Space digest — Nov 4, 2026
Top line: Astrolab is set to develop power and communications infrastructure on the Moon, and the Space Force's latest prediction has NASA's Swift observatory reentering the atmosphere between 6:42 and 8:42 a.m. ET on November 4. NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes, meanwhile, are set for Earth flybys on November 7 and 9 on their way to Mars.
Astrolab to develop lunar power and communications infrastructure
Sources SpaceNews
What happened: Astrolab is to develop power and communications infrastructure on the Moon, according to SpaceNews. The report names the company and the two infrastructure focuses; no customer, price, timeline or contract terms were named in what surfaced.
What's genuinely new: Astrolab becomes a named developer on the lunar surface-infrastructure layer — spanning both power and communications — a level of specificity the earlier general coverage of the surface buildout did not carry.
Watch: who the customer is (NASA's permanent-base program versus commercial users), contract terms and delivery dates, and how the power and communications work fits with the first Moon-base cargo flights.
Brief
- NASA's Swift observatory's predicted reentry: the Space Force's latest prediction, relayed by Jonathan McDowell, puts the 21-plus-year gamma-ray telescope's atmospheric reentry between 6:42 and 8:42 a.m. ET on November 4 — the projected end of a mission that survived a failed commercial boost attempt in August (Jeff Foust) — only Foust's post reports it so far
- NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes will make powered flybys of Earth on November 7 and 9, slingshotting past the planet on their way to Mars and potentially visible with a telescope — the first specific dates for a maneuver the mission's coverage has billed as never having been done before (ColombiaOne, Clownfish TV)
- Rocket Lab says it wants to expand its Wallops Island facilities with an additional landing pad, beside the launch site it already operates there (Advanced Television)
- SpaceX has partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to build Starlink Mobile's nationwide US 5G network (Sammy Fans) (single source)
- SpaceX is reported to be in advanced negotiations to acquire or deeply integrate with EchoStar (The Globe and Mail) (single source)
- House Science Committee ranking member Zoe Lofgren announced she will seek the committee's chairmanship as Democrats win control of Congress, saying she would work to stop the politicization of science (Science Committee Democrats, via Jeff Foust) (single source)