Top Stories

U.S. GSSAP Satellites Execute GEO Handoff to Track China’s Shijian-29

Commercial space tracking data shows U.S. Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) satellites executing coordinated maneuvers in geostationary orbit to maintain continuous observation of a pair of Chinese Shijian-29 spacecraft. The handoff approach — where one GSSAP satellite passes observation responsibility to another — indicates the U.S. is treating Shijian-29 as a priority surveillance target with no gaps in coverage.

Shijian-class satellites have a history of ambiguous dual-use behavior in GEO. The fact that this is visible in commercial tracking data means the maneuvers themselves aren’t being concealed — the operational message is as much about signaling as it is about intelligence collection. Users can monitor GEO activity directly in KeepTrack using the satellite tracking tools.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Trump FY27 Budget Request Arrives April 3, with $1.5T Defense Number Still Unclear

The White House will deliver its FY27 budget request on April 3, per the Office of Management and Budget. President Trump has indicated a target of $1.5 trillion in defense funding, but the OMB has not confirmed whether that figure covers only the base budget or includes supplemental appropriations.

The distinction matters. If $1.5T is base-only, it would be a sharp departure from current spending levels. If it folds in supplementals — including costs from ongoing operations against Iran — the real baseline increase could be significantly smaller than the headline number suggests.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon Comptroller Weighs Exercise Cuts to Fund Iran Operations

Pentagon comptroller lead Jules Hurst is publicly addressing how DoD plans to absorb the costs of operations against Iran — including potential cuts to military exercises and rising fuel expenditures. A supplemental appropriation is being discussed but no timeline has been confirmed.

Exercise cuts would have downstream effects on space and cyber readiness, both of which depend heavily on joint training events that don’t have obvious substitutes in wartime budget crunches.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

State Department Clears $340M FMS Sale for Hypersonic Missile Test Support to Japan

The State Department approved a $340 million Foreign Military Sale to Japan covering hypersonic missile testing support equipment. Japan has separately budgeted $769 million for its Hypersonic Gliding Projectile (HVGP) program in fiscal year 2026, which begins April 1.

The FMS approval covers test infrastructure, not the weapons themselves, but it accelerates Japan’s path to an independent hypersonic strike capability. For space tracking purposes, hypersonic test vehicles are a growing category of objects that require dedicated sensor coverage distinct from standard orbital tracking.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Norway Proposes $11.8B Defense Spending Boost Through 2035, Cancels Drone Program

Norway announced a proposed additional $11.8 billion in defense spending through 2035, targeting F-35 procurement with AARGM-ER munitions integration, plus accelerated submarine and frigate acquisitions. One unnamed drone program was cancelled as part of the restructuring.

The funding announcement reflects the broader Nordic shift toward heavy conventional capability over lighter unmanned systems — a reversal of a procurement trend that dominated the previous decade.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Judge Blocks Anthropic’s Pentagon Ban, But DoD Says Restriction Stands

Federal Judge Rita Lin granted Anthropic a preliminary injunction against its designation as a supply chain risk by the Pentagon, writing that the record “strongly suggests” the designation was pretextual retaliation rather than a legitimate security determination. Despite the injunction, the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer stated the ban remains in effect.

The case is now in direct conflict — a federal court saying the designation is likely unlawful, and DoD refusing to lift it. The outcome will affect how AI vendors assess the risk of working with defense clients on classified or sensitive contracts.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

Syncom 3

Syncom 3 was a pioneering commercial communications satellite launched by the U.S. Air Force Satellite Service Division in 1966, continuing the legacy of the earlier Syncom program that revolutionized global telecommunications. Carrying a single X-band transponder, this satellite was designed to relay long-distance voice, data, and television signals across vast distances—a critical capability during the early space age when such communications were still experimental. The Syncom series demonstrated that satellites could maintain a fixed position over the Earth (geostationary orbit), making them far more practical for continuous coverage than their lower-orbiting predecessors.

At 45 kilograms and positioned in an 8.5° inclination orbit, Syncom 3 represented a compact yet capable design for its era. Built by Philco Ford and launched aboard a Titan IIIC rocket from Cape Canaveral, this satellite helped pave the way for the modern geostationary communications infrastructure we rely on today. The icosahedral polyhedron shape was characteristic of the Syncom design, chosen to optimize thermal stability and antenna performance in the harsh space environment. Though long since retired, Syncom 3 remains a landmark achievement in space-based communications history.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track Syncom 3

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 mission for ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT programme, deploying two pathfinder satellites (IOD-1 and IOD-2) into a 510 km circular polar orbit. This is the inaugural flight of what will become an 11-satellite constellation designed to complement Galileo, EGNOS, and other Global Navigation Satellite System assets with low Earth orbit positioning, navigation, and timing services. 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 missions contracted by Amazon, this flight carries a batch of broadband internet satellites for the Amazon Leo low Earth orbit constellation, which aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity to underserved and remote regions globally. Watch Live Launch Preview

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5:

  • Demo Flight from 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 payload. Soyuz-5 is designed to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium and can lift 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit, powered by an RD-171MV engine on its first stage. 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) Launching 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1067 will fly for its 34th time, targeting a landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. 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 customer satellites, including 57 payloads integrated by German company Exolaunch and 19 payloads from Texas-based Seops Space. Watch Live Launch Preview

• Space Pioneer Tianlong-3:

  • Demo Flight from Tianlong-3 Launch Pad, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (10:52 UTC) The first test launch of Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3, a large reusable rocket capable of lifting 17,000 kg to low Earth orbit. Reports suggest the mission may carry an initial batch of satellites for the SpaceSail/G60/Qianfan LEO communications constellation.

March 31

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum:

  • Onward and Upward from Orbital Launch Pad, Andøya Spaceport, Norway (time to be determined) The second test flight of Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum rocket, 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. Watch Live Launch Preview

• LandSpace Zhuque-2E:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 96A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (time to be determined) Mission details are to be confirmed. Zhuque-2E is an enhanced methane/liquid oxygen rocket capable of lifting 6,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

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

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 94, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (time to be determined) Mission details are to be confirmed.

• Blue Origin New Glenn:

  • BlueBird Block 2 #2 from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (time to be determined) Launching BlueBird Block 2 FM2 for AST SpaceMobile. The Block 2 BlueBird satellites deliver up to 10 times the bandwidth of Block 1, featuring communications arrays as large as 2,400 square feet — making them the largest commercial satellites ever deployed in low Earth orbit — supporting 24/7 cellular broadband coverage across the United States.

• CAS Space Kinetica 2:

  • Qingzhou Spacecraft Demo Flight from Launch Area 140, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (time to be determined) The debut launch of CAS Space’s Kinetica-2 reusable rocket, simultaneously marking the first flight of the Qingzhou cargo resupply spacecraft. The mission demonstrates future commercial cargo transport capability to the Chinese Tiangong Space Station under contract from the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO).

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 12B:

  • Demo Flight from Long March 12 Series Pad, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (time to be determined) The maiden flight of the Long March 12B, a reusable orbital launch vehicle derived from the Long March 12 but extensively redesigned for first-stage recovery. The first stage is powered by nine YF-102R engines and will target a downrange landing pad in Minqin County, Gansu Province. Capable of lifting 20,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

April 1

• Russian Space Forces Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M:
  • Meridian-M No.21L from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation (02:00 UTC) Launch of a Meridian-M communications satellite serving both military and civilian users. The payload identity has not been officially confirmed. The Soyuz 2.1a features a digital flight control system and uprated engines for improved performance and launch flexibility.

Schedule Changes

• Rocket Lab Electron | Daughter Of The Stars (LEO-PNT Pathfinder A): Status upgraded from To Be Confirmed to Go for Launch.
• Isar Aerospace Spectrum | Onward and Upward: Status downgraded from To Be Confirmed to To Be Determined, indicating increased schedule uncertainty.
• Four new launches added to the manifest:
  • Space Pioneer Tianlong-3 | Demo Flight — scheduled for March 30, 2026 at 10:52 UTC (Go for Launch).
  • CAS Space Kinetica 2 | Qingzhou Spacecraft Demo Flight — added to March 31, 2026 (To Be Determined).
  • China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 12B | Demo Flight — added to March 31, 2026 (To Be Determined).
  • Russian Space Forces Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M | Meridian-M No.21L — added for April 1, 2026 at 02:00 UTC (Go for Launch).

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