Velos has launched a tracking tool designed to monitor how upcoming US election results may influence national space policy and funding. The platform provides data on legislative races across 28 states identified as key space hubs, including regions with significant launch infrastructure and NASA facilities.
The tracker evaluates potential shifts in the composition of congressional committees and subcommittees responsible for space oversight. While leadership at the top committee level is expected to remain stable, Velos identifies eight lawmakers currently in tossup races across the House and Senate Armed Services, Appropriations, and Commerce committees.
Beyond the election tracker, the industry continues to see new developments in space manufacturing and infrastructure. Orbital Matter, co-founded by Robert Ihnatisin, has secured a patent for 3D-printing technology capable of operating in a vacuum to facilitate large-scale in-orbit construction.
The company aims to reduce mission costs and complexity by enabling the assembly of large structures, such as solar arrays for orbital data centers, directly in space. This approach bypasses the size constraints typically imposed by traditional launch vehicle fairings.
