Top Stories

Space Force’s $1.8B Andromeda Program Taps 14 Firms to Replace GSSAP

Space Force has selected 14 companies to compete for task orders under the Andromeda program — formerly known as RG-XX — with a $1.8 billion ceiling running through April 2036. The program is designed to replace GSSAP, the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program, with commercial satellites performing the same neighborhood watch mission in GEO.

GSSAP birds have been the primary U.S. tool for up-close inspection and characterization of objects in geosynchronous orbit. Shifting that mission to commercial providers under rolling competitive task orders gives Space Force flexibility on cost and capability, but introduces questions about continuity of coverage. You can track current GSSAP satellites in KeepTrack to see their operational orbits.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon Builds Strategy Around Commercial Satellites as Combat Assets

The Pentagon has moved past the question of whether commercial space matters in conflict. It is now building doctrine and acquisition strategy around commercial satellites as active components of warfighting infrastructure.

The Andromeda program is one data point. Broader efforts to integrate commercial imagery, communications, and space domain awareness into operational planning reflect a structural shift in how DoD thinks about space resilience. A distributed commercial layer is harder to target than a small constellation of expensive government birds — that tradeoff is now driving procurement decisions.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

UK Tracked Russian Submarine Trio Conducting Covert Undersea Cable Operation

British Defense Secretary John Healey stated that the UK and allies tracked “every mile” of a covert Russian submarine deployment involving one Akula-class attack submarine and two GUGI deep-sea research submarines. The operation was assessed as threatening undersea cable infrastructure.

GUGI — Russia’s Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research — operates specialized submarines designed for seabed intervention. Their presence alongside an Akula-class boat indicates both offensive capability and persistent surveillance of critical undersea infrastructure. Space-based signals intelligence and maritime patrol assets are central to this kind of tracking mission.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Army’s $19B RDT&E Budget Prioritizes FLRAA, THAAD, and Hypersonics

The Army’s research, development, test, and evaluation budget approaches $19 billion, with the largest shares going to FLRAA (the next-generation assault aircraft), THAAD missile defense, hypersonic weapons development, counter-drone systems, and M-SHORAD short-range air defense.

THAAD and counter-drone investments are directly tied to space — THAAD’s fire control relies on satellite-based early warning, and counter-UAS systems increasingly depend on space-enabled ISR for cueing. Hypersonic weapons tracking also drives demand for new overhead persistent infrared architecture.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Navy Awards Leidos and Defense Unicorns OTA Contracts for Ship Software Prototypes

The Navy selected Leidos and Defense Unicorns to test software prototypes for shipboard systems under an Other Transaction Agreement. Testing will take place in a lab-based environment before any potential fleet deployment.

OTA contracts allow faster iteration outside standard FAR acquisition rules. Defense Unicorns, known for its work on DoD Platform One and Kubernetes-based DevSecOps tooling, brings software delivery infrastructure expertise. The lab-based testing phase keeps risk contained while the Navy evaluates operational fit.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Heritage Foundation Analysts Flag China’s Dual-Use Maritime Infrastructure as Undertracked Threat

Brent Sadler and Allen Zhang of The Heritage Foundation argue in a Breaking Defense op-ed that the Pentagon’s existing dual-use technology tracking fails to adequately cover Chinese maritime infrastructure — ports, shipping networks, and logistics nodes that could support military operations.

The argument mirrors concerns already embedded in Space Force planning: civilian infrastructure — including commercial satellite constellations — can be repurposed for military use with little warning. China’s dual-use space assets, including remote sensing and communications satellites operated by nominally civilian entities, present the same classification problem in orbit as dual-use ports do at sea.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Space Symposium Preview: Pringle on International Space Collaboration

Heather Pringle, retired USAF Major General and current CEO of the Space Foundation, spoke with SpaceNews ahead of Space Symposium about the trajectory of international space cooperation. The annual symposium in Colorado Springs is a primary venue where government, military, and commercial space leadership align on policy and strategy.

Pringle’s perspective as both a former Space Command official and industry leader makes her commentary worth tracking for signals on where allied space coordination — particularly with Five Eyes partners — may be heading in 2026.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Satellite of the Day

FALCONSAT

FALCONSAT, also known as Falconsat-1, is an experimental satellite built and operated by the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) as a hands-on learning platform for cadets. Launched on January 27, 2000, aboard a Minotaur I rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, this compact 15-kilogram satellite was designed to give future Air Force officers real-world experience in satellite operations and mission management. Despite its small size—just a 0.6-meter cube—FALCONSAT carried the CHAWS-LD experimental payload and demonstrated that academy-built satellites could successfully reach orbit and operate in the challenging space environment.

More than two decades after launch, FALCONSAT remains in a polar orbit and continues to be tracked by the space situational awareness community. Its longevity is a testament to solid engineering and the robustness of its design. The satellite’s mission pioneered the “smallsat” educational model that has since inspired dozens of universities and military academies to develop their own orbital platforms. For satellite trackers, FALCONSAT represents a historic milestone in military space education and an enduring presence in low Earth orbit.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track FALCONSAT

Upcoming Space Launches

April 11

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-21 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (02:39 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Booster B1063 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean on its 32nd flight. Watch Live Launch Preview

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3:

  • Unknown Payload from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, South China Sea Launch Location 3 (11:22 UTC) Details not yet available. Smart Dragon-3 is a commercial solid-fuel orbital rocket developed by a subsidiary of CASC.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Cygnus CRS-2 NG-24 (S.S. Steven R. Nagel) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (11:41 UTC) A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft will deliver supplies to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program. The vehicle is named S.S. Steven R. Nagel in honor of the NASA astronaut who logged 723 hours in space across four Space Shuttle missions. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 14

• CAS Space Kinetica 1:

  • Unknown Payload from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Launch Area 130 (03:54 UTC) Details not yet available. Kinetica 1 (Lijian-1) is a Chinese solid-propellant light launch vehicle developed by CAS Space, capable of delivering approximately 2 tonnes to low Earth orbit.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-24 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (06:13 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Booster B1063 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You on its 32nd flight. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 15

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-27 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (02:00 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 16

• Blue Origin New Glenn:
  • BlueBird Block 2 #2 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Launch Complex 36A (10:45 UTC) The second satellite in AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation BlueBird constellation, designed to provide space-based cellular broadband connectivity for commercial and government customers. This will be the third flight of the New Glenn rocket. Booster recovery intentions have not been confirmed by Blue Origin for this mission.

April 18

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-22 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

April 22

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (02:00 UTC) A batch of 25 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, SpaceX’s space-based internet communication system. Watch Live

April 23

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • Kakushin Rising (JAXA Rideshare) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (time TBD) A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency-manifested rideshare mission carrying eight satellites to sun-synchronous orbit, including educational small satellites, an ocean monitoring satellite, a multispectral camera demonstrator, and OrigamiSat-2 — a deployable antenna using origami folding techniques that can expand to 25 times its packed size. The payloads were originally planned to fly on a Japanese Epsilon-S rocket but were transferred following launch vehicle delays. The eight satellites are: MAGNARO-II, KOSEN-2R, WASEDA-SAT-ZERO-II, FSI-SAT2, OrigamiSat-2, Mono-Nikko, ARICA-2, and PRELUDE.

Schedule Changes

• Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-14 has been newly added to the manifest, scheduled for launch on April 22, 2026 at 02:00 UTC from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E.
• Electron | Kakushin Rising (JAXA Rideshare) has been newly added to the manifest with a To Be Determined status, currently listed for April 23, 2026 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand.

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