Space News for Tuesday, July 14, 2026

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!
(00:10) Podcast Introduction
(00:21) Flexell Space raises $20 Million in Series A round
(01:09) L3Harris, Sierra Space to build 36 satellites to expand U.S. missile-tracking network
(02:07) Poland to host new ESA center as government boosts investments in space
(02:25) Accel and Prosus backed QOSMIC raises $3.33 Million to Build Optical Ground Stations for the Orbital Data Economy
(03:05) SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg
(03:48) Sat-Lite Technologies Secures $9.9M U.S. Army SATCOM Antenna Contract
(04:30) Air Launch Died the Same Week Responsive Space Arrived
(04:57) SpaceX Advances Direct-to-Device Constellation Matrix with Starlink V3 Hardware
(05:35) Rocket Lab Consolidates Vertical Integration Across Satellite Communications Market
(06:13) Fans of the Arctic
(06:51) Curiosity Blog, Sols 4941-4947: (Pin)Stripes on the Fourth of July
(07:22) NASA Study Points to Smoother Air Taxi Rides
(08:06) NASA Astronaut Anil Menon
(08:43) Launch Preview: Soyuz to launch crew to ISS, Starship to fly another test flight
(09:10) Reditus Finishes ENOS Reentry Vehicle Ahead of First Flight
(09:32) Reflect Orbital Cleared to Fly In-Orbit Mirror by FCC
(10:16) SpaceX Starship Flight 13 launch updates: SpaceX sets target date for next Starship rocket launch
(10:31) These mysterious exoplanets may have clouds of vaporized rock and grounds of scorching magma oceans
(11:14) NASA begins stacking rocket ahead of 2027 Artemis III astronaut launch (photos)
(11:50) SpaceX targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13, reveals what went wrong on previous launch
(12:21) SpaceX is gearing up for Starship's 13th test flight later this week