📰Top Stories

Space Force Modernization Stalls Over Acquisition Workforce Shortfall

The U.S. Space Force is facing a significant internal hurdle in its push to modernize: a shortage of qualified acquisition personnel capable of managing the shift from traditional hardware procurement to integrated warfighting systems. New training programs are being rolled out for program managers, but analysts warn that the pace of workforce development lags behind the ambitious modernization roadmap the service has laid out. As the Space Force increasingly relies on commercial partnerships and rapid technology integration, the gap between demand and available expertise poses a real risk to program timelines and national security space capabilities.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Deutsche Telekom Targets 2028 for Starlink Mobile V2 Across Europe

Deutsche Telekom has announced plans to become the first European carrier to offer direct-to-smartphone (DTS) satellite connectivity via SpaceX’s upgraded Starlink Mobile V2 satellites, with a target launch date of 2028. The service would leverage Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) spectrum to deliver 5G-comparable speeds to remote and underserved areas across 10 European countries. The V2 Starlink satellites — already trackable in KeepTrack’s satellite catalog — carry significantly more powerful phased-array antennas than their predecessors, enabling the direct phone connectivity that makes this partnership viable. If regulatory approvals proceed on schedule, this would represent a major expansion of Starlink’s orbital footprint serving European users.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Iran Mission Depletes US Munition Stockpile, Lawmakers Eye Supplemental Funding

Military operations targeting Iran have consumed hundreds of offensive and defensive munitions, prompting serious concern among defense experts and lawmakers about near-term U.S. readiness. Space-based ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) assets — including military satellites in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) — played a central role in targeting and battle damage assessment throughout the campaign. Congressional leaders are now weighing supplemental defense funding packages to replenish stockpiles, with defense experts warning that the current drawdown creates a dangerous vulnerability window, particularly given simultaneous strategic pressures in the Indo-Pacific theater.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon Policy Chief Grilled by Senate Over National Defense Strategy Direction

Pentagon policy head Elbridge Colby faced pointed Senate questions over the direction of the National Defense Strategy (NDS), with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker accusing the document of downplaying the threat posed by China. “In effect, it obfuscates the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, and they are our pacing threat,” Wicker stated during the hearing. The strategic framing matters significantly for space: how the NDS characterizes China directly influences investment priorities for space domain awareness, missile warning satellites, and resilient military communications architecture — all areas where the Space Force is competing for budget authority in a constrained fiscal environment.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Trump Floats US Navy Escorts for Tankers in Strait of Hormuz

President Trump indicated that U.S. Navy vessels could be deployed to escort commercial tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint, amid elevated tensions following operations against Iran. The mission would echo Operation Prosperity Guardian, in which the U.S. Navy previously protected civilian shipping in the Red Sea. Naval escort operations of this scale depend heavily on overhead satellite communications (SATCOM) and space-based maritime domain awareness tools — including Automatic Identification System (AIS) data relayed through low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites — to monitor vessel movements and coordinate fleet assets across the region in real time.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Army’s NTC Tests Low-Tech Tactics Against High-Tech Battlefield Threats

Officers from the Army’s National Training Center (NTC) are reporting a notable tactical shift: in an era of ubiquitous drone surveillance and electronic warfare jamming, simple organizational structures and straightforward battle plans are outperforming complex, technology-dependent approaches. The lessons carry direct implications for space and cyber professionals supporting ground forces, as adversaries increasingly target satellite uplinks, GPS signals, and communications nodes to create the “high-tech chaos” NTC is stress-testing against. The findings reinforce the Space Force’s own emphasis on resilient, redundant architectures — ensuring that when a satellite or link goes down, warfighters can still fight.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

🛰️ Satellite Spotlight

• Satellite Name: FLOCK 4Q-36
• NORAD ID: 58274
• Launch Date: November 11, 2023
• Mission: Technology demonstration and Earth imaging as part of Planet Labs’ Dove constellation
• Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO)
• Operator: Planet Labs (PLAN)
• Fun Fact: FLOCK 4Q-36 is a 3U CubeSat equipped with a Dove 24c6 imaging payload, designed to capture high-resolution Earth observation data. Despite its small size (roughly 10 cm × 10 cm × 30 cm), it shares the same core imaging capabilities as much larger satellites and is part of a massive constellation of Earth-imaging spacecraft.

Track this satellite in real-time on our web app: Track FLOCK 4Q-36

🚀 Upcoming Space Launches

March 4

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-40 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (06:58 UTC) A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, supporting SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system.

March 5

• Space One KAIROS:
  • KAIROS Flight 3 from Spaceport Kii, Japan (02:10 UTC) Third flight of the KAIROS launch vehicle, carrying five satellites to Sun-Synchronous Orbit: TATARA-1R, SC-Sat1a, HErO, AETS-1, and Nutsat-3 (TASA/Taiwan).

March 7

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-18 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (10:58 UTC) A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, supporting SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system.

March 10

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • EchoStar 25 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (03:14 UTC) A high-power direct broadcast satellite built on the Maxar 1300 series platform, designed to deliver multi-spot beam content across North America for DISH customers.
• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-31 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (10:58 UTC) A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, supporting SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system.

March 12

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-48 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:00 UTC) A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, supporting SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system.

March 14

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-24 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:37 UTC) A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, supporting SpaceX’s space-based Internet communication system.

March 19

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:
  • Onward and Upward from Andøya Spaceport, Norway (00:00 UTC) (To Be Determined) Second test flight of the Isar Spectrum launch vehicle, carrying five CubeSats and one non-separable experiment as part of the European Space Agency’s “Boost!” program: CyBEEsat, TriSat-S, Platform 6, FramSat-1, SpaceTeamSat1, and the Let It Go experiment by Dcubed.

March 22

• Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) Soyuz 2.1a:
  • Progress MS-33 (94P) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (11:59 UTC) (To Be Confirmed) An uncrewed Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station, delivering cargo, fuel, and supplies to the orbiting laboratory.

March 24

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (00:00 UTC) (To Be Determined) This mission will launch two Pathfinder A satellites built by Thales Alenia Space and GMV to a 510 km orbit, serving as demonstrators for the European Space Agency’s LEO-PNT constellation — a low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing system designed to complement the Galileo and EGNOS constellations.

Note: Launch dates and times are subject to change due to technical or weather considerations.