The two U.S. primary space launchpad complexes are facing increasingly crowded schedules due to the surge in satellite and rocket launches for missions with direct ties to national security. Launches connected to civilian infrastructure are adding to the traffic jam. 

The dominance of SpaceX and Blue Origin in both arenas has caused some smaller but vital national security-focused launch providers to schedule their own satellite projects up to two years ahead of time, according to two high-level space industry executives who spoke on condition of anonymity with Threat Status.

There were roughly 200 total launches in 2025, and the White House is calling for that number to be quintupled to 1,000 annual launches by the end of 2030. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently told Threat Status in an exclusive video interview there is “no question” the U.S. needs to grow its launch capacity.

Defense technology company Anduril Industries has received a $100.3 million boost to an existing Pentagon contract to improve a system the U.S. military uses to monitor objects in space. The increase, first reported by The Defense Watch, brings the total contract ceiling to over $200 million, with a completion target set for September 2027.

The funding will go toward upgrading the Space Surveillance Network, a global system of sensors and radar stations that tracks satellites, space debris and potential threats in orbit, with an advanced mesh networking architecture.

The contract modification comes as the defense industry and the Pentagon increasingly focus on U.S. space capabilities. Earlier this month, Anduril announced it would lead a group of industry partners in developing affordable solutions to support the U.S. Space Force’s Space-Based Interceptor program tied to the Trump administration’s push for the Golden Dome missile defense shield.

Dominant U.S. Navy sea and air power continues to be on display in the Persian Gulf. The Pentagon’s Central Command says a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet launched from the USS Abraham Lincoln nuclear-powered aircraft carrier fired several 20mm cannon rounds Wednesday that effectively disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that was attempting to breach the American maritime blockade of Iran’s ports.

The crew of the Iranian-flagged tanker — the M/T Hasna — “failed to comply with repeated warnings,” according to a statement circulated by U.S. Central Command. U.S. forces then “disabled the tanker’s rudder by firing several rounds from the 20mm cannon,” the command said. “Hasna is no longer transiting to Iran.”

The U.S. military blockade of ships attempting to enter or depart Iranian ports “remains in full effect” and “CENTCOM forces continue to act deliberately and professionally to ensure compliance,” the command said. Pentagon officials didn’t say if there were any reported fatalities or injuries after the incident.

Pakistan, which has been the key mediator in U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, said Thursday it expects American and Iranian officials to strike a deal to end the war “sooner rather than later,” as Mr. Trump continues to threaten increased military action if Washington’s demands are not accepted.

Mr. Trump promised Wednesday to unleash an unprecedented round of American bombing against Iran if Tehran does not accept the terms of a U.S. proposal sent to Iranian officials this week. The proposal’s details have not been made public. But Mr. Trump has publicly demanded the end of Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, a halt by Tehran of its support for such militant proxies as Hamas and Hezbollah, and the end of threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran is reviewing the proposal and plans to submit an official response to Pakistani mediators. Iran’s response could determine the fate of the ceasefire between the U.S. and the Islamic republic, already under strain by two competing blockades of the strait.

Christopher A. Iacovella argues Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview presents potential dangers for the U.S. financial system, with the most vulnerable target being a little-known government database called the Consolidated Audit Trail, which he calls “the world’s largest collection of retail investor financial information ever assembled.

“A successful Mythos-class attack on the Consolidated Audit Trail wouldn’t just expose every retail brokerage account in America to identity theft,” writes Mr. Iacovella, president and chief executive officer of the American Securities Association.

“It also would hand a foreign adversary a precise map of American market positioning, which could be exploited at a moment of their choosing to cause maximum economic damage,” he writes in an op-ed for The Washington Times. “For China or Russia, that is not a hypothetical. It is an operational capability that would transform a cybersecurity breach into a devastating act of economic warfare.”

• May 7-9 — The AI+ Expo, Special Competitive Studies Project 

• May 8 — Is Russia’s War Machine Running out of Steam? Atlantic Council

• May 11 — Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China, Hudson Institute

• May 13 — Forging the Next Era for the U.S.-Republic of Korea Alliance in Economic and National Security at America’s 250th, Stimson Center

• May 13 — The Strategic Value of China to Korea, Center for Strategic & International Studies

• May 14 — Offset Symposium 2026: Scaling Software Advantage Across the Mission, Second Front