OUTERSPACE TODAYNEWS
← All editionsThursday, October 15, 2026 / Issue 099
[ OST Daily ]

Rocket Lab Pushes Neutron's First Launch Into 2027, SpaceX Seeks FAA Approval for Up to 456 Starship Launches a Year, and CSG Paid About C$656 Million for Its MDA Space Stake

Outerspace Today6 min read / 2026-10-15
OST Daily October 15, 2026 — Rocket Lab now expects the first launch of its Neutron rocket to slip into 2027; SpaceX asked the Federal Aviation Administration to allow up to 456 Starship launches a year from Starbase in South Texas, more than 18 times its current limit; and Czechoslovak Group's U.S. filing shows it paid about C$656 million for its 9.5% stake in MDA Space.
The daily pictureOST editorial illustration · 2026-10-15
[ 01 ]

The briefing

Rocket Lab said on October 14 that the first launch of its Neutron rocket is now anticipated to shift into next year, as the team continues development and works process improvements into the program, and it set no new date. SpaceX asked to launch Starship from Starbase in South Texas up to 456 times a year, more than 18 times its current limit of 25, and the Federal Aviation Administration will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement on the plan, with public comments due November 30.

Czechoslovak Group's U.S. Schedule 13D shows it bought 15.4 million MDA Space shares on October 13 at an average of C$42.69, about C$656 million for its 9.5% stake, after building the position through a share forward with Morgan Stanley Europe signed in July. Elon Musk answered Ukraine's complaint about restrictions on Starshield, SpaceX's network for government and national security users, by saying the systems are owned and controlled by Washington, with the U.S. military and ultimately the president determining any limits on their use.

Arianespace set November 23 as the earliest date for Ariane 6's return to flight with 36 Amazon Leo satellites, after reports that ArianeGroup resolved a turbopump anomaly. NASA will preview on October 20 the two spacewalks to install the station's last two roll-out solar arrays, completing an upgrade that brings its power generation capacity to about 215 kilowatts. Aselsan is building in-orbit prototypes for Turkey's 198-satellite Astralink constellation, and Reflect Orbital bought two launches from India's Skyroot Aerospace.

[ 02 / 6 items ]

The headlines

01

SpaceX seeks FAA approval for up to 456 Starship launches a year from Starbase

SpaceX

SpaceX wants permission to launch Starship from Starbase in South Texas as many as 456 times a year, more than 18 times its current limit of 25, according to a Federal Aviation Administration notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday. The FAA will prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement on the plan and the license changes that follow from it, with public comments due November 30. A first phase would allow up to 100 launches a year at any hour on any day, and a second would lift the ceiling to 456 a year on weekdays.

02

CSG's U.S. filing shows it paid about C$656 million for its 9.5% MDA Space stake

MDA

Czechoslovak Group bought 15.4 million MDA Space shares outright on October 13 at an average of C$42.69 each, about six percent above MDA's closing price the previous Friday, according to the Schedule 13D the group filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. The share count and average price put the cost at about C$656 million, paid from working capital; early reports valued the stake at market prices, nearer C$618 million.

03

Musk says Washington controls Starshield and decides any limits on its use in Ukraine

SpaceX

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk answered Ukraine's complaint about restrictions on Starshield, SpaceX's satellite network for government and national security users, by saying the systems are owned and controlled by Washington, with the U.S. military and ultimately the president determining any limits on their use. Ukrainian officials reported on Tuesday that their Starlink terminals stopped working at speeds above 100 miles per hour, about 160 kilometers per hour.

04

Arianespace sets November 23 for Ariane 6's return to flight with 36 Amazon Leo satellites

Arianespace said the next Ariane 6 launch will take place no earlier than November 23, the rocket's return to flight after ground testing reportedly revealed an issue with one of its turbopumps. The date follows reports that ArianeGroup has resolved the turbopump anomaly. The flight will carry 36 Amazon Leo satellites on an Ariane 64, the four-booster version of the rocket.

05

NASA will preview the two spacewalks to install the station's last roll-out solar arrays

NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 20, at Johnson Space Center in Houston to preview U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101, which complete solar array installation and power augmentation of the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk will install and deploy the seventh roll-out solar array on the 2A power channel in the first, and the eighth and final array on the 3B channel in the second. The eight arrays will increase available power by up to 30%, raising the station's power generation capacity from 160 kilowatts to about 215 kilowatts.

06

Turkey's Aselsan is building in-orbit prototypes for the 198-satellite Astralink constellation

Turkish defense electronics contractor Aselsan is under contract to build in-orbit prototypes for Astralink, a planned constellation of 198 satellites in low Earth orbit for military, civil government and emergency services, with the first satellite to launch in 2028. Aselsan officials declined to say where Astralink stands at the International Telecommunication Union or whether Turkey has begun coordinating its radio frequencies with other constellations.

[ 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 are October 15 closing prices, compared with the October 14 close, from a market snapshot taken 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%
[ 04 / 6 tracked ]

Launch watch

Schedule and countdowns as recorded in the 2026-10-15 edition.

Ceres-1S

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

[ 05 / 4 in window ]

Filings

[ End of Issue 099 ]

Back to the bigger picture.

Explore the archive →