ALT Read the new article! Every spacecraft launches with a clock ticking on its fuel supply. Every maneuver uses some of the propellant it carried from Earth. Eventually, even a healthy satellite can reach the limits of its mission simply because the tank is running low. Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace, is working toward a different model: make fuel part of the infrastructure. In Fuel Without an Expiration Date, we look at how Dawn is building the pieces of a refuelable orbital economy, starting with something surprisingly small. Its Docking and Fluid Transfer port replaces a conventional fill-and-drain valve with an interface that can support both fueling on Earth and future refueling in orbit. That means compatible spacecraft can begin accumulating before the refueling network itself is fully operational. Dawn’s larger Loop architecture pairs reusable Space Utility Vehicles with orbital propellant depots to deliver fuel where spacecraft need it.

ALT Red the new article! On Earth, we expect connectivity to be there when we need it. The Moon is heading toward the same expectation. In Beyond Line of Sight, Elizabeth Kryst, CEO of ispace U.S., explores how communications can evolve from something each lunar mission brings with it into shared infrastructure supporting many missions and customers. ispace U.S. is working toward a five-satellite lunar relay network, with the first two satellites focused primarily on communications and relay services for far-side and polar missions. The larger vision is a shared backbone serving government and commercial customers rather than infrastructure built for a single mission. As Kryst puts it, “Communications infrastructure is this quiet enabler, much like electricity or the internet on Earth.” When connectivity becomes a service, landers, rovers, and other lunar systems can focus more of their mass, power, and resources on the missions they were built to accomplish.

ALT Read the article! Every maneuver begins with power. As spacecraft take on more dynamic missions, moving to avoid debris, repositioning for customers, conducting proximity operations, and responding to changing conditions, their electrical systems have to keep pace. In Dynamic Space, Joe Powelski, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of CisLunar Industries, explores the connection between power and freedom of maneuver. Power processing turns energy from solar arrays, batteries, and future power sources into something spacecraft can actually use. As propulsion, communications, sensors, and onboard computing become more capable, managing that energy efficiently becomes part of the infrastructure that enables spacecraft to adapt throughout their operational lives. Read Dynamic Space in LEO and Beyond: In-Space Infrastructure: https://spacecomsecondstage.com/dynamic-space/ #SpacePower #LEOandBeyond #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT Orbital resilience begins on Earth. Before a spacecraft can reinforce or reconstitute a capability in orbit, an entire system on the ground has to be ready. Launch sites. Power. Data. Communications. Cybersecurity. Utilities. Transportation. People. In Reconstituting Orbit, Karr W. "Win" Farrell Jr and Greg Wood of Amentum look at the ground infrastructure behind rapid space response and what it takes to make launch capability routine, repeatable, and resilient. Wood points to two resources that connect nearly every part of that architecture: power and data. Farrell adds another critical dimension: understanding the readiness of every asset required for a particular launch, including redundant and mandatory systems. The result is a different way of thinking about responsive space. Speed begins long before the countdown. It depends on an integrated ground architecture that is prepared to support the mission when it is needed.

ALT Read the article for SpaceCom Second Stage! What if a spacecraft’s future was no longer determined by what it carried at launch? Mobility changes the equation. In The Unpredictable Advantage, Jim Bridenstine of Quantum Space explores how refueling, maneuverability, and in-space logistics could give spacecraft greater freedom to move, adapt, and remain useful over longer missions. It is a shift from spacecraft designed around finite resources toward an orbital environment supported by infrastructure. 🚀 Read The Unpredictable Advantage in LEO and Beyond: In-Space Infrastructure: https://spacecomsecondstage.com/the-unpredictable-advantage/ #SpaceMobility #InSpaceLogistics #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek #LEOandBeyond

ALT Read the latest SpaceCom Second Stage article! A spacecraft may occupy one point in orbit, but its operating environment extends far beyond its physical location. Signals move through the electromagnetic domain. Data becomes information. Information shapes decisions. And activity in one domain can quickly affect what happens in another. Bryan Hoke of The Aerospace Corporation takes us inside that interconnected environment in The Dynamic Domain, exploring the physical, electromagnetic, and cognitive layers that increasingly shape how missions operate in space. As space becomes more active and interconnected, infrastructure also has to support something beyond hardware: the ability to understand the environment, adapt, and act. Read The Dynamic Domain in LEO and Beyond: In-Space Infrastructure: https://spacecomsecondstage.com/the-dynamic-domain/ #SpaceDomainAwareness #LEOandBeyond #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT 🚀 The newest issue of SpaceCom Second Stage is here! LEO and Beyond: In-Space Infrastructure explores what happens when space becomes more than a destination and begins functioning as an interconnected operational environment. Through 21 exclusive interviews, leaders across commercial space and defense examine the infrastructure taking shape beyond Earth and what it means for how we move, connect, manufacture, defend, sustain, and grow in space. From the systems supporting increasingly dynamic operations in LEO to the infrastructure extending toward the Moon, this issue looks at the technologies, services, strategies, and policies building the next phase of the space economy. The next era of space will depend on what we build once we get there. 📖 Subscribe to SpaceCom Second Stage to read the articles online and receive the digital magazine directly. Digital subscriptions are open to everyone, so you can follow every issue and the conversations shaping commercial space and defense.

ALT The next great space infrastructure opportunity may begin on the ground. Rocket engine testing facilities support technology development, workforce training, propulsion validation, and commercial activity long before a vehicle reaches the launch pad. In the Powering Space issue of SpaceCom Second Stage, Marino Moro, CEO of Novaeka, discusses how rocket engine testing is becoming essential infrastructure and creating new opportunities for emerging spaceports. Read "Rocket Engine Testing: Why Rocket Engine Testing Is Becoming Essential Infrastructure": https://spacecomsecondstage.com/rocket-engine-testing/ #RocketTesting #PoweringSpace #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT READ THE LATEST ARTICLE - Investment needs confidence. Companies need predictability. Markets need stability. Clear policy and legal frameworks help create all three, providing pathways for emerging technologies to move from innovation to commercialization. In the Powering Space issue of SpaceCom Second Stage, Paul Stimers and Katie Inman, Partners at Holland & Knight, discuss how policy is becoming part of the foundational infrastructure supporting the commercial space economy. Read "Building the Rules for a Commercial Space Economy: How Policy Creates the Confidence to Commercialize Innovation": https://spacecomsecondstage.com/building-the-rules/ #SpacePolicy #PoweringSpace #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT READ the latest article - Breakthrough technologies create possibilities. Standards help turn them into repeatable operations. As commercial space nuclear advances toward increased launch cadence, shared standards can create common approaches for designing, testing, transporting, processing, and launching nuclear systems. In the Powering Space issue of SpaceCom Second Stage, Andrew Nelson, Chair of ASTM International's F47 Committee on Commercial Spaceflight; Alex Gilbert, Technical Lead of the ASTM F47 Space Nuclear Power Working Group; and David Schleeper, Lead for the ANS 31.1 Standard for Testing and Facilities for Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion Reactors, discuss the standards enabling commercial space nuclear. Read "From Policy to Practice: The Standards Enabling Commercial Space Nuclear": https://spacecomsecondstage.com/from-policy-to-practice/ #SpaceStandards #PoweringSpace #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT Read the SpaceCom Second Stage article highlight. How do you keep lunar infrastructure running through two weeks of darkness? Small radioisotope energy systems could keep navigation beacons, communications networks, scientific instruments, and other critical infrastructure operating throughout the lunar night. In the Powering Space issue of SpaceCom Second Stage, Chris Tutt, Principal Investigator for Radioisotope Power Systems at Intuitive Machines, discusses how compact, long-duration power sources could help transform lunar exploration into permanent operations. Read "Infrastructure as a Service: Tomorrow - Staying There: Keeping Lunar Infrastructure Alive": https://spacecomsecondstage.com/infrastructure-as-a-service-tomorrow/ #RadioisotopePower #PoweringSpace #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek

ALT Read the SpaceCom Second Stage article highlight. The next generation of space nuclear power is building on decades of experience here on Earth. Trusted manufacturers, proven processes, resilient supply chains, specialized facilities, and skilled workforces are creating the industrial foundation needed to produce space nuclear systems at scale. In the Powering Space issue of SpaceCom Second Stage, Joel Sema, Director of the Space Nuclear Segment at BWXT, discusses how decades of terrestrial and naval nuclear expertise are accelerating the commercial space economy. Read "Terrestrial & Naval Power to Space Power: Decades of Nuclear Experience Are Accelerating the Commercial Space Economy": https://spacecomsecondstage.com/power-to-space-power/ #SpaceNuclear #PoweringSpace #SpaceComSecondStage #CommercialSpaceWeek