Top Stories

Space Force Pulls GPS III from Vulcan, Hands Launch to Falcon 9

ULA’s Vulcan Centaur has been grounded since February under the National Security Space Launch program. The grounding stems from persistent problems with its solid rocket boosters, and the investigation is still open. Rather than wait, Space Force reassigned the GPS III satellite launch to SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

This is a direct operational consequence of Vulcan’s reliability issues. GPS III satellites are critical navigation assets tracked globally. You can follow active GPS constellation members on KeepTrack using the satellite catalog — search the GPS operational constellation to see current coverage geometry.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon’s Space Data Network Is the Backbone of Golden Dome

The Pentagon’s Space Data Network is designed to move missile warning and tracking data from space-based sensors to interceptors in near-real time. It’s the communications layer that makes the Golden Dome missile defense construct functional — without it, sensor data doesn’t reach shooters fast enough to matter.

The SDN is less visible than the interceptors themselves but more foundational. For KeepTrack users focused on missile warning satellites, the assets feeding this network — including SBIRS and Next-Gen OPIR — are trackable in the catalog.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Rocket Lab Wins $190M DoD Contract for 20 HASTE Hypersonic Test Launches

The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Rocket Lab a $190 million contract for 20 suborbital launches using the HASTE rocket. HASTE — Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron — is a variant of Electron configured for hypersonic technology testing missions.

Twenty launches at that contract value puts the per-flight cost around $9.5 million. This is a meaningful volume deal for Rocket Lab’s defense business and signals sustained DoD demand for affordable suborbital test platforms.

Read the full story: Space.com

Hubble Caught Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) Disintegrating in Real Time

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) breaking apart — an unplanned observation that produced rare imagery of active cometary fragmentation. The event was not a scheduled target; Hubble happened to be positioned to image it.

Cometary breakups can produce debris fields that are worth monitoring for orbital context, though this object is on a solar approach trajectory and not a debris concern for Earth orbit. The imagery itself is scientifically valuable for understanding comet composition and structural failure modes.

Read the full story: Space.com

Elbit Systems Confirmed Airborne High-Power Laser Contract Signed in 2025

Elbit Systems CEO Bezhalel Machlis disclosed a 2025 contract to integrate a high-powered laser weapon onto an aircraft during an investor meeting. He acknowledged the technical difficulty of mounting precision directed-energy systems on airborne platforms — thermal management, beam quality, and pointing stability are all harder in flight than on the ground.

No platform or customer was named publicly. Airborne laser weapons have failed before — the U.S. Airborne Laser program was cancelled in 2012 — but component technology has improved substantially since then.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

India Exploring Entry into European Sixth-Generation Fighter Programs

India is reportedly seeking to join either GCAP (the UK-Italy-Japan program) or FCAS (the France-Germany-Spain program) as a development partner. Defense analysts say joining at this stage is unlikely — both programs are past their formative architecture phases, and integrating a new partner would add schedule and political complexity.

Neither program has confirmed India’s approach. For context, GCAP is targeting a 2035 operational date and FCAS has already had significant internal partner friction between France and Germany.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

SYNCOM 3

Launched in 1966, SYNCOM 3 was a pioneering synchronous communications satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force Satellite Communications Division. This spacecraft represented a major milestone in satellite communications technology, demonstrating the viability of stationary orbit platforms for relaying signals across vast distances. Equipped with a single X-band transponder, SYNCOM 3 could handle multiple communication channels simultaneously, making it invaluable for both military and civilian applications during the Cold War era.

The satellite’s 45 kg payload was lofted aboard a Titan IIIC booster from Cape Canaveral, placing it in a near-geostationary orbit with an 8.27° inclination. While not perfectly stationary, this orbit was sufficient for the satellite’s communications mission. SYNCOM 3 belonged to a series of experimental synchronous satellites that paved the way for modern geostationary communications infrastructure. Today, this piece of space history reminds us of the rapid evolution in satellite technology and the early foundations of the global telecommunications network we rely on.

Learn more about this satellite: View SYNCOM 3

Upcoming Space Launches

March 22

• Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS) Soyuz 2.1a:

  • Progress MS-33 (94P) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, Launch Complex 31/6 (11:59 UTC) Roscosmos will launch a Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying the Progress MS-33 (Progress 94) uncrewed cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-62 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA, Space Launch Complex 40 (14:43 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3:

  • Unknown Payload from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, Haiyang offshore launch location (15:39 UTC) Smart Dragon-3 is a solid-fueled commercial orbital rocket developed by a subsidiary of CASC. Payload details are currently unavailable.

March 23

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:
  • Onward and Upward from Andøya Spaceport, Orbital Launch Pad (20:00 UTC) Spectrum’s second test flight, carrying five CubeSats: CyBEEsat (TU Berlin), TriSat-S (University of Maribor), Platform 6 (EnduroSat), FramSat-1 (NTNU), and SpaceTeamSat1 (TU Wien Space Team), plus 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 Launch Preview

March 24

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-17 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA, Space Launch Complex 4E (23:03 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 25

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand, Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A (09:14 UTC) A dedicated mission for the European Space Agency (ESA) launching two inaugural satellites — IOD-1 and IOD-2 — for the Celeste LEO-PNT constellation. This new European navigation system is designed to complement Galileo, EGNOS, and other Global Navigation Satellite System assets, ultimately growing to an 11-satellite constellation in a 510 km circular orbit to improve positioning, navigation, and timing resilience.

March 26

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-44 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA, Space Launch Complex 40 (11:22 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

March 27

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5:
  • Demo Flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan, Launch Complex 45/1 (11:00 UTC) The maiden demonstration flight of Russia’s new Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle, carrying a mass simulator payload. Soyuz-5 is a two-stage rocket powered by an RD-171MV engine on its first stage, capable of delivering up to 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit. It is intended to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium rockets and is being developed by JSC SRC Progress under Roscosmos.

Schedule Changes

• New Launch Added: Soyuz-5 | Demo Flight has been added to the manifest, currently To Be Confirmed for March 27, 2026 at 11:00 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome.
• Launch Successful: Rocket Lab Electron | Eight Days A Week (StriX Launch 8) has been marked as a successful launch and removed from the upcoming calendar.
• Launch Successful: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-15 has been marked as a successful launch and removed from the upcoming calendar.
• Status Upgrade: Rocket Lab Electron | Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) has moved from To Be Confirmed to Go for Launch, now scheduled for March 25, 2026.

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