Virgin Galactic Holdings announced an amended employment agreement with CEO Michael Colglazier, including increased compensation and retention incentives. The company faces financial challenges, including declining revenue and cash reserves, while analysts adjust price targets and highlight operational timelines for spaceflights.

The private space market is projected to grow at a 9.30% CAGR through 2032, driven by satellite demand, reusable rockets, and public interest. Leading companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic dominate the sector, though Virgin Galactic faces legal challenges from past misrepresentations about its spaceflight readiness and engineering disclosures.

The space sector saw mixed performance with Virgin Galactic's shares rising 33% amid strong investor sentiment, Rocket Lab's stock cooling after hitting all-time highs, and AST SpaceMobile's shares up 17% following analyst updates. BlackSky's stock fell after disappointing financial results, while Planet Labs expanded its contract with Colombia's government. Intuitive Machines' stock dropped despite no company news, and Amazon advanced its Project Kuiper satellite initiative.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is funding the Invictus spaceplane project, a hypersonic reusable spaceplane aiming to launch by 2031. The project, led by Frazer-Nash, incorporates technology from defunct UK-based Reaction Engines, including the pre-cooler system, and features the SABRE engine for jet-rocket hybrid propulsion. The project has a modest budget of 8.7 million euros and aims to advance Europe’s aerospace capabilities, with other global spaceplane initiatives like France’s VORTEX, the US’s X-37B, China’s Shenlong, and Virgin Galactic also in development.

Europe is developing the Invictus hypersonic space plane project, leveraging technology from the defunct British company Reaction Engines. The European Space Agency (ESA) is funding the initiative, which aims to achieve hypersonic flight by 2031. The project involves partnerships with companies like Frazer-Nash, Spirit AeroSystems, and Cranfield University, and is designed to enable reusable, air-breathing propulsion for space access.