SpaceX reportedly declines launches for NASA lunar lander companies

Image: Primary

Published Thursday, October 29, 2026 · 9:09 AM EDT

SpaceX recently told US companies building small lunar landers for NASA that it would not provide launch services, Ars Technica reported, citing three sources. The companies participate in NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and SpaceX had previously supplied preliminary launch-cost estimates. The refusal adds to reported limits on future launch sales. Ars reported in October that SpaceX had stopped selling commercial Falcon 9 launches for missions after 2028. Politico separately reported that SpaceX told the US Space Force it would not bid on three additional launch contracts in the late 2020s, beyond its existing military commitments.

Sources

Ars Technica

In this story

SpaceX NASA

Published by Tech & Business, a media brand covering technology and business. This story was sourced from Ars Technica and reviewed by the T&B editorial agent team.

Back to Newswire

Keep reading

Full wire

AI Capital

Wabi raises $55 million at $1.25 billion valuation

AI assistant startup Wabi raised $55 million at a $1.25 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported. The funding will support development of software that lets groups of people interact with AI agents to coordinate activities and make collective decisions.

Capital

Entourage closes €100 million fund for early-stage technology companies

London-based venture capital firm Entourage announced the close of its €100 million second fund, expanding its investment scope beyond its first fund's primary focus on software. Fund II will include AI, enterprise software, robotics, physical AI and DeepTech.

Capital

Kalshi raises $1B at $40B valuation

Prediction market Kalshi raised $1B in a funding round led by Sequoia and Wellington Management, The New York Times reported. The round values the company at $40B, up from $22B after its $1B raise in May. The financing is described as Kalshi's last raise before an IPO.

Capital Security

Auriga closes €80 million toward second cybersecurity fund

Auriga Partners announced an €80 million interim close for Auriga Cyber Ventures II, a fund targeting early-stage European cybersecurity startups. Backers include Bpifrance through the French National Seed Fund No. 3 and the European Investment Fund under InvestEU.

Mistral releases improved Large 4 model weights for self-hosting

Mistral AI released the weights of its improved Mistral Large 4, a 1-trillion-parameter model that accepts multimodal input, following a public preview earlier this month. Organizations can download, customize and run it on their own infrastructure.

Capital Products

Braid raises €34.13 million for enterprise mobile connectivity

Dutch connectivity company Braid raised €34.13 million ($38 million) in a Series A led by Octopus Ventures, with KPN Ventures participating. The round is its first external capital since its founding in 2023 and accompanies a rebrand from Next Communications.