Last week I attended the Spacepower conference, hosted by the Space Force Association. Marking the Space Force’s sixth birthday, Gen. B. Chance Saltzman spoke about the Space Force’s journey from concept to readiness over the past six years.

During the event, Space Rapid Capabilities Director Kelly Hammett said the lack of SBIR/STTR funding reauthorization in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is holding up contracts for threat warning radar satellite payloads and an RFP for agile space capabilities. Hammett also spoke to how Space RCO will be impacted by the recent directive to reform acquisition, learn more in this week's lead story. 

Also, Mark Holmes and I hosted a webinar yesterday on the commercial-defense convergence and trends to watch for 2026 with experts from BlackSky and Lanteris Space Systems. It was a great conversation and it’s not too late to catch the webinar, you can watch the recording on-demand here. 

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BlackSky delivered the first very high-resolution images from its third Gen-3 satellite less than 24 hours after launch. The company’s advanced, low-latency architecture delivers decision-quality data at real-time, mission-relevant speed to meet growing global demand for flexible, secure tactical ISR capabilities.

Customers no longer have to wait months typically associated with satellite commissioning; BlackSky places tasking capacity into customers’ hands quickly.