Top Stories

Vulcan Grounding Puts WGS-11 and Next-Gen OPIR Missions at Risk

ULA’s Vulcan rocket has been grounded, and the ripple effects are hitting Space Force and NRO launch schedules directly. The two missions most exposed are the Space Force WGS-11 communications satellite, which had been targeting a late-March launch window, and the Next-Gen OPIR GEO missile warning satellite.

Both are high-priority national security payloads with no obvious near-term backup launch option. WGS-11 is the latest in the Wideband Global SATCOM constellation — a series you can browse in KeepTrack. Any delay pushes protected military communications capacity further out. The OPIR slot is equally sensitive; it feeds missile warning data to combatant commanders.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

GSSAP Satellites Coordinate GEO Handoff to Watch China’s Shijian-29

Commercial tracking data has caught U.S. GSSAP satellites executing coordinated maneuvers in geostationary orbit to maintain continuous observation of China’s Shijian-29 pair. The handoff pattern — one GSSAP moving in as another moves off — indicates deliberate coverage overlap to avoid any gap in surveillance.

Shijian-29 is a Chinese spacecraft that has drawn scrutiny for its maneuvering behavior in GEO. The GSSAP constellation, operated by Space Force, is purpose-built for exactly this kind of proximity operations and space domain awareness mission. The fact that commercial tracking picked up the handoff geometry is a reminder of how much operational activity in GEO is now visible to non-government observers.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

MBDA Commits $5.8B to Missile Production Expansion

MBDA, Europe’s largest missile manufacturer, announced a $5.8 billion investment plan to scale up production capacity. CEO Eric Béranger framed the move as a response to sustained European rearmament demand.

The investment reflects how defense production bottlenecks — not just procurement budgets — have become the binding constraint for European militaries. For space and missile defense programs that rely on MBDA-produced interceptors and strike weapons, expanded industrial capacity matters directly.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Army Seeks Private Data Centers at Fort Bliss and Dugway Proving Ground

The Army is using its Enhanced Use Lease authority to bring private industry onto underused land at Fort Bliss, Texas, and Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, to build and operate large commercial data centers. Under this structure, the Army provides the land; contractors finance and run the facilities.

Dugway in particular is a notable location — it hosts sensitive test and evaluation activities. Bringing commercial cloud and compute infrastructure onto that footprint raises both capacity and security architecture questions that acquisition planners will need to resolve before contracts close.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Space Force Officer Argues Acquisition Failures Start With Program Manager Training

Space Force Maj. Reed “Jimi” Schafer published an op-ed arguing that chronic cost overruns and schedule delays in air and space programs trace back to inadequate training for program managers — and that reforming that training pipeline is the most direct fix available.

The argument is worth noting for KeepTrack’s defense contractor and acquisition community readers. Program managers control how requirements get translated into contracts and how schedule risk gets managed. If the training pipeline is producing PMs who lack the tools to hold programs to account, structural reform upstream is cheaper than repeated program rescues downstream.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Bipartisan Bill Would Tie Defense Contractor Dividends and Buybacks to Performance

A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress would permanently bar defense contractors from paying dividends or executing stock buybacks unless they meet specific yearly performance thresholds. The bill would make permanent restrictions that have previously been applied on a temporary or contract-specific basis.

For major satellite and space systems primes — companies like Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin — this would create direct financial pressure to hit delivery milestones. Programs like GPS III, Next-Gen OPIR, and others already running behind schedule would put those companies’ shareholder returns at legal risk.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

NUSAT-32 (ALBANIA-1)

NUSAT-32, also known as Albania-1, is a compact Earth observation satellite manufactured by URUGUS and launched on January 3, 2023, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. This small satellite, weighing just 41.5 kilograms, was designed to deliver imaging capabilities and amateur radio services through its integrated LUSEX U/V linear transponder payload. Despite its modest size—roughly the dimensions of a small box at 0.813 meters—it represented an important step in democratizing space-based Earth observation, bringing remote sensing capabilities to emerging space nations.

The satellite operated in a sun-synchronous near-polar orbit and was designed with an ambitious 3-to-4-year mission life. However, NUSAT-32 has since decayed from orbit, completing its operational service. Its launch exemplified the growing trend of responsive space and smallsat constellations, where nations and organizations can deploy capable imaging platforms quickly and affordably using commercial launch vehicles. The mission demonstrated URUGUS’s engineering capability and contributed valuable data during its active period.

Learn more about this satellite: View NUSAT-32 (ALBANIA-1)

Upcoming Space Launches

March 28

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (09:14 UTC) The first flight of ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT navigation program, launching two pathfinder satellites — IOD-1 and IOD-2 — into a 510 km circular polar orbit. This mission kicks off an eventual 11-satellite constellation designed to complement existing GNSS assets like Galileo and EGNOS, improving resilience and positioning accuracy in low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:

  • Onward and Upward from Orbital Launch Pad, Andøya Spaceport (20:00 UTC) The second test flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, carrying 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. Payload integration and deployment is managed by Exolaunch. The mission was previously delayed from January due to a pressurization valve issue. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 29

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:

  • Amazon Leo (LA-05) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (07:53 UTC) The sixth of nine Atlas V rockets contracted by Amazon to launch satellites for its Project Kuiper broadband internet constellation. The Atlas V 551 configuration features five solid rocket boosters and a 5-meter fairing, providing the heavy-lift performance needed to deploy the LEO broadband satellites. Amazon aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet access to underserved and remote areas globally. Watch Live Launch Preview

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5:

  • Demo Flight from Launch Complex 45/1, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (11:00 UTC) The demonstration flight of Russia’s new Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle, flying with a mass simulator in place of a live payload. Soyuz-5 is designed to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium rockets, featuring an RD-171MV engine on its first stage and two RD-0124MS engines on its second stage, capable of lifting 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit. Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-44 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (21:15 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites. Booster B1081 will attempt its 23rd landing on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 30

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Transporter 16 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare) from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (10:20 UTC) A dedicated smallsat rideshare mission to Sun-synchronous orbit carrying dozens of payloads from multiple customers, including 57 payloads managed by German integrator Exolaunch and 19 payloads from Texas-based Seops Space. Watch Live Launch Preview

March 31

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 2C:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603), Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (TBD) Mission details have not been disclosed.

• LandSpace Zhuque-2E:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 96A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (TBD) Mission details have not been disclosed. Zhuque-2E is an enhanced methane-fueled rocket capable of lifting 6,000 kg to low Earth orbit, featuring upgraded TQ-12A engines on the first stage and a new TQ-15A engine on the second stage.

• Blue Origin New Glenn:

  • BlueBird Block 2 #2 from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (TBD) AST SpaceMobile’s second Block 2 BlueBird satellite (FM2), featuring a communications array of up to 2,400 square feet — among the largest ever deployed commercially in low Earth orbit. The Block 2 series delivers up to 10 times the bandwidth of the original BlueBird Block 1 satellites, supporting voice, data, and video at speeds up to 120 Mbps.

Schedule Changes

• Rocket Lab Electron | Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A): Status updated from To Be Determined to To Be Confirmed, indicating the mission is now tentatively scheduled.
• Isar Aerospace Spectrum | Onward and Upward: Status downgraded from Go for Launch to To Be Confirmed, suggesting the previously firm launch date is now under review.
• LandSpace Zhuque-2E | Unknown Payload: Status downgraded from Go for Launch to To Be Determined, indicating the launch date is no longer firm and details are pending.
• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-17: Marked Launch Successful and removed from the upcoming launch calendar.
• Long March 2C/YZ-1S | Shiyan 33: Marked Launch Successful and removed from the upcoming launch calendar.

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