TYB
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-adds-mission-to-artemis-lunar-program-updates-architecture/
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-discuss-next-steps-for-artemis-campaign/
https://nasawatch.com/artemis/major-artemis-program-changes-announced/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/26/teams-begin-artemis-ii-repairs-in-vehicle-assembly-building/
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/artemis/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCbQtyUopOM
NASA Adds Mission to Artemis Lunar Program, Updates Architecture
Feb 27, 2026
As part of a Golden Age of exploration and discovery, NASA announced Friday the agency is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program to achieve the national objective of returning American astronauts to the Moon and establishing an enduring presence.
This includes standardizing vehicle configuration, adding an additional mission in 2027, and undertaking at least one surface landing every year thereafter.
As teams prepare to launch Artemis II in the weeks ahead, the Artemis III mission, now in 2027, will be designed to test out systems and operational capabilities in low Earth orbit to prepare for an Artemis IV landing in 2028.
This new mission will endeavor to include a rendezvous and docking with one or both commercial landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin, in-space tests of the docked vehicles, integrated checkout of life support, communications, and propulsion systems, as well as tests of the new Extravehicular Activity (xEVA) suits. NASA will further define this test flight after completing detailed reviews between NASA and our industry partners. The agency will share the specific objectives for the updated Artemis III mission in the near future.
NASA’s recently announced workforce directive is a key factor in enabling this acceleration.
NASA will rebuild core competencies in the civil servant workforce including more in-house and side-by-side development work with our Artemis partners, enabling a safer, more reliable, and faster launch cadence.
“NASA must standardize its approach, increase flight rate safely, and execute on the President’s national space policy.
With credible competition from our greatest geopolitical adversary increasing by the day, we need to move faster, eliminate delays, and achieve our objectives,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“Standardizing vehicle configuration, increasing flight rate and progressing through objectives in a logical, phased approach, is how we achieved the near-impossible in 1969 and it is how we will do it again.”
“After successful completion of the Artemis I flight test, the upcoming Artemis II flight test, and the new, more robust test approach to Artemis III, it is needlessly complicated to alter the configuration of the SLS and Orion stack to undertake subsequent Artemis missions,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.
“There is too much learning left on the table and too much development and production risk in front of us. Instead, we want to keep testing like we fly and have flown. We are looking back to the wisdom of the folks that designed Apollo.
The entire sequence of Artemis flights needs to represent a step-by-step build-up of capability, with each step bringing us closer to our ability to perform the landing missions.
Each step needs to be big enough to make progress, but not so big that we take unnecessary risk given previous learnings.
1/2
Therefore, we want to fly the landing missions in as close to the same Earth ascent configuration as possible – this means using an upper stage and pad systems in as close to the ‘Block 1’ configuration as possible.
We will work with our partners that have been developing the evolved block configuration of these systems to take proper actions to align their efforts towards this goal and announce the details of those changes once they are finalized.
We will take a similar approach to in-space, landing, and surface EVA operations as well, as we evolve the mission sequence in the spirit of the Apollo mindset, which was obsessed with system reliability and crew safety as the keys to mission success.”
“Boeing is a proud partner to the Artemis mission and our team is honored to contribute to NASA’s vision for American space leadership,” said Steve Parker, Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and CEO.
“The SLS core stage remains the world’s most powerful rocket stage, and the only one that can carry American astronauts directly to the moon and beyond in a single launch.
As NASA lays out an accelerated launch schedule, our workforce and supply chain are prepared to meet the increased production needs.
With a rocket designed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, built at America’s rocket factory at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, and integrated at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, we are ready to meet the increased demand.”
The announcement came during a news conference at NASA Kennedy where leaders also discussed the status of the Artemis II mission.
NASA rolled the SLS and Orion spacecraft to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on Feb. 25 for repairs ahead of the next launch opportunities for the test flight in April.
Once the Artemis II hardware was back in the VAB, teams immediately began work on the helium issue discovered on the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage and prepared for several actions including replacing batteries in the flight termination system, end-to-end testing for range safety requirements, and more.
“I’m grateful to Administrator Isaacman for taking this bold step and moving quickly to assure we have the support and resources needed to launch Artemis astronauts to the Moon every year,” said Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“Our team is up to the challenge of a successful Artemis II mission, and soon thereafter, enabling a more frequent cadence of Moon missions.”
2/2
Dragon Splashes Down and Returns Science, Cargo
February 27, 2026 10:22AM
At 11:44 p.m. PST, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of California, marking the return of the company’s 33rd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
Loaded with thousands of pounds of crew supplies, science experiments, and equipment, the spacecraft undocked at 11:05 a.m. CST on Feb. 26, from the forward-facing port of the space station’s Harmony module.
Several scientific investigations are returning aboard Dragon, offering insights that could help shape future space exploration and life on Earth.
The Euro Material Ageing study exposed 141 samples to space for a year to examine how coatings, insulation, and 3D-printed materials degrade, while Thailand’s Liquid Crystals experiment observed the stability of films used in electronics in microgravity.
Both could lead to stronger spacecraft, better displays, and improved optical devices on future missions.
Frozen samples from the Stellar Stem Cells Mission 2 experiment are helping study how microgravity affects brain and heart stem cell growth, which could improve treatments for diseases such as ALS and Parkinson’s disease.
The SpaceDuino project is paving the way for more low-cost instruments after successfully measuring vibrations using a commercially available single-board computer and open-source software.
The Moon Microscope also successfully tested a portable diagnostic kit for blood analysis in space that could support future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft supporting the mission also introduced a new capability to reboost the space station, helping maintain its altitude and counter atmospheric drag, which is critical for safe operations and the long-term sustainability of the orbital complex.
During its time docked to the station, Dragon performed six reboosts — five in 2025 and a final maneuver on Jan. 23 — before preparations for its departure began.
The spacecraft arrived at the station on Aug. 25, 2025, following its launch a day earlier on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/27/dragon-splashes-down-and-returns-science-cargo/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgt3Hnj4Xr8
Inside Project Hail Mary
Feb 26, 2026
NASA astronaut and deputy director of the Flight Operations Directorate Kjell Lindgren takes a selfie with panelists and the audience at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on Feb. 25, 2026.
Actors Ryan Gosling and Sandra Huller, screenwriter Drew Goddard, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and producer and writer of the “Project Hail Mary” novel Andy Weir stopped by NASA JPL to talk about their experience making the movie and the collaboration between scientists and creative media.
NASA supported the creative team behind the movie with subject matter experts who answered questions from the crew, and Lindgren met with Gosling during filming to share insights on human spaceflight and being an astronaut.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/inside-project-hail-mary/
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
President Trump gave the world the Artemis Program, and NASA and our partners have the plan to deliver.
We will standardize architecture where possible, add missions and accelerate flight rate, execute in an evolutionary way, and safely return American astronauts to the Moon, this time to stay.
This is the NASA that once changed the world. This is the NASA that will do it again.
7:40 AM · Feb 27, 2026
@POTUS created the Artemis program to be more than a single mission or vehicle. It’s the foundation for mankind’s return to the Moon.
We’re going back, we’re going to learn, and we’re going to advance the architecture needed to build a sustainable lunar presence for years to come.
7:39 AM · Feb 26, 2026
The Moon fundamentally changes the game for manned space exploration.
It is a next-level proving ground where astronauts can build habitats, harvest propellant and minerals from the lunar surface, and learn the skills necessary to go onto Mars.
12:38 PM · Feb 26, 2026
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2027408590902841414
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2027045826053243335
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3CJjP-XfKQ (The New Space Race: NASA, Musk, and Bezos | Interesting Times with Ross Douthat)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VwRdui50FY (CBS: NASA chief Jared Isaacman discusses major changes to Artemis program to get it "back on track")
Earth from Space: Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica
27/02/2026
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the icy landscape of Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica.
Zoom in or click on the circles to explore this image at its full 10 m resolution.
The bay is on the coast of Victoria Land on the Ross Sea – an extension of the Southern Ocean – and is delimited by the promontory of Cape Washington to the north and the Drygalski Ice Tongue to the south.
This image from 14 February, which is late summer in the southern hemisphere, shows minimum seasonal sea-ice conditions with large areas of open water which appears black.
White sea ice at varying stages floats in the water: from thin, newly-formed crusts to thicker floes. These countless pieces of ice trace out the ocean currents beneath, resulting in large swirling shapes.
Larger blocks of sea ice and icebergs can be seen in the lower part of the image, at the seaward end of Drygalski and below it.
This long, narrow sheet of glacial ice stretches for 70 km into the sea, as an extension of the land-based David Glacier.
North of Drygalski, we can see the white expanse of the Nansen Ice Sheet, fed by several outlet glaciers, including the Larsen Glacier to the southwest, the Reeves Glacier to the west and the Priestley Glacier to the north.
Flow lines are visible on the surface indicating the direction in which the ice is moving towards the sea.
On its east side, the Nansen Ice Sheet encompasses the Northern Foothills, a line of coastal hills separated by the Browning Pass from the Deep Freeze Range to the north.
Here, on the southern headland along the larger inlet, lies the seasonal Italian Zucchelli Station, which has been operating in the area since the mid-80s.
Zooming in, the straight lines of one of the runways serving the station can be spotted a few kilometres south of the main structure.
Other research stations are located further north on the same inlet: the German Gondwana Station and the Jang Bogo Station of South Korea.
Both stations sit next to the mouth of Campbell Glacier, whose tongue extends southward into the bay. South of the Northern Foothills lies the small Inexpressible Island, which hosts the Chinese Qinling Station on its southern edge.
Stretches of Inexpressible Island and of the coast of Victoria Land are unusually rich in wildlife and have been designated Important Bird Areas by BirdLife International for colonies of Adelie penguins as well as south polar skuas.
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/02/Earth_from_Space_Terra_Nova_Bay_Antarctica
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/chesapeake-bay-locked-in-ice/
extra ESA
https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy/Navigation_Training_Course_now_open_for_application3
S. Korea moves to launch space industry agency
Feb. 27, 2026 / Updated at 12:43 AM
South Korea is pressing ahead with plans to establish a dedicated aerospace industry promotion agency, setting off a competition among regional governments eager to host the new institution as the country seeks to expand its presence in the fast-growing global space economy.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration, the national body overseeing South Korea's space program since its launch in 2024, confirmed that the revised fourth basic plan for space development includes draft legislation tentatively titled the Aerospace Industry Promotion Act.
The law would provide the formal legal basis for creating the agency.
The proposed body would be charged with supporting private space companies, broadening participation by new entrants and overseeing the development and management of industry infrastructure.
Officials described the initiative as part of a broader global shift in which private enterprise - rather than governments - is increasingly driving innovation and investment in the space sector, a trend exemplified by the rise of companies such as SpaceX in the United States.
Legislative efforts are already underway. Rep. Seo Cheon-ho of the People Power Party introduced a bill Monday to amend the Aerospace Industry Development Promotion Act, calling for the new agency to be placed under the Korea AeroSpace Administration.
The bill outlines a mandate that includes facilitating technology transfer and supporting overseas expansion by domestic space companies.
Three Cities, One Prize
As the legislation advances, at least three regional governments have moved to position themselves as the natural home for the agency, each making the case based on existing infrastructure and institutional ties to the space sector.
Daejeon, a city in central South Korea long established as the country's science and research hub, adopted a city council resolution late last year urging that the agency be located there.
The city is home to the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and a cluster of space-related firms, giving it a strong institutional claim.
Sacheon, on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, where the Korea AeroSpace Administration itself is headquartered, has launched a citywide signature campaign with a target of 50,000 signatures in support of hosting the agency.
Advocates there argue that co-locating the new body with the administration would streamline coordination.
Goheung, also in South Korea's south, houses the Naro Space Center - the country's only operational rocket launch facility - and has been designated a specialized launch vehicle industrial zone.
The city has similarly launched a signature drive and contends that proximity to launch infrastructure makes it the most practical choice.
Local officials across all three cities argue that landing the agency would catalyze private investment, strengthen regional industrial ecosystems and generate jobs at a time when a national space launch vehicle industrial complex is under active development.
Timeline Still Unclear
Despite the legislative momentum and regional enthusiasm, the Korea AeroSpace Administration said it is still reviewing the agency's mission and operational framework.
It said criteria for selecting a host location will only be established after foundational steps are completed - including securing a legal basis and consulting with budget authorities.
South Korea has set ambitious targets for its space program, aiming to land a probe on the moon by 2032 and on Mars by 2045.
The establishment of a dedicated industry promotion agency is seen as a key step toward mobilizing the private sector investment needed to achieve those goals.
No timeline for a final decision on the agency's location has been announced.
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/02/27/aerospace-industry-promotion-agency-regional-government-competition/3791772170675/
China plans two crewed space missions for 2026, eyes 2030 moon landing
13:51, 27-Feb-2026
China plans to push ahead with two major space missions in 2026 – expanding the use and development of its space station and advancing its crewed lunar exploration program – the China Manned Space Agency said on Friday.
It is set to carry out two crewed spaceflights and one cargo resupply mission this year, while accelerating the construction of supporting facilities and equipment at the Wenchang spacecraft launch site for future moon missions.
Astronauts from China's Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions will be able to take part in space station flights as early as this year. One member of the upcoming Shenzhou-23 crew will also begin a year-long stay in orbit as part of an extended mission trial.
China has so far completed six crewed spaceflights, four cargo resupply missions and seven spacecraft return missions. Six astronaut crews have completed long-duration missions aboard the space station.
Together, the 18 astronauts have conducted 13 spacewalks and multiple payload operations outside the station, with one spacewalk lasting nine hours – a world record.
Aiming to land Chinese astronauts on the moon before 2030, research and construction work for the lunar landing phase is progressing steadily.
Key hardware – the Long March-10 carrier rocket, the crewed spacecraft Mengzhou and the lunar lander named Lanyue – has made smooth progress in development.
Major tests have also been completed, including escape tests for the spacecraft Mengzhou, landing and liftoff trials for the lunar lander, and ignition and low-altitude demonstration tests for the Long March-10 rocket.
China is also stepping up international cooperation in human spaceflight. Last year, China and Pakistan signed an agreement on astronaut selection and training.
Under current mission plans, one Pakistani astronaut will take part in a short-term flight to the Chinese space station as a payload specialist, conducting scientific experiments on behalf of Pakistan.
The Chinese space station has so far hosted 267 scientific and application projects in orbit, covering areas such as space life sciences, microgravity physics and new space technologies.
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-27/China-plans-two-crewed-space-missions-for-2026-eyes-2030-moon-landing-1L6i9f4Z9le/p.html
https://spaceq.ca/new-alliances-the-space-defence-implications-of-the-canada-japan-etta/
New alliances: The space defence implications of the Canada-Japan ETTA
February 27, 2026
Canada’s growing role in space defence may feature a new partner, thanks to a recently signed deal.
On January 27th, David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, met with His Excellency Kanji Yamanouchi, the Japanese Ambassador to Canada, and subsequently announced that the two countries had agreed to an Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement (ETTA).
In the announcement, the Government said that the agreement would “help Canadian and Japanese companies co-develop projects that require the transfer of equipment, technology, or intellectual property to Canada.”
Canadian and Japanese companies will be able to work more closely together on defence-related projects, as well as export defence equipment and technology between the two countries.
The Government said in their announcement that this will help in “providing the Canadian Armed Forces with an additional source of supply.”
Defence shift
The news reflects key changes in the defence outlook in both countries.
While Canada and Japan have been allies for a long time, both countries are moving in directions that make these kinds of deals more relevant.
Canada is looking to build diplomatic and trade relationships outside of the traditional Canada-US framework that had dominated up until recently, and has lately emphasized a “buy Canadian” strategy that reduces defence spending on US-made products, stating that the US-Canada relationship must no longer be one of ‘dependency,’ and that Canada needs to widen its international defence partnerships.
Meanwhile, Japan is reevaluating its defence sector and defence posture, quite possibly including changes to the constitution’s well-known prohibitions against Japanese force-projection capabilities.
Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has made these changes a central part of her agenda, vowing that Japan will continue its defence build-up and “proactively push for its fundamental buildup of its defense power.”
It also reflects a recent shift in Japanese attitudes towards the defence sector and defence exports.
On February 25th, a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) panel approved changes to a number of guidelines restricting defence-related exports, which (according to The Diplomat) “eliminate a restriction that limited defense exports to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance, and minesweeping equipment.”
These changes also allow the export of weapons that are co-developed with other nations, presumably including the kind of co-development enabled by this new Canada-Japan ETTA.
In comments to SpaceQ, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence (DND) said that the agreement “enables Japanese-origin equipment, technology, and intellectual property to be transferred to Canada, either between the governments or between industry.”
They said that DND “remains focused on bringing the ETTA into force so that we have the necessary foundation in place to facilitate any future equipment or technology transfers.”
The DND announcement noted that “the ETTAs are a requirement under Japan’s Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology.”
1/2
ETTA and space
How does this impact companies that are focused on space? Potentially quite a bit, though it’s still somewhat in the early stages and it’s still being worked out.
DND said that “the ETTA is a forward-looking agreement,” but that since “space projects are planned over a horizon that spans decades, we are in the very early stages of our partnership with the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF)” on anything regarding space.
Nevertheless, both countries would have an interest in applying this kind of agreement to space.
In the case of Japan, any future transition towards force projection in its military and defence carries the need to develop and protect its space-based surveillance and communication capabilities.
As Japan’s military and defence assets venture out beyond the region, space assets could prove critical.
And, at the same time, its main regional competitors—North Korea and the People’s Republic of China (PRC)—are building significant capabilities that either operate in the space domain or can exert force upon it.
The PRC, particularly, is building up a presence in space that rivals that of the United States. Japan may need to leverage every partnership it can in order to ensure its own continued presence in the space domain.
In turn, Canada is facing its own set of challenges. Both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brig. Gen. Chris Horner, Commander of the CAF’s 3 Canadian Space Division, have talked about the problems faced by the “rules-based international order.”
That order has, to date, ensured that Canada enjoys peaceful and continuous access to space-based assets, and Horner said last July that preserving that order and preventing aggression is a key goal.
“As we build out those partnerships with partners and allies, that’s not just the Five Eyes,” he said, adding that it would involve “new relationships that we are forming in different ways.”
Presumably, that would include Japan.
The need to take a different tack is only exacerbated by the ongoing tensions with the United States. Defence Minister David McGuinty didn’t mention these issues during his comments at the recent SpaceBound conference, but did emphasize the importance of sovereign launch, saying that the government is “investing $182.6 million to establish a sovereign space launch capability,” including domestic spaceports, in order to “defend our assets and protect our interests” and “preserve access to and the sustainability of the space domain.”
Access to Japanese technology and expertise, and potentially the Japanese defence market, might be a critical part of those efforts towards securing access to the space domain, including through sovereign launch, while avoiding the “dependency” that Carney referred to.
In the announcement, McGuinty said that “the signing of the ETTA marks an important advancement in the Canada–Japan defence partnership,” calling Japan a “trusted partner” that is “more important than ever.”
For its part, DND said that they would likely have more information on the ETTA in the coming months.
It also reiterated that 3 Canadian Space Division “continues to develop and enable space domain awareness capabilities,” as well as “supporting informed decision making through enhanced awareness and coordination.”
So it may well be Horner and his staff who play the most important role in determining the scope and nature of the relationship in the coming months.
2/2
SpaceX Starlink Mission
February 27, 2026
On Friday, February 27 at 7:16 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 29 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
This was the 30th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13-F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and now 26 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-6-108
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOLTxDjlPts
Orbital Warfare Unit Gets Live Satellite to Practice Maneuvers
Feb. 26, 2026
Guardians in the Space Force’s orbital warfare unit, Mission Delta 9, just got a significant upgrade to their training capabilities in the form of a live satellite, which they’ll use to practice precise, advanced offensive and defensive maneuvers for space warfighting.
The satellite was launched Feb. 12 on the the Space Force’s USSF-87 mission, which also featured a pair of spacecraft for another program the delta operates—the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program. Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, commander of Combat Forces Command, said operators will be flying the satellite in ways specific to the orbital warfare mission that weren’t possible with previous on-orbit training assets.
He compared the experience to that of a pilot transitioning from flying a commercial airframe to a military aircraft.
“They’re going to work on driving that spacecraft in a way that we couldn’t drive spacecraft before,” Gagnon told reporters Feb. 25 at AFA’s Warfare Symposium.
“In the past, we’ve kind of had like a 737 and we practiced with that. Now, we’re getting a military-grade aircraft to practice with.”
That practice will help inform the Space Force’s tactics, techniques, and procedures for space maneuvers, Gagnon said, improving the service’s “acumen in orbital warfare.”
He highlighted last year’s X-37B spaceplane mission as another key training opportunity. During that mission, the Space Force demonstrated a novel technique called aerobraking, which allows a spacecraft to quickly change orbits using minimal amounts of fuel.
“It’s pretty advanced, changing orbits and aerobraking into different orbits,” Gagnon said.
The Space Force’s greater focus on advanced maneuver comes in response to calls from U.S. Space Command for more mobile satellites that can rapidly change orbits, a concept called dynamic space operations.
Officials have said that as propulsion technologies advance, future satellites—those built in the next 10 to 15 years—will likely have advanced maneuver capabilities built in.
But for now, satellite mobility is limited by the amount of fuel they carry, which is typically just enough to avoid drifting out of orbit.
While the service is exploring near-term options like on-orbit servicing and refueling that could allow existing satellites to move toward Space Command’s vision, it hasn’t settled on a strategy.
Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant, commander of Space Systems Command, said several upcoming demonstrations will help shape the way ahead.
“What a lot of these demos are looking at is how do we get after the near-term problem of maneuvering with different satellites and then making sure that the strategic assets, the protect and defend mission, can be done while we wait for the propulsion technology to truly enable maneuver without regret or dynamic space operations,” he told reporters Feb. 24.
On the training side, SSC is investing in capabilities like the satellite it launched earlier this month to help Guardians prepare for those orbital warfare operations.
Gagnon said the maneuver spacecraft that Mission Delta 9 is using is a demonstration satellite and will inform acquisition plans for more training assets and other operational systems.
Col. Corey Klopstein, who leads SSC’s System Delta 81 and is the program executive officer for Operational Test and Training Infrastructure, told reporters in December that his team is exploring options to deliver more on-orbit training satellites for orbital warfare and other missions.
“We’re simultaneously building purpose-built, on-orbit assets to provide the right type of capability that we know we need based on the requirements that we have,” Klopstein said.
“In addition, we have partnered with other organizations to either find ways to acquire more assets based on the ones that they’re acquiring or potentially leverage their contracts.”
SYD 81 is also developing synthetic and virtual environments for advanced maneuver training, Klopstein said, including a trainer called Paragon that it has fielded to Mission Delta 9.
The system replicates rendezvous and proximity operations, allowing Guardians to get the “reps and sets” they need to perform their mission, he said.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/orbital-warfighting-live-satellite-maneuver-practice/
USecAF visits Schriever SFB
Feb. 26, 2026
SCHRIEVER SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – Under Secretary of the Air Force Matt Lohmeier visited Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado, Feb. 24, 2026, where he met with Guardians, Airmen and civilian teammates supporting space operations missions.
The visit began with Space Base Delta 41 leadership and included a stop at the 50th Civil Engineer Squadron Central Utility Plant, where Lohmeier received a briefing on Weapons System Infrastructure and civil engineering base operating support that enable installation readiness.
During the visit, Lohmeier also met with U.S. Space Force Combat Forces Command leadership, including USSF Brig. Gen. Casey M. Beard, USSF Combat Forces Command deputy commander, to discuss operational priorities and readiness across the force.
He later visited the National Space Defense Center to review ongoing modernization efforts and operational readiness initiatives.
The NSDC, a subordinate center of U.S. Space Forces – Space, coordinates military, intelligence, civil and commercial space efforts to conduct unified space defense operations.
The visit reinforced the Department’s focus on readiness and supporting the personnel who protect and defend the space domain.
https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/News/Display/Article/4416924/usecaf-visits-schriever-sfb/
https://x.com/matthewlohmeier
extra Space Force
https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4417491/what-happens-at-ssc-small-business-office
https://www.petersonschriever.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/News/Display/Article/4417430/inaugural-captains-leadership-course-signifies-milestone-for-space-force/
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3344873/us-must-be-able-turn-around-and-punch-space-china-boosts-satellites-general
Cambodian officials welcome back looted artefacts
February 27, 2026
Cambodian officials have welcomed back more than six dozen centuries-old artefacts described as part of the country’s cultural heritage that had been looted during decades of war and instability.
At a ceremony attended by deputy prime minister Hun Many, the 74 items were unveiled at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after their repatriation from the United Kingdom.
The artefacts were returned under a 2020 agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and the family of the late Douglas Latchford, an art collector and dealer who is blamed for having had the items smuggled out of Cambodia.
“This substantial restitution represents one of the most important returns of Khmer cultural heritage in recent years, following major repatriations in 2021 and 2023 from the same collection,” said a statement from the Culture Ministry. “It marks a significant step forward in Cambodia’s continued efforts to recover, preserve and restore its ancestral legacy for future generations.”
The artefacts were described as dating from the pre-Angkorian period through the height of the Angkor Empire, including “monumental sandstone sculptures, refined bronze works, and significant ritual objects”.
The Angkor Empire, which extended from the ninth to the 15th century, is best known for the Angkor Wat archaeological site, the nation’s biggest tourist attraction.
Latchford was a prominent antiquities dealer who allegedly orchestrated a long-running scheme to sell looted Cambodian sculptures on the international market.
From 1970 to the 1980s, during Cambodia’s civil wars and the communist Khmer Rouge ’s brutal reign, organised looting networks sent artefacts to Latchford, who then sold them to Western collectors, dealers, and institutions.
These pieces were often physically damaged, having been prised off temple walls or other structures by looters.
In 2019, Latchford was indicted in a New York federal court on charges including wire fraud and conspiracy although he died in 2020 at the age of 88 before he could be extradited to face charges.
Cambodia, like neighbouring Thailand, has benefited from a trend in recent decades involving the repatriation of art and archaeological treasures taken from their homelands.
These include ancient Asian artworks as well as pieces lost or stolen during turmoil in places such as Syria, Iraq and Nazi-occupied Europe. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the prominent institutions that has been returning illegally smuggled art, including to Cambodia.
“The ancient artefacts created and preserved by our ancestors are now being returned to Cambodia, bringing warmth and joy, following the country’s return to peace,” said Hun Many, who is the younger brother of Prime Minister Hun Manet.
https://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/national/25894375.cambodian-officials-welcome-back-looted-artefacts/
Plot to hand Kiev nukes aimed at derailing peace talks – Alexander McKay
26 Feb, 2026 21:21
The alleged British and French plan to supply Kiev with a nuclear device is primarily aimed at derailing the ongoing peace negotiations and prolonging the Ukraine conflict, Alexander McKay, co-host of the Decline and Fall show, believes.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed that Paris and London have been deliberating supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons.
Options under consideration allegedly involve a “covert transfer of European-made components, equipment, and technologies to Ukraine” to build a crude “dirty bomb,” as well as secretly delivering a French TN 75 nuclear warhead.
The discussions go along with the staging of a disinformation campaign to portray the device as a domestically produced Ukrainian weapon, according to the SVR.
The timing of the plot’s emergence is not random and is actually aimed at derailing the peace negotiations mediated by the US, McKay told RT on Thursday.
“It’s designed specifically to make sure that the negotiations in Geneva either collapse or become stalled. And it’s a deliberate maneuver by the London and Paris governments to try and make sure that the war continues for as long as possible,” he said.
European nations, and Britain in particular, are desperately trying to protect their investments in the conflict and “avoid it being revealed that they have spent so much money… all for nothing,”
Any scenario in which “the Kiev regime [is forced] to concede on territory and on the matter of the rights for the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine” will likely result in its collapse, McKay suggested.
Paris and London, however, are highly unlikely to actually follow up on the alleged plan and deliver a nuclear device of any sort to Kiev, McKay believes.
The British plan all along was to flesh Ukraine into an “outsourced army” geared against Russia, rather than start an all-out global conflict.
“They have created for themselves an outsourced army out of Ukrainians, which they are now willing to sacrifice in order to inflict as much damage on the Russian Federation as possible.
And now the war is going very badly wrong for them,” McKay stated.
https://www.rt.com/russia/633099-ukraine-nukes-peace-talks/
https://www.rt.com/news/633096-ukraine-nukes-france-uk-russia/
https://www.rt.com/news/633087-thomas-penn-franco-british-nuke-plot-ukraine/
https://www.rt.com/russia/633071-ukraine-dirty-bomb-russia/
the tree house shanty is next level
Ukrainian Drone Units Strike Oil Depot in Occupied Luhansk
Feb. 27, 2026, 12:31 pm
Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said their unit struck an oil depot in occupied Luhansk overnight into Friday, Feb. 27.
The 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed the strike, saying it targeted a fuel facility in the city.
Videos circulating on social media showed a large fire at the site.
Russian-installed official in occupied Luhansk region Leonid Pasechnik said drones had attacked Luhansk and the Slovianoserbsk municipal district.
He confirmed that “fuel and energy facilities” were hit and caught fire but said there were no casualties.
Pasechnik warned of possible power supply disruptions in several settlements.
Reports of strike in Belgorod region
Separately, the Telegram channel Astra reported that Ukraine had struck energy infrastructure in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said nearly 60,000 residents were left without electricity following what he described as a missile strike on energy facilities.
“Kindergartens and schools will operate. All have been switched to backup power,” Gladkov wrote, adding that it was physically impossible to fully transfer the wider Belgorod agglomeration to reserve electricity.
Russian officials also reported disruptions to water supply and heating in some residential buildings.
Kyiv has not publicly commented on the reported strike in the Belgorod region.
General Staff reports broader strikes
Ukraine’s General Staff said the strike was part of efforts to reduce Russia’s military and economic potential.
According to the General Staff, Ukraine’s Defense Forces hit the “Luhanska” oil depot used to supply Russian troops. A large-scale fire was recorded, and the extent of the damage is being clarified.
The General Staff added that Ukrainian forces also struck fuel and lubricants depots near Mariupol, Novotoretske and Kopteve in occupied Donetsk region, as well as a Russian drone control point near Raiske in temporarily occupied Kherson region.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/70886
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukrainian-military-strikes-oil-depot-and-1772192421.html
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/27/ukrainian-drone-strike-on-kursk-region-auto-repair-shop-kills-1-a92068
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4096364-enemy-strikes-village-near-kharkiv-with-drone-injuring-five-including-two-children.html
https://discoveryalert.com.au/central-asian-energy-infrastructure-2026-ukraine-drone-war/
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/70878