Top Stories

SpaceX Wins $178.5M Space Force Contract for Missile Tracking Launches

SpaceX has been awarded a $178.5 million contract by the Space Force to launch missile tracking satellites beginning in 2027. The contract adds to SpaceX’s growing role in the national security launch market alongside its commercial manifest.

The satellites will contribute to the Pentagon’s proliferated missile warning and tracking architecture. Observers watching that constellation build out can monitor related assets directly in KeepTrack as they come online.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Pentagon Pays Raytheon $45M to Keep GPS Ground System Running While Reassessing Program Future

The Pentagon issued Raytheon a $45 million “unpriced change order” to support ongoing GPS satellite launches while officials reassess the long-delayed GPS ground system modernization effort. The program’s future direction has not been decided.

The GPS constellation currently consists of 31 operational satellites in medium Earth orbit. Delays in ground infrastructure directly affect how quickly new GPS III satellites can reach full operational capability once on orbit.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Space Force Creates SF/S9 Staff Group as Stand-In for Futures Command

CSO Gen. Chance Saltzman has signed a memo initiating the creation of SF/S9, a new HQ staff group intended to coordinate future force planning. The move has not yet been approved by Air Force Secretary Troy Meink.

The group would function as a surrogate Futures Command — an organizational gap that has complicated long-range acquisition and architecture planning for the service. Whether Meink signs off will determine if this moves forward.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Optical Terminals Remain a Hard Constraint on Pentagon’s Proliferated Constellation

GP Sandhoo, a key figure in Pentagon space architecture planning, stated directly: “From an optical communications terminal perspective, we’re not there yet on how many we need.” The shortage of laser comm terminals is limiting how effectively proliferated low-Earth orbit constellations can operate as a networked system.

Optical inter-satellite links are central to the Pentagon’s vision for resilient, jam-resistant comms across a distributed constellation. Without sufficient terminals on the ground and in space, the architecture’s connectivity advantages don’t fully materialize.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Trump FY2027 Budget Proposes $1 Trillion Defense Base, $350B More via Reconciliation

The White House FY2027 defense budget request, formally released Friday, puts base defense spending above $1 trillion for the first time. An additional $350 billion is expected through the budget reconciliation process, bringing the total toward $1.5 trillion.

For space programs, the scale of funding matters — Space Force modernization, missile defense architecture, and satellite communications have all been underfunded relative to stated requirements in recent years.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Tom Vice Named CEO of Astrion, Huntsville-Based Space Mission Assurance Firm

Tom Vice, former CEO of Sierra Space, has been named to lead Astrion. The Huntsville-based company focuses on systems engineering, integration, and space mission assurance for defense customers.

The hire places a high-profile commercial space executive into a firm operating at the technical assurance layer of national security space — the work that validates whether satellites and systems will actually perform as required.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Gulf Defense Market May Shift After Iran Conflict, CSIS Analysis Finds

A CSIS analysis by Alek Jovovic argues that Gulf states are reassessing their defense procurement priorities following the Iran conflict, potentially opening the market to new suppliers beyond traditional U.S. and European vendors.

Space-based ISR, missile warning, and communications capabilities are central to Gulf defense modernization efforts, making this a relevant demand signal for satellite and launch providers targeting that customer base.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

ANGELS

ANGELS is a 12U CubeSat developed by CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), France’s space agency, and manufactured by HEMER. Launched on December 18, 2019, aboard a Soyuz-ST-A rocket from French Guiana, this compact communications satellite represents the growing trend of using standardized CubeSat platforms for operational space missions. Despite its modest 27-kilogram mass and small dimensions, ANGELS was designed to demonstrate communications capabilities in a sun-synchronous orbit, a popular choice for Earth observation and communications applications that require consistent lighting conditions.

The satellite operates with deployable solar arrays and an onboard battery system to manage power in its near-polar orbit. With an initial two-year mission design, ANGELS serves as a testbed for communications technologies and orbital operations in the increasingly crowded LEO (Low Earth Orbit) environment. Its sun-synchronous inclination of 97.4° makes it particularly valuable for applications requiring predictable ground coverage patterns, making it an excellent case study for those tracking how traditional space agencies are leveraging small satellite technology alongside their larger platforms.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track ANGELS

Upcoming Space Launches

April 3

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5: Demo Flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (11:00 UTC) Russia’s new Soyuz-5 (also known as Irtysh) launch vehicle makes its demonstration flight carrying a mass simulator. The two-stage rocket, developed under Project Feniks to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium, is powered by 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

April 4

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551: Amazon Leo (LA-05) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (05:45 UTC) The sixth of nine Atlas V rockets purchased by Amazon will deploy a batch of satellites for the Amazon Leo (Kuiper) broadband internet constellation, aimed at delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity to underserved and remote areas globally. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 5

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-35 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (23:03 UTC) A batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1085 will fly for its 15th time, targeting a landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 7

• Northrop Grumman Space Systems Minotaur IV: STP-S29A from Space Launch Complex 8, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (00:00 UTC) A U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program mission delivering up to 200 kg of cubesats to low Earth orbit. The primary payload, STPSat-7, is an ESPA-class satellite hosting research and technology demonstration payloads for the DoD, including the Naval Research Laboratory’s LARADO instrument for detecting and characterizing non-trackable orbital debris using lasers.

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8: Unknown Payload from Commercial LC-1, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (13:24 UTC) Payload and mission details to be determined.

April 8

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Cygnus CRS-2 NG-24 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (12:51 UTC) A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft, named the S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the former NASA astronaut who flew four Space Shuttle missions and logged 723 hours in space, will deliver supplies to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program. Watch Live

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 6A: Unknown Payload from Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (19:30 UTC) Payload and mission details to be determined.

April 9

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-21 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:39 UTC) A batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1085 will fly for its 15th time, targeting a landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions. Watch Live

• Avio S.p.A Vega-C: Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) from Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (06:29 UTC) A joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, SMILE will study the dynamic interaction between Earth’s magnetosphere and the supersonic solar wind, helping scientists better understand our planet’s protective shield. The spacecraft will fly on a Vega-C rocket into an elliptical orbit. Watch Live

Schedule Changes

• Tianlong-3 Demo Flight status changed from Go for Launch to Launch Failure.
• Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-05) status updated from To Be Confirmed to Go for Launch.
• Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-58 has been marked Launch Successful and removed from the upcoming launch calendar.
• Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M | Meridian-M No.21L status updated to Launch in Flight, indicating the mission is currently underway.
• Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) has been newly added to the launch schedule, targeted for April 9, 2026 at 06:29 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre.

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