a December 8 Deadline for Commercial Station Bids, and Voyager's Griffin-1 Clears Testing at JPL

Outerspace Today6 min read / 2026-10-14
OST Daily October 14, 2026 — Czechoslovak Group bought a 9.5% stake in MDA Space valued at about C$618.5 million ($434 million), becoming its largest shareholder; NASA's final call for commercial space station proposals sets a December 8 deadline and a $34.063 billion ceiling; and Voyager's Griffin-1 lunar lander completed testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-10-14
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The briefing

Czechoslovak Group (CSG), the Prague-based defense and industrial group, bought a 9.5% stake in Canadian satellite maker MDA Space valued at about C$618.5 million ($434 million), making it MDA's largest single shareholder. CSG said in an October 13 statement that defense and space are tightly interconnected and that it intends to be a long-term strategic shareholder, with possible joint manufacturing or assembly plants in Europe, joint acquisitions and introductions to its customers.

NASA's final request for proposals for commercial stations to replace the International Space Station sets a December 8 deadline, awards expected in spring 2027 and a ceiling of $34.063 billion across firm-fixed-price contracts that guarantee $100 million. Voyager Technologies said its Griffin-1 lunar lander completed acceptance testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is returning to Pittsburgh before shipping to Cape Canaveral for a Falcon Heavy launch to the lunar South Pole later this year.

A Falcon 9 launched the 35th Dragon cargo mission on Tuesday with the station's final pair of Roll-Out Solar Arrays, and docking is scheduled for Thursday. A Ukrainian defense adviser said SpaceX imposed a speed limit on Starlink terminals in motion without notice, disrupting some missions. Astronaut Christina Koch will become NASA's acting deputy chief engineer on November 1, ending her eligibility for spaceflight, and Lockheed Martin signed Avio USA to qualify and build solid rocket motors for two Army missiles.

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The headlines

01

Czech defense group CSG takes a 9.5% stake in MDA Space and becomes its largest shareholder

MDA

Czechoslovak Group, the Prague-based defense and industrial group, bought a 9.5% stake in Canadian satellite maker MDA Space valued at about C$618.5 million ($434 million), making it MDA's largest single shareholder and the latest European military contractor to move into space. In an October 13 statement the group said defense and space are tightly interconnected and that it intends to be a long-term strategic shareholder, with possible cooperation on manufacturing or assembly plants in Europe, joint acquisitions and introductions to its customers.

02

NASA sets a December 8 deadline and a $34.1B ceiling for commercial space station bids

NASA released its final request for proposals for commercial space stations to replace the International Space Station on October 9, setting a December 8 deadline for bids and expecting to award contracts in spring 2027, with the cover letter anticipating April 15, 2027. The firm-fixed-price, multi-award contracts guarantee $100 million and cap orders at $34.063 billion, with an eight-year ordering period that options can extend to 15 years. NASA plans to pick two or more companies for early development, then one or more for final design, certification and services. Administrator Jared Isaacman said the economics have to work.

03

Voyager's Griffin-1 lander completes testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory ahead of a Moon launch this year

SpaceX VOYG

Voyager Technologies said on October 13 that its Griffin-1 lunar lander completed acceptance testing, after nearly three months of environmental tests at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory that ended in late September in the 25-Foot Space Simulator, where it was heated to 167 degrees Fahrenheit and cooled to minus 148. The 2,789-pound lander is returning to Voyager's Lunar Systems headquarters in Pittsburgh for final preparations before shipping to Cape Canaveral for a Falcon Heavy launch later this year to Nobile Crater near the lunar South Pole.

04

Ukraine says SpaceX imposed a Starlink speed limit that disrupted some military missions

SpaceX

SpaceX imposed a speed limit on Starlink satellite internet terminals in motion without notifying Ukraine's defense forces, disrupting some missions, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on defense technology, said on Wednesday. The limit applies to Starshield, the sister service that supports national security users. The complaint came as Russian strikes overnight damaged 26 facilities in Ukraine's power system and left at least 600,000 people in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions without power.

05

SpaceX launches the 35th Dragon cargo mission with the station's last roll-out solar arrays

SpaceX

A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral at 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13, with Cargo Dragon C211 and more than 6,300 pounds of supplies and hardware for the International Space Station, including the fourth and final pair of Redwire-built Roll-Out Solar Arrays. Booster B1096 landed at Landing Zone 40 on its eighth flight. Dragon is scheduled to dock autonomously at the Harmony module's space-facing port at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 15, and astronauts will install the arrays during spacewalks planned for later this fall.

06

NASA names Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch acting deputy chief engineer, ending her flight eligibility

NASA named astronaut Christina Koch acting deputy chief engineer starting November 1, after Katherine Van Hooser retires on October 21 following more than 35 years at the agency. With the appointment Koch moves to management astronaut status and will no longer be eligible for spaceflight assignments. She flew as a mission specialist on Artemis II in April and previously spent 328 consecutive days on the International Space Station, the record for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. She began her NASA career as an electrical engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center.

[ 03 / +30 / -13 ]

Market pulse

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

Gainers+30
Decliners-13
Big mover KRMN+12.5%

Prices in this table come from a market snapshot taken on October 15, after this edition's news window closed.

AssetSnapshotMoveTrend
KRMNKarman Space$33.90+12.5%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile$44.46+5.5%
TSATTelesat$46.52+5.2%
FJETStarfighters Space$1.26-9.4%
RKLBRocket Lab$55.25-6.6%
GHMGraham$71.15-3.0%
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Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-10-14 edition.

Ceres-1S

Galactic Energy · Ceres-1S · Rizhao offshore launch location · Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

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Filings

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