June 15, 2025

ULA Atlas V Set for Monday Launch, Boosting Bezos' Competition Against SpaceX (Source: Florida Today)
The second batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites will soon take flight atop a heavy-duty ULA Atlas V rocket (with 5 solid-rocket boosters), climbing on a blazing-fast 18-minute ascent into orbit 280 miles high. The mission scheduled to lift off at 1:25 p.m. Monday from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The rocket will carry 27 broadband satellites encapsulated inside its 17.7-foot payload fairing.

As of late April, rival billionaire Jeff Bezos has officially entered the broadband network market following the inaugural launch into orbit of Amazon's internet-beaming satellites. Known as Project Kuiper, the initiative is a subsidiary of the online commerce behemoth that has made Bezos one of the richest men alive. While a successful mission would double the number of Kuiper satellites Amazon has deployed, the company still has a long way to go until some 3,200 total planned satellites are operating in low-Earth orbit. (6/15)

SpaceX Adds 23 Satellites to Starlink Megaconstellation After Friday Launch From Florida (Source: Space.com)
Less than a day after its last batch reached low Earth orbit, SpaceX again added to its Starlink megaconstellation on Friday (June 13). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 of the broadband internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport in Florida. (6/13)

PLD Space Advances MIURA 5 Launch Capability with TEPREL C Engine Tests (Source: Space Daily)
PLD Space has reached a critical milestone in the development of its MIURA 5 orbital launcher by completing integrated testing of its TEPREL-C rocket engines. This progress marks a significant step toward the start of the engine's flight qualification campaign, which is slated to begin at the end of June.

The Spanish aerospace company emphasizes propulsion as the foundation of its technology, guided by its enduring motto: "No engine, no rocket." This philosophy was validated in October 2023 when the TEPREL-B engine successfully powered MIURA 1, the first private European rocket to reach space. The more advanced TEPREL-C builds on this legacy with greater complexity and performance. (6/12)

Canada and ESA Reaffirm Partnership (Source: CSA)
Canadian Space Agency President Lisa Campbell signed a joint statement with the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Dr. Josef Aschbacher, reaffirming Canada and ESA's unique, proven and productive partnership. This signature marks a key milestone in the mid-term review of the Canada–ESA Cooperation Agreement, underscoring the continued strength and strategic importance of the collaboration. (/6)

Japan-Thailand Foreign Ministers Affirm Space Cooperation (Source: Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
The two foreign ministers concurred on further strengthening economic ties between Japan and Thailand. They also confirmed continued cooperation in areas such as the development of advanced industrial human resources, science and technology, space, and decarbonization, as well as their commitment to advance negotiations on a social security agreement. (5/30)

Vietnam Space Committee, OSB Group and Thales Partner to Promote Education and Innovation in Space Technologies (Source: Thales)
Vietnam has been building a national framework to advance Space activities over the past decade. Its national strategy for space technology development until 2030 aims to drive the sector forward in socio-economic development, technological innovation and environmental monitoring. Thales and Thales Alenia Space align with these ambitions, with the objective of this partnership to raise awareness and promote education on the immense potential of Space sciences and technologies. (6/5)

Trump Suggests Decision Already Made on Space Command Move to Huntsville (Source: AL.com)
Does a comment President Trump made at the White House picnic on Friday confirm U.S. Space Command headquarters' move to Huntsville? A former Colorado state representative and Republican party chairman seems to think so, referring to a post on X where the president tells unidentified people “Because I’m moving it to Alabama. We’re working on it.” (6/15)

SpaceX Hits a Big Milestone for Starlink Satellite Production (Source: PC Magazine)
SpaceX has reached a new milestone with its Starlink business, producing 10 million dishes for the satellite internet service. "It took almost 4 years to build our first 5 million kits, and we doubled that in about 11 months,” Sujay Soman, a senior facilities manager at SpaceX, wrote in a LinkedIn post that appears to have since been deleted or made private. It comes as SpaceX announced this week that its subscriber numbers had crossed 6 million. (6/13)

Scientists Discover Strong, Unexpected Link Between Earth's Magnetic Field and Oxygen Levels (Source: LiveScience)
Earth's magnetic field and oxygen levels are inextricably linked, new research suggests. The strength of the geomagnetic field has gone up in lockstep with the percentage of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere over the past 540 million years, a new study finds — but it remains unclear if one of these influences the other, or whether other unknown factors explain the link. (6/13)

NASA Sets New Potential Launch Date for Ax-4 Mission to ISS (Source: Space News)
NASA says a private astronaut mission could launch to the International Space Station as soon as June 19 as it works to understand an air leak on the Russian segment of the station. In a June 14 statement, NASA said it is working with Axiom Space and SpaceX on “reviewing launch opportunities” for the Ax-4 mission, with the earliest such opportunity on June 19. (6/15)

Star Catcher and Starcloud Announce Partnership to Utilize Power Beaming to Enhance Capabilities (Source: Star Catcher)
Jacksonville-based Star Catcher and Starcloud have announced a strategic partnership for utilization of Star Catcher’s orbital energy grid to accelerate the deployment and enhance the performance of Starcloud’s on-orbit data centers. Via this partnership, Star Catcher will deliver dedicated solar energy to the forthcoming Starcloud constellation via the company’s advanced orbital power grid — the Star Catcher Network.

Editor's Note: Star Catcher in March agreed with Space Florida to host power beaming tests at the Cape Canaveral Spaceport. The company in April agreed with Mission Space to receive real-time space weather data and predictive models to support the Star Catcher Network, which in turn will deliver power to Mission Space’s satellites. (6/10)

AST SpaceMobile Reaches Deal to Bankroll Ligado’s Viasat Settlement (Source: Space News)
AST SpaceMobile has reached a deal enabling bankrupt satellite operator Ligado Networks to pay the more than $500 million it owes Viasat, in exchange for long-term access to L-band spectrum to boost its planned direct-to-smartphone services. AST SpaceMobile would provide about $550 million to Ligado, of which $535 million would go to Viasat-owned Inmarsat to settle the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) operator’s opposition to its bankruptcy restructuring plan. (6/13)

Musk Providing Iranian Citizens with Starlink as Regime Restricts Internet (Source: Washington Examiner)
Elon Musk signaled late Friday night that he is providing Iranians with Starlink satellite internet after conservative analyst Mark Levin asked him to turn the service on in Iran during Israel‘s conflict with the country. “The beams are on,” Musk said in a response to Levin’s request on X. (6/14)

Blue Origin Reveals Passengers for 13th Space Tourism Launch (Source: Space.com)
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has revealed who will fly on its next space tourism mission. That six-passenger suborbital flight will lift off from the company's West Texas launch site, on a date that hasn't been announced yet. The upcoming mission is known as NS-33, because it will be the 33rd overall launch of Blue Origin's reusable, autonomous New Shepard vehicle. It will be the company's 13th human spaceflight mission. Click here. (6/14)

Sirius Technologies, Inc., to Become Tenant at Spaceport America (Source: Las Cruces Bulletin)
Innovative Space Carrier Inc. (ISC), a space startup based in Tokyo, Japan, and its United States subsidiary, Sirius Technologies, Inc., signed an operational lease at Spaceport America in May. The two-year lease allows ISC and its Colorado-based subsidiary and technology and development arm, Sirius, to test and develop its launch vehicles and rocket motor operations. (6/14)

Three Steps to Stopping Killer Asteroids (Source: IEEE Spectrum)
If one day an asteroid like Dimorphos is discovered to be headed toward Earth, an interceptor craft like DART could collide with the asteroid years in advance to avert disaster. Here’s how that might work. Step 1: Find and Track Near-Earth Asteroids. Step 2: Send an NEO Reconnaissance Mission. Step 3: Change NEO’s Course With Interceptor. Click here. (6/11)
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ESA Studying Impacts of Proposed NASA Budget Cuts (Source: Space News)
The European Space Agency is weighing options for programs affected by proposed major budget cuts at NASA as it also seeks to expand cooperation with other nations. After a meeting of the ESA Council, agency officials said they had a “deep discussion” about the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for NASA released May 30 that would, if enacted, affect science and exploration programs involving the two agencies, from Artemis to Earth science.

“We are impacted on quite of number of domains that, at least for the moment, are proposed for cancellations or reductions,” Josef Aschbacher, ESA director general, said. “We are doing our homework in analyzing what is the impact and what could be options and measures we could take in order to make sure that investments that have been made by our member states are utilized in the best possible way.” (6/14)