Commercial space (tech, space, telecoms and frontier tech): all 4 Bunker Geek stories, sourced and checked. Latest: “Starliner: NASA plans an uncrewed flight in late 2026 before handing Boeing’s capsule back to astronauts in 2028”.
On 28 September 2026, NASA and Boeing set out what comes next for Starliner: an uncrewed flight to the ISS in December or January, then astronauts in 2028. On an Atlas V, for as long as any are left.
The LINK robot, sent to raise the orbit of the Swift space telescope, re-entered the atmosphere on 25 September without ever managing to grab it. Swift, for its part, has switched all three of its instruments back on: if it has to fall, it may as well fall with its eyes open.
On 26 September an Electron placed the 13th radar satellite of Japan’s Synspective into orbit, seven days after the 12th: at this pace, the launch manifest reads like a railway timetable.
On Monday 28 September 2026, SpaceX’s giant rocket reached orbit and released 26 Starlink satellites, despite an engine shutting down too early. Planned to last nearly ten hours, the flight ended after three: caution won out over the flight plan.
