Top Stories

ESA’s Proba-3 Goes Dark, Formation-Flying Mission at Risk

One of ESA’s two Proba-3 spacecraft suffered an anomaly last month and has gone silent. The mission depends on precise formation flying between both satellites to artificially create solar eclipses for coronagraph science — losing one spacecraft effectively grounds the entire experiment.

No recovery timeline has been confirmed. Track both Proba-3 objects in KeepTrack to monitor any orbital changes that might indicate recovery or deorbit activity.

Read the full story: Space.com

AFRL Awards BlackSky Up to $99M for Large Optical Surveillance Payload

The Air Force Research Laboratory contracted BlackSky to develop a large segmented optical system for future surveillance satellites. The contract ceiling is $99 million. The program is structured as a technology demonstration — AFRL is testing whether segmented optics can deliver the aperture size needed for next-generation ISR without a monolithic mirror.

BlackSky’s existing commercial imaging fleet operates in low Earth orbit. This contract moves them into experimental military payload territory, distinct from their current imaging business.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Baikonur Site 31/6 Repaired, Progress MS-33 Cargo Mission Cleared

Russia has completed repairs to Launch Pad 31/6 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, reopening the path for the Progress MS-33 resupply mission to the ISS. The pad had been taken offline following damage that disrupted the launch schedule.

Progress MS-33 will deliver cargo to the ISS aboard a Soyuz-2.1a. With Site 31/6 back online, Russia now has redundant Soyuz launch capability at Baikonur restored.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

NASA Picks ULA’s Centaur 5 as SLS Upper Stage Replacement

NASA has formally contracted ULA to supply Centaur 5 as the new upper stage for the Space Launch System. The first flight configuration will debut on Artemis 4. Centaur 5 has flown successfully on all four Vulcan missions since 2024, using RL-10 engines and a liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen propellant combination.

The current SLS Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, built by Boeing, will be retired after Artemis 3. Centaur 5 offers higher performance margins needed for the crewed lunar orbit missions planned from Artemis 4 onward.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

Rocket Factory Augsburg Targets Summer 2026 for First Launch

German launch startup RFA has delivered two of its rocket stages to the launch site and is targeting its first orbital attempt this summer. RFA is developing the RFA One small launch vehicle, a three-stage rocket designed to carry up to 1,300 kg to low Earth orbit from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland.

This would be the first orbital launch attempt from UK soil if RFA reaches the pad this summer. The company has been developing RFA One since 2018.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Trump Meeting With Defense CEOs Targets Quadrupled Munitions Output

President Trump met with defense company executives at the White House and announced plans to quadruple production of what he called “exquisite” weapons systems. It is not confirmed whether the meeting produced binding commitments beyond previously announced production agreements.

The meeting included major prime contractors. Specific program names and production targets were not formally disclosed.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

ZLZB

Launched in March 2020 aboard a Chang Zheng 2C rocket, this Chinese satellite remains somewhat mysterious in its operational details. With a reported launch mass of 500 kg and a box-plus-panel configuration, ZLZB is believed to be engaged in signals intelligence (SIGINT) activities, though China has not formally disclosed its specific mission parameters. The satellite operates from Xichang Launch Center and was manufactured by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SECM), one of China’s primary spacecraft builders.

The satellite’s 34.99° orbital inclination places it in a mid-latitude Earth observation band, ideal for monitoring regions of strategic interest across Asia and beyond. Its continued operations make it a regular fixture in satellite tracking databases and a notable example of China’s expanding reconnaissance constellation. For space domain awareness analysts, ZLZB represents part of the broader modernization of Chinese intelligence-gathering capabilities in orbit.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track ZLZB

Upcoming Space Launches

March 8

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-18 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (10:58 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097 flying for its seventh time will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 10

• Firefly Aerospace Firefly Alpha:

  • Stairway to Seven from Space Launch Complex 2W, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (00:50 UTC) Return-to-flight mission for Firefly Alpha following an anomaly during Alpha Flight 6. The vehicle will carry a test demo payload and validate new systems ahead of the Block 2 configuration debuting on Alpha Flight 8. Delayed from February 18, 27, and 28. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • EchoStar 25 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (03:14 UTC) Launch of EchoStar’s EchoStar 25 direct broadcast satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit. The mission is a collaboration between EchoStar, its subsidiary Dish, and Lanteris Space Systems — a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines. Booster B1085 will fly for a record 14th time, landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live

March 11

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-31 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (10:58 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 12

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-48 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:00 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 15

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-24 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:37 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-46 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (11:11 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 18

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-33 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:57 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-15 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) Batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 19

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:
  • Onward and Upward from Orbital Launch Pad, Andøya Spaceport, Norway (20:00 UTC) Second test flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum small launch vehicle. The rocket will carry six payloads: CyBEEsat (TU Berlin), TriSat-S (University of Maribor), Platform 6 (EnduroSat), FramSat-1 (NTNU), SpaceTeamSat1 (TU Wien Space Team), and the “Let it Go” experiment from Dcubed. Exolaunch is managing payload integration and deployment. Delayed from January 21 due to a pressurization valve issue. Watch Live

March 22

• Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) Soyuz 2.1a:
  • Progress MS-33 (94P) from Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (11:59 UTC) Uncrewed Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.

March 24

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (TBD) European Space Agency mission launching two Pathfinder A satellites built by Thales Alenia Space and GMV to a 510 km orbit. The LEO-PNT demonstration will assess how a low Earth orbit constellation can complement Europe’s Galileo and EGNOS navigation systems in higher orbits, paving the way for a 10-satellite demonstration constellation.

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