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Honda opens new tab succeeded in a launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, the Japanese company said in a surprise announcement, marking a milestone towards its 2029 goal of achieving a suborbital spaceflight. Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan's second-biggest carmaker, successfully landed its 6.3-metre (20.6-foot) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 271 metres (889 feet) at its test facility in northern Japan's space town Taiki, opens new tab, according to the company.

DIANA's Challenges for 2026 have launched, calling all innovators who are on a mission to develop ground-breaking dual-use technology within this year’s 10 challenge areas. For this challenge, the Alliance seeks dual-use solutions enhancing the resilience and effectiveness of next generation communications technologies for the robust and rapid exchange of data across decentralised computing, sensing and communications networks.

Israel’s successful exoatmospheric interception of an Iranian ballistic missile on 13 June 2025 using the Arrow 3 system marked a watershed moment in operational space-based missile defense. The Arrow 3 demonstrated its ability to destroy high-altitude threats in space using a kinetic “hit-to-kill” strike—offering strategic reassurance amid a massive Iranian barrage involving over 150 missiles and 100 drones.

Shubhanshu Shukla is set to become the first Indian in space in over 40 years, leading science operations on the Axiom-4 mission to the ISS before contributing to India’s $2.4 billion Gaganyaan human spaceflight program, targeting a 2027 crewed launch. In parallel, NASA and ISRO are collaborating on NISAR, the most advanced and expensive Earth-imaging satellite, launching from India in 2024. NISAR will deliver unprecedented dual-frequency radar data on environmental conditions such as soil moisture and forest cover. ISRO aims to make this data openly available and is inviting collaboration from non-governmental entities to develop operational science applications.

The Paris Airshow opens on Monday with its usual fanfare of aircraft orders expected to be tempered by concerns over India’s deadliest air disaster and escalating missile strikes between Israel and Iran that have rattled the global aviation industry. Every two years, Le Bourget Airport in the northeast of Paris is transformed into a showcase for the aerospace and defence industry, its sprawling tarmac lined with fighter jets, commercial airliners and autonomous drones.

The European Space Agency is moving ahead with plans for the first phase of an Earth observation satellite system that will have both civil and military uses. Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s director general, said at a June 12 press briefing after a meeting of the ESA Council that the council approved an “enabling resolution” for the European Resilience from Space (ERS) program.

As the boundaries between air and space continue to blur, the 2025 EUROCONTROL Civil-Military Aviation Summit made one thing clear: space is now an integral part of Europe’s airspace management discussion.

Frontex took part in EU Space Days, held this year in Gdańsk, Poland. The event brought together more than 700 participants, including senior EU officials, policy experts, industry leaders, and innovators from across Europe. As the EU’s leading forum for space policy and innovation, the event focused on advancing the strategic use of space technologies to meet Europe’s security, economic, and environmental goals.

WASHINGTON — Look Up, a French space situational awareness company, has raised nearly 50 million euros ($57.6 million) to continue development of a radar network to track space objects. The company, previously known as Look Up Space, said June 11 it raised the funding through a combination of equity investments, loans and a European Union grant.

The European Space Agency (ESA) isn’t ruling out programme cuts or freezes if proposed budget cuts to the American space agency NASA are passed by the US Congress later this year. NASA’s 2026 technical budget request, which was released last week, details possible cuts to 19 European space research programmes and could impact key technologies that ESA supplies to American Moon missions.

Voyager Technologies, Inc. ($VOYG) went public on the NYSE on Wednesday—raising $382.8M through the sale of over 12M shares at $31 a pop. When shares hit the retail market, the stock more than doubled from the IPO price, sending the company’s valuation as high as $3.8B. Triple unicorn: While the upsized IPO is a huge vote of confidence for Voyager, it also serves as a bellwether for investors’ expectations of the government’s defense and space spending.

On Wednesday, the European Space Agency (ESA) released images captured by three instruments on board the Solar Orbiter. Taken from a distance of around 40 million miles (roughly 65 million kilometres), the photos reveal a detailed view of the Sun’s south pole. Notably, Solar Orbiter is a joint mission between ESA and Nasa. According to Prof Carole Mundell, ESA’s Director of Science, these are the closest and most detailed images of the Sun ever recorded. Scientists hope the visuals will deepen our understanding of how the Sun works