Space Moves You - New Glenn Reusability and Orbital Data Centers, Week 11

In this eleventh episode of Space Moves You - Global, we analyze the historic milestone in orbital reusability and the unprecedented consolidation in the satellite sector that have unfolded as we move through mid-April 2026. We explore the successful recovery of Blue Origin’s first-stage booster alongside Amazon’s $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar, while examining the rise of high-capacity orbital data centers and the evolving landscape of commercial space infrastructure.

Inside this episode:

• Blue Origin’s Reusability Breakthrough & Malfunction: Analyzing the April 19th milestone where Blue Origin successfully launched and recovered a previously flown New Glenn booster for the first time. We also examine the technical second-stage anomaly that left the AST SpaceMobile payload in an off-nominal orbit, highlighting the risks inherent in rapid flight testing.
• Amazon’s $11.6 Billion Globalstar Acquisition: Examining the strategic implications of Amazon’s massive purchase of Globalstar, a move designed to turbocharge the satellite-to-phone industry and secure a dominant position in the global connectivity market.
• The Rise of Orbital Data Centers: A deep dive into Indian startup TakeMe2Space’s $55 million push to establish a 50-kilowatt orbital data center. We analyze how this project aims to demonstrate global leadership in space-based high-capacity processing and edge computing.
• Starlink Outages & Pentagon Dependency: Reviewing internal reports of Starlink connectivity failures that disrupted U.S. Navy unmanned surface vessel tests. We discuss the growing concerns over the military’s heavy reliance on commercial constellations for critical national security operations.
• Boeing’s "Resolute" & Mid-Class Satellite Innovation: Analyzing the unveiling of the "Resolute" satellite platform by Boeing and Millennium Space Systems at the 41st Space Symposium. This new mid-class bus is designed to provide greater capability than traditional smallsats while competing in the emerging "micro GEO" market.
• NASA’s Infrastructure Pivot: Evaluating NASA’s strategy for Project NEXUS, a program designed to replace aging TDRSS hardware with commercial relay services, signaling a major shift in how the agency manages its orbital communications.
• Commercial SSA & Market Expansion: Examining NorthStar Earth & Space’s $300 million SPAC merger to expand its space-based sensor network for space situational awareness. We also review China’s successful rendezvous tests for its Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft as a step toward low-cost orbital infrastructure.

Join us for this comprehensive briefing curated from over 15 world-class space news sources.

Listen to the full episode below:

Stay tuned as we decode the cosmos—whenever the stars align.