March 2-8, 2026 / Hawai`i Island, USA
Vol 45, Week 9: Lunar Broadcast Precursor — Terrestrial Edition
Hawaiʻi Space Ambitions: Bonds Proposed to Fund Fenix Horizontal Launch at Hilo
Recently introduced Hawaiʻi House Bill 1608 would authorize issuance of US$40M worth of special-purpose revenue bonds to assist Fenix Space Incorporated, a California aerospace firm specializing in towed-glider air-launch systems. If approved, the bond issue would support planning, design and construction of a Fenix launch platform and Hilo flight operations facility at Hilo International Airport, including offices, payload integration clean rooms and specialized hangars. Fenix horizontal launches tow winged boosters to 40,000 feet via commercial aircraft, and boosters take payloads to 60,000 feet for rocket release, minimizing environmental impact. Additionally, Hawaiʻi House Bill 1904 proposes establishment of a Hawaiʻi Orbital Sustainability and Space Traffic Board within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and would establish an orbital tracking and traffic management system, authorize grants for workforce development, require operator registration, and mandate compliance with environmental, historic preservation and Native Hawaiian consultation laws. These initiatives would support ongoing infrastructure improvements at Hilo Airport and position Hawaiʻi as a Pacific equatorial hub for aerospace cooperation. The global space economy reached US$626B USD in 2025. With 12% compound annual growth rate, it is projected to exceed US$1T dollars annually by 2034. Aiming to distinguish itself from previously proposed intrusive vertical launches that caused resident resistance and opposition in Puna and Kaʻū, Fenix looks to pioneer reusable tech that enables affordable access to space from the Aloha state. (Image Credits: Fenix Aerospace, Hawaii DOT)
CubeSat Conference Fosters Continuance of Canada Space Contributions
The inaugural Canadian CubeSat Conference (CCC 2026) is March 7-8 and aims to be Canada’s premier technical conference for small satellites. This 2-day in-person conference in Montreal brings together academia, researchers and industry to share knowledge, showcase research / projects and foster connections. Supported by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA-ASC) and company MDA Space, CCC 2026 is organized by the Canadian CubeSat Network (CCN), which began in December 2025 as an initiative of SEDS-Canada, a student-led nonprofit. Students for the Exploration and Development of Space-Canada is a student-led non-profit dedicated to nurturing the next generation of aerospace professionals. Joining CCN gives access to a Discord community, curated knowledge repository (“wiki”) and mentorship, helping students turn passion for space into an aerospace engineering career. Canada was the 3rd country to reach orbit (91+ now have) and ranks 9th in operational satellites with 70+. Small orbiters comprise more than 90%. CubeSats are nano- (1-10 kg) or picosatellites (0.01-1 kg) built in “IU” units measuring 10x10x10 cm, designed with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, and are cost-effective for university research, tech demos and Earth observation. Canadarms on the ISS are Canada’s most-famous space contribution, soon to be surpassed by Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen as member of the Moon-flyby Artemis II mission, launching NET April 1, 2026. (Image Credits: Jeff Geerling, NanoAvionics, NASA, CSA-ASC)
Humans in Space
International Space Station, ~415-km LEO: Expedition 74 crew continue science research in the orbiting laboratory, much of it concerned with the human body’s reaction to weightlessness. Roscosmos Cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev wore VR goggles to test sense of balance / orientation; Astronauts Adenot of ESA and Hathaway of NASA continue to familiarize themselves with living and working in the ISS, including use of exercise gear and safety equipment, and medical procedures such as processing blood samples and doing ultrasound scans. NASA and ESA astronauts precisely positioned 4 cameras to record exercise sessions, enabling muscle and bone analysis. Cosmonaut Fedyaev set up a physics experiment using molecular beams to measure semiconductor growth and installed Earth observation gear that uses a variety of wavelengths. NASA Astronauts Williams and Meir along with Adenot used UV light and measured its inhibition of microbial growth within the station. All 7 continue ongoing housekeeping, including trash collection, vacuuming up dust and wiping down surfaces with disinfectant, and monitoring the Elektron oxygen generator for proper operation.
Tiangong Space Station, ~390-km LEO: Shenzhou-21 crew uses an aeroponic cultivation system that vaporizes water into a fine mist, significantly improving the efficiency of water usage, and has an LED light array enhancing energy usage, allowing them to grow tomatoes as China Spring Festival travel season continues through March 13. Future plans for the Tiangong Space Garden include trial plantings of wheat, carrots and medicinal plants. An unexpected but welcome side-effect of the Space Garden is a psychological boost. Taikonaut Zhang Lu said, “To see such a vibrant splash of green in the vastness of space is incredibly healing.”
Lunar Enterprise News: Data scientist Chandra Tungathurthi of India now produces Digital Elevation Modeling (DEM) images of the Moon surface at 30 cm resolution, using data from the camera on the Chandrayaan-2 lunar orbiter (highest-resolution of any at the Moon) and combining it with open-source software from NASA and US Geological Survey to produce DEM images of landing sites of Chandrayaan-3 (Shiv Shakti), IM-2 Athena and Japan’s SLIM. DEM produces slope maps and identifies safe landing zones, among other benefits.
Near-Earth Objects Close Approaches – Mon Mar 2: Aten Asteroid 2011 EH17 (0.040 AU); Tue Mar 3: Apollo Asteroid 2026 CD1 (0.016 AU); Tue Mar 3: Apollo Asteroid 2026 CX4 (0.019 AU); Fri Mar 6: Aten Asteroid 2021 ER (0.016 AU)
First Woman FLIES to the Moon …
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First Woman LANDS on the Moon …
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Ongoing Events:
Mar 1-3 — University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), Huntsville AL, USA: Business of Space Conference