Space News Digest 9 November 2026

1. The Guardian: space has become a new front line in Ukraine's war
A long read on how Kyiv is building its own space capabilities after Starlink restrictions, pointing to Russia's harassment of a Finnish ICEYE radar satellite, possibly to make it burn fuel, and to Denmark's GomSpace launching the Obria Nano test satellite for a future Ukrainian network.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/ng-interactive/2026/nov/08/ukraine-space-critical-war-starlink

2. EU space commissioner Kubilius visits Sweden's Esrange on his Launch Tour
Andrius Kubilius met Swedish ministers and space industry in Stockholm on 5 and 6 November before touring SSC's Esrange Space Center near Kiruna; the talks will feed into an EU Action Plan on European Access to Space due next year.
https://eu-space.europa.eu/news/commissioner-kubilius-launch-tour-passed-sweden

3. KSAT plans relay satellites to speed data down from orbit
At Spaceport Norway, Kongsberg Satellite Services described its HYPER programme, which will relay data between satellites and its ground stations, with the first Hyperion demonstration satellites due to launch towards the end of 2027.
https://k7bulletin.no/kan-romindustrien-bli-norges-neste-industrieventyr/

4. Impulse Space wins two NASA Moon Base task orders
One mission will use a Falcon 9 with an option for Mira vehicles in cislunar space, and the other will fly Impulse's Helios kick stage and lander on Relativity's Terran R, ending with a test descent to the lunar surface; missions begin in 2028.
https://www.impulsespace.com/updates/impulse-space-nasa-moon-base

5. China's Long March 12 flies for the tenth time, adding nine GuoWang satellites
The rocket lifted off from Wenchang at 21:24 CET on 8 November, its fourth flight in four months, bringing China's state broadband megaconstellation to about 240 satellites in orbit.
https://www.china-in-space.com/p/tenth-long-march-12-adds-to-guowang

Image: SSC Space