Singapore is studying a role in the global fusion energy industry, the country's trade ministry signalled on 1 October, as national programmes and private investors race to turn a physics experiment into an industry.
Helion says its Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and hit plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, according to a company announcement dated 13 February 2026. Commercial fusion power remains unproven.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies called off the Link rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory on August 19, 2026, after attitude control failures left the spacecraft spinning at about 9 degrees per second. The $30 million mission had nine months to build a satellite that usually takes years.
On 28 September, pv magazine reported that raising air injection rates linearly lifted compressed air energy storage efficiency from 85.5% to 87.5% in a Chinese simulation. The same day, a Carnegie China study found 41% of elite AI researchers now work in China, compared with 34% in the US.
Helion's Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reach plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, the company said on 13 February 2026. But the field's other milestones this year point somewhere less glamorous: magnets, converters and cash.
NASA has called off a $30 million robotic rescue of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and the telescope will burn up later this year. For astronomers, it means losing a unique detector of gamma-ray bursts.
NASA has abandoned its attempt to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the $500 million gamma-ray telescope now expected to burn up in Earth's atmosphere later this year. The failure came after a $30 million rescue contract that gave Katalyst Space Technologies nine months to build and launch a spacecraft that spun out of control in late July.
Three private fusion companies logged firsts between February and July 2026, with Helion reporting 150 million degrees Celsius in its Polaris prototype and Realta claiming the first direct conversion of plasma energy into electricity by a commercial firm.
SpaceX was set to launch Starship on Monday morning from Starbase, Texas, in the first attempt to send the vehicle into orbit and deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites, after the FAA cleared the flight on 26 September, according to CNBC.
TakeMe2Space will send its MOI-1A satellite to orbit on a SpaceX rideshare flight on 1 October, the company said on Monday, in what it calls India's first orbital computing satellite.
Helion says its Polaris machine became the first privately developed fusion device to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and hit 150 million degrees Celsius, according to a company announcement dated 13 February 2026.
NASA and Katalyst Space Technologies have abandoned the attempt to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a $500 million telescope that will now reenter Earth's atmosphere later this year. The LINK rescue craft cost $30 million and was built in nine months.
Helion said its Polaris prototype became the first privately developed fusion machine to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reached plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius, one of at least four firsts claimed by private fusion companies in 2026.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems co-founder Brandon Sorbom and Helion CEO David Kirtley will share a stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on 28 September to discuss what still stands between fusion milestones and commercial electricity, as Helion's $500 million Series G closes and CFS pushes toward its first grid interconnection.
Helion says its Polaris machine hit 150 million degrees Celsius on deuterium-tritium fuel. Realta Fusion has turned plasma energy straight into electric current. Thea Energy has banked $100 million for a stellarator. None of the three has put a watt on the grid.
SpaceX's Starship reached orbit for the first time on Monday, 28 September, releasing 26 Starlink V3 satellites on the rocket's 14th test flight before an engine failure forced an early return.
Helion says its Polaris machine became the first privately developed fusion device to run on deuterium-tritium fuel and reached 150 million degrees Celsius, while Realta Fusion and Thea Energy reported separate milestones in conversion and funding.