Technology

On 17 September 2026, China launched a Long March-12 carrying the 25th batch of Guowang low-orbit internet satellites and a Kuaizhou-11 carrying two commercial InSAR radar satellites into a 55-degree medium-inclination orbit, pushing the Guowang constellation to a reported 204 spacecraft. The InSAR pair's operator, Tianyi Space, claims the 55-degree design cuts interferometric revisit time from several days to one day, though that figure and the 'world's first' designation are unverified assertions rather than independently confirmed results. Exact satellite counts for the Guowang batch and the InSAR pair's orbital altitude were not disclosed in official releases.

The FDA approved Isembyld (apitegromab-mstn) on September 11, 2026, for use alongside existing SMN2-targeted treatments in SMA patients aged 2 and older, making it the first approved therapy directed at muscle loss rather than the underlying genetic defect. The pivotal 52-week trial showed a 2.2-point motor function improvement over placebo in children aged 2 to 12, a statistically significant but modest gain that does not establish disease modification or a cure. Scholar Rock corrected investor call statements the following day, confirming the FDA did require post-marketing commitments including a pregnancy-safety study and expedited fracture reporting, with estimated annual net treatment costs around $310,000 per patient.

Following a final negative opinion from the EMA's CHMP, which found MaaT013's single-arm clinical data insufficient to establish a benefit-risk profile, MaaT Pharma is proposing a randomized 138-patient Phase 3 trial in the U.S. contingent on funding it has not yet secured. The company's cash runway extends only to December 2026 under current operating assumptions, with no committed financing identified for the proposed trial. The FDA feedback supporting the trial plan has not been independently confirmed and represents MaaT Pharma's own characterization of a Type C interaction.

A Linux kernel vulnerability rated CVSS 7.8 (High) affects ABB Ability Edgenius versions prior to 3.2.4.1, allowing a local user or compromised container to gain root access on industrial edge gateways deployed in critical manufacturing, energy, water, and chemical sectors worldwide. CISA added the underlying CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog in May 2026 based on active exploitation evidence, though no confirmed compromise of an Edgenius-specific deployment has been established. ABB has released version 3.2.4.1 as a fix and advises restricting SSH and Cockpit access as an interim mitigation.