Rafael Mentges

Ok, here is an updated version of my space policy starter pack. Let's make #BlueSpace the best platform for space news, space econ and space law discussions. @sharestuff.bsky.social go.bsky.app/PRWt1qf

For some reason, this is really exciting to see.

Behold: The US Defense Intelligence Agency has released a report on challenges to security in space, including an NEI image of China’s spaceplane from Maxar, taken in 2024.

SpaceX aurait donc une énième fois exagéré les performances : le moteur Raptor 3 n’atteint en vérité que 230 tonnes de poussée, et non pas 250. À partir de là on peut sans doute en déduire les performances elles-aussi en deçà du Starship V3, mais on en avait déjà les signes il me semble.

What Artemis IV may look like for SpaceX and current development milestones (Via NASA)

Securing access to critical minerals is extremely important but I have a bad feeling about this approach.

What a relief! Brazil election 2026: Full second round results as Lula wins comeback against Flávio Bolsonaro www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Very interesting analysis by COMSPOC using additional sensors KOSMOS 2612 (68762) walks up to ICEYE-X36 (59103) First pass: 14:02:59 UTC 16 October: 219 m (max uncertainty 490 m) Closest pass: 14:18:10 UTC 17 October: 59 m (uncert. 950 m) Third pass: 01:57:42 UTC 18 October: 262 m (uncert. 159 m)

Excellent piece!

"For a rough idea of the numbers, the recent €15.6bn budget for the IRIS² constellation suggests an all-in cost per satellite of more than €40mn. Elon Musk’s most recent version of Starlink comes to $1.3mn on New Street numbers and provides a multiple of the capacity to boot."

Things seem to have calmed down for now, but one more article about Cosmos 2612 and ICEYE 36 with discussion (from me) about RPOs: www.scientificamerican.com/article/alar...

Interesting LinkedIn post about the advantages of "old-school" connectivity via Irridium satellites.

French MPs have proposed a symbolic €1 budget line for Dassault's VORTEX spaceplane programme to press the government to clarify how it plans to fund the project. europeanspaceflight.com/french-mps-p...

It is impossible to determine exact distances: both because of inherent TLE inaccuracy, but also because KOSMOS 2612 has been manouvering around the moment of approach. It looks like they have been within a few hundreds of meters, potentially much closer. We don't know exactly.

Between the chaotic Gateway cancellation and the constant " gear shifting " and changing priorities in mid stream, I'm sure Poland isn't the only one feeling this way about NASA these days.

Really interesting discussion here of SpaceX's play to become a wireless carrier, the long strange history of how they got the 800 Mhz spectrum rights, and what challenge this may pose for traditional wireless carriers www.theverge.com/podcast/1012...

Who put weapons in orbit first? Whose weapons are worse? Week 1 of UN #FirstCommittee descended into arguments over these historic questions. Support for #PAROS continues. But what new restraints are on the table? Recap via @rcw4disarmament.bsky.social reachingcriticalwill.org/images/docum...

🛰️ Depuis le 30 septembre, le satellite russe Cosmos 2612 s'approche du satellite ICEYE X-36 exploité par l'armée américaine et fournissant des images radar à l'Ukraine. Il se trouve désormais à moins de 2 km de distance après plusieurs manœuvres semble-t-il volontaires

Short time-lapse of part of this morning’s first pass of ICEYE-X36 (59103) and COSMOS 2612 (68762) over South America under partly cloudy skies.

Interesting short video on satcom

New blogpost: "KOSMOS 2612 and ICEYE-X36: a worrisome cat-and-mouse-game in Space" sattrackcam.blogspot.com/2026/10/kosm...

Guilfoyle and Zacharia getting fired gives me the impression that only women get fired in the Trump administation. Also Kristi Noem. Everyone one else seems to be at least as bad and/or corrupt.... Hegseth, Duffy, Patel... basically everyone.

Guilfoyle and Zacharia getting fired gives me the impression that only women get fired in the Trump administation. Also Kristi Noem. Everyone one else seems to be at least as bad and/or corrupt.... Hegseth, Duffy, Patel... basically everyone.

GAO says NOAA's next-gen GeoXO geostationary weather satellite program has been dramatically cut in past year (four sats instead of six, two instruments instead of five) to reduce cost from $19.6B to $13B, but risks gap in continuity of data. www.gao.gov/products/gao...

Interesting that they could show Meadowlands but would only show RMT in its travel box The Space Force Showed Us Its Weapons Used in Iran and Venezuela www.wsj.com/video/series...

Spain has approved Hisdesat's request to bring forward €65.8 million in funding for the country's PAZ 2 spy satellite programme. europeanspaceflight.com/spain-approv...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that the White House will consider anyone who does not adopt his preferred term of “super intelligence” as “the enemy,” escalating his campaign to rebrand artificial intelligence amid calls to erect more guardrails. 🙄🙈🤪

After the ISS: What happens when humanity loses its shared home in space? by Alex Kennedy | via @thespacereview.com - www.thespacereview.com/article/5331/1

Finnish Earth Observation company Iceye wants to do satcom. So they are joining forces with Nokia.

Is scientific progress slowing down? I still think it is but the debate is not over: ICYMI, like me...

Excellent piece on supply chain issues, competition with Earth-based data for resources and materials and what some of the bottlenecks (could) mean for all these upcoming megaconstellations.