Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: October 27–November 1, 2026: DIA Releases Its 2026 Space Threat Report With the First Clear Photo of China's Spaceplane, the Army Picks PAC-3 Edge for a $1.08 Billion Future Interceptor, and Israel Votes to a Deadlock
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DIA's threat assessment runs to 2040 and shows Shenlong in daylight, Lockheed wins the Army's Future Interceptor, Netanyahu's bloc lands at 53 seats, and Iran floats a two-day Hormuz reopening with conditions attached.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: October 19–27, 2026: Washington Accuses Russia at the UN Over Cosmos 2612, NASA Sets a Two-Lander Artemis III for Summer 2027, and the Pentagon Agrees to Buy 850 F-35s Over a Decade
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The U.S. calls Cosmos 2612's approach to ICEYE-X36 "consistent with on-orbit weapons operations," Artemis III becomes a 14-day LEO rehearsal with Starship and Blue Moon, and SpaceX posts its first profit.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: October 12–18, 2026: Trump Waives the Graham Act's Russia Sanctions, Musk Says Washington Sets Starshield's Limits Over Ukraine, and Raytheon Wins Up to $8 Billion to Restart Nuclear Command Terminals
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Trump waives the Graham Act two days before it bites, Ukrainian drones lose Starshield above 100 mph, Raytheon restarts nuclear terminal production, and Brent touches $110 as both sides claim Hormuz.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: October 5–11, 2026: NASA and DOE Sign the Space Nuclear Pact, Raytheon and Boeing Book $21 Billion in Interceptor Work, and the Army Fields Its First 600 Space Soldiers as Hormuz Attacks Hit a Wartime High
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Isaacman and Wright put SR-1 and a 2030 lunar reactor under one agreement, SM-3 and PAC-3 seeker orders answer the interceptor drawdown, the Army's 40D soldiers report, and tanker traffic through Hormuz falls 40%.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: September 28–October 3, 2026: Starship Reaches Orbit on Flight 14, Guetlein Tells the Senate an Early Golden Dome Can Stand Up in 2028 as the CR Freezes 150 New Starts, and SpaceX Flies Three Rockets in 13 Hours
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Starship makes orbit and deploys 26 V3s before an early deorbit, the Senate hears a $1 trillion gap in Golden Dome cost estimates, FY27 opens under a CR, and SpaceX lands four boosters in a day.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: September 21–26, 2026: The Space Force Buys GEO Inspectors and Flies a Fourth Starshield Batch in 43 Days, Starship's Orbital Debut Slips to September 28, and Italy Pays $5 Billion for Two Seats on the Moon
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Northrop and True Anomaly win the GHOST-R reconnaissance satellites, USSF-385 caps a six-week Starshield surge, Starship waits on the FAA, and Isaacman says NASA is done building coalitions for their own sake.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: September 14–20, 2026: The U.S. Confirms It Has Weapons in Orbit, Schiess Warns a Funding Lapse Freezes a Tenth of the Space Force, and Starship's First Orbital Flight Slips to September 22
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SecAF Meink ends the "space sanctuary" era on the record, the CSO puts a number on the October funding cliff, and Starship's orbital debut waits one more week.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: August 31–September 6, 2026: Roman Reaches Orbit Flawlessly, Continental Europe Gets Its First Orbital Launch, and Reuters Exposes the U.S.–China Hunter-Satellite Race
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Roman soars to L2, Isar's Spectrum makes European launch history from Norway, hunter satellites go mainstream, and Kyiv absorbs seven nights of bombardment.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: August 24–29, 2026: SpaceX Unveils the $100 Billion Starbase Louisiana, the White House Orders 1,000 Launches a Year, and Trump Pins the Space Medal of Honor on the Artemis II Crew
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SpaceX plans Earth's largest spaceport in Louisiana marshland, a new national policy targets 1,000 annual launches, and Artemis II gets its medals.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: August 17–21, 2026: China's LandSpace Lands a Booster and Breaks the Reusability Duopoly, SpaceX Logs Its 100th Launch by Mid-August, and Kyiv Loses 16 More as Air Defenses Run Dry
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A Chinese startup sticks its first booster landing, SpaceX hits 100 launches two months early, and Zelenskyy says allied inaction on interceptors is costing lives.
Sirotin Intelligence Briefing: August 10–15, 2026: Golden Dome's Chief Warns the Program Stops in October, Space Command Demands Acknowledged Kinetic Fires, and China's Long March 7A Fails on a Four-Launch Monday
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Guetlein says no FY27 funding means no Golden Dome, Whiting calls for acknowledged space fires, and China's launch surge stumbles at Wenchang.
"Everyone Owns a Piece, But No One Owns the Seam": Former NASA Technology Maturation Director Niki Werkheiser on the First 3D Printer in Space, the Infrastructure That Decides Whether We Stay on the Moon, and Why She Left NASA to Build MAVE[N]
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NASA's Niki Werkheiser flew the first 3D printer in space. Her next mission: fixing the valley where space ideas go to die. (122)
!["Everyone Owns a Piece, But No One Owns the Seam": Former NASA Technology Maturation Director Niki Werkheiser on the First 3D Printer in Space, the Infrastructure That Decides Whether We Stay on the Moon, and Why She Left NASA to Build MAVE[N]](https://storage.ghost.io/c/88/f9/88f9d38e-dcbd-48ee-ae27-d74c2b4a70fe/content/images/size/w400/2026/08/Niki-Werkheiser-2.png)