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DTN 179: Does America Need More Spaceports?

Plus: Batteries break records in the US, China's commercial space sector goes public, first successful orbital launch from mainland Europe, Hermeus goes back to the future with Ramjet-X, mathematicians confront AI apocalypse, and more.

11 Sep 2026 — 6 min read

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How many spaceports does the U.S. need?

“Forget boot prints on the moon or human missions to Mars—the real 21st-century space race is shaping up to be more about who can launch the most rockets and satellites.

At least, that’s what’s suggested by the U.S.’s newly updated National Space Transportation Policy (NSTP), which demands a rapid expansion of the nation’s spaceports. Issued by the White House in a presidential memorandum on August 20, the policy declares that U.S. “space transportation ranges must grow to support more than 1,000 launches and reentries every year” by 2030. That’s more than five times the 181 launches that occurred on U.S. soil in 2025. And that figure itself exceeds, by 10-fold, the number of U.S. launches in 2013, the year the Obama administration created the previous NSTP.” (via Scientific American)

"Chants of "Defend workplaces," "Time for rules" and "Don't wait, regulate" played on loudspeakers as the robots—which ranged from bipedal humanoids to doglike quadrupeds—demonstrated." Image: AFP.

"Waving flags, "chanting" slogans and marching in circles, around 30 robots took to the streets of Warsaw on Monday to campaign for AI regulation in front of the Polish digital affairs ministry.

The protest was organized by Democratism, an initiative that, according to its website, aims to launch debate "on how AI and robotization affect the labor market."

"The robots present here are meant to show that this technology is already a reality," Agibot A3, one of the AI-powered humanoid robots, told AFP.

"We particularly want to address the issue of the potential replacement of people both by humanoid robots and by artificial intelligence in cognitive work," organizer Grzegorz Kulis told AFP." (via France24)