As the global satellite industry shifts toward standardization and high-volume production, demand is accelerating for satellite subsystems, communications hardware, and onboard computing systems. Leveraging its strengths in advanced semiconductor fabrication, electronic hardware, and high-precision manufacturing, Taiwan has emerged as an indispensable supply-chain partner for international space companies.

Space-based data centers could open a new market for low-power AI chips, but moving computing workloads into orbit presents challenges involving radiation, cooling, and hardware reliability. South Korean AI chip developer Rebellions is calling for government support to help companies establish a track record in space, while researchers recommend adapting existing processors rather than developing new chips from scratch.

NASA is accelerating construction of a lunar south pole base by selecting eight aerospace companies for the second phase of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS 2) program. The companies will compete for lunar transport missions over 10 years, with a combined procurement ceiling of US$10 billion.

South Korea plans to develop small, medium, and large data centers in orbit under its K-Moonshot initiative, aiming to conduct its first in-orbit demonstration in 2028 and lay the groundwork for commercial space-based AI services before 2035.

Taiwan will continuously elevate its self-reliant space technology capabilities while leveraging its long-standing strengths in semiconductors, electronics, telecommunications, and precision manufacturing, President Ching-Te Lai stated today (Nov. 9) as the 2026 Taiwan International Assembly of Space Science, Technology, and Industry (TASTI 2026) opened in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan.

On November 7, local US time, Elon Musk appeared remotely at the 33rd Baron Investment Conference in New York. During an hour-long conversation with Baron Capital founder Ron Baron, Musk repeatedly framed space-based computing power as a strategic asset.

Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa has announced plans to suspend new data center approvals until the state establishes legal safeguards for residents, power supplies, and the environment, while also urging the state government to pause land deals that could involve SpaceX. The policy could reshape investment plans by major technology companies in one of the US's fastest-growing AI data center regions and a key base for Tesla and SpaceX.

US space company SpaceX has developed reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket boosters, saving between US$32 million and US$46.5 million every time a booster is reused. To date, SpaceX has completed over 650 rocket recoveries; even its payload fairings, valued at US$6 million each, are recoverable and reusable. As Taiwan's orbital rocket program is still in its infancy, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has directed plans to invest in the manufacturing of reusable rocket modules.

SpaceX, which only entered the AI infrastructure business this year through its merger with xAI, may now be the fastest data center builder in the world, according to research firm SemiAnalysis. The firm argues this pace will make the rocket company the world's biggest AI cloud.

Chinese commercial launch provider CAS Space launched its Kinetica-2 rocket at 8:15:25am on 3 November from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Experimental Zone, placing 18 Spacesail Constellation satellites into their designated orbit. It was the rocket's first deployment mission for the low-Earth-orbit network, also known as G60 Starlink.

UK low-cost airline EasyJet has agreed with SpaceX to install Starlink satellite internet on its A320, A320neo, and A321neo fleets starting in the first half of 2027, with the rollout expected to be completed by early 2028. The service will allow passengers to stream video, work in the cloud, play online games, and access information during flights.

Eutelsat said that it predicts at least EUR10 billion (US$11.2 billion) in revenue from 2032 to 2040 as it leads the EU's low Earth orbit (LEO) network initiative IRIS2. The European satellite player is viewed by the EU to be a homegrown alternative to SpaceX's Starlink satellite service and a key to reducing technological reliance on the US.

Amazon expects its cloud unit to keep growing faster than 40% a year through 2028, even as costs from its satellite internet project hold back fourth-quarter profit.

Virgin Galactic on October 28 moved its first Delta-class suborbital spacecraft, D1, from its assembly facility in Mesa, Arizona, to its operations base at Spaceport America in New Mexico. The transfer marks the next-generation fleet's shift from assembly to flight-test preparations, with commercial crewed flights targeted for early in the second quarter of 2027.

Taiwan's Kuen Tong Technology, a high-end precision metal components maker and major supplier to a US low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator, is set to list on the Taipei Exchange's Emerging Stock Board on October 29 at a reference price of NT$390 (approx. US$12.03) per share. Riding rising satellite demand, the company plans to expand production capacity in Thailand from 2027 while developing AI server liquid cooling and semiconductor equipment businesses.

Japan is preparing to shift operations of its flagship H3 rocket from the state space agency to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a move aimed at cutting launch costs and making the country's main launcher a more credible rival to SpaceX in the commercial market.

Elon Musk recently confirmed the possibility of a merger between SpaceX and Tesla, signaling an ambition to redefine competition in the AI era beyond individual products and technological advantages toward integration across the entire industrial value chain, encompassing semiconductors, energy, computing, communications, and autonomous systems.

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved Amazon Leo’s approximately US$11.57 billion acquisition of Globalstar, giving Amazon access to about 25 MHz of mobile satellite service (MSS) spectrum, roughly 24 satellites and related infrastructure to support its push into the direct-to-device (D2D) market.

Since Elon Musk publicly confirmed that Tesla and SpaceX are evaluating a potential merger, the prospect has stirred widespread speculation over what could become the largest corporate transaction in history—and whether combining two of Musk's biggest technology platforms would actually create value beyond the sprawling ecosystem they already share.

Taiwan's aerospace components maker Aero Win Technology is positioning itself for a new growth cycle, capitalizing on robust aircraft engine demand while expanding its role in next-generation development programs. With global aircraft production struggling to keep pace with orders, the company's gross margin reached a record 26% in the first half of 2026, up 8pp year-over-year.

The Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) said two 8U CubeSats developed by Tron Future Tech successfully reached orbit on October 20 aboard SpaceX's Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission, advancing Taiwan's low Earth orbit (LEO) communications technology program. T.MicroSat-3 and T.MicroSat-4 launched at 7:04 p.m. Taiwan time to a mid-inclination orbit and established initial contact with ground stations in Chile and Azerbaijan before 3 a.m. Taiwan time on October 21, with their systems operating normally and sufficient power available.

The AI infrastructure race is increasingly becoming a contest over who can turn electrical capacity, cooling systems, and hardware into usable compute the fastest.

SpaceX's third quarter of 2026 reshaped the business. Its Super Intelligence (SI) segment, the compute and AI unit previously reported as Artificial Intelligence, generated more revenue than the Starlink-led Connectivity segment, reversing the previous quarter's order, and the group posted an operating profit after losses in each of the four preceding quarters. The quarter also showed what the shift costs: capital spending again ran ahead of revenue, and most of it went into compute.

Japan has successfully launched a spacecraft bound for the moons of Mars, gaining an early advantage over China in the international race to become the first country to return samples from Mars or its satellites.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced on October 18 that its H3 Flight No. 10 rocket, carrying the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft, had been transferred from the assembly building to the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.