Top Stories

New Glenn Flies a Reused Booster for the First Time on Mission 3

Blue Origin launched New Glenn for the third time on April 19, using a previously flown booster stage for the first time in the rocket’s history. The mission follows its second flight by just over five months. This is the first reuse demonstration for New Glenn’s first stage, which Blue Origin has been recovering since the program’s debut.

Booster reuse changes the operational tempo math for any launch provider. Watch for this vehicle in the catalog as New Glenn builds its on-orbit track record.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

NorthStar Eyes SPAC Merger to Fund Space-Based SSA Expansion

NorthStar Earth and Space is merging with Viking Acquisition Corp. I, a publicly listed shell company, to raise capital for expanding its space-based sensor network. The company’s core business is space situational awareness — tracking objects in orbit using satellites rather than ground-based radar or telescopes.

More sensors in orbit means more independent tracking data, which directly competes with and complements what ground networks provide. For KeepTrack users relying on catalog completeness, a better-funded NorthStar SSA network is worth watching.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX Targets 600th Falcon Booster Landing on Starlink 17-22

SpaceX launched 25 Starlink satellites on the Starlink 17-22 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base pad 4E, with liftoff scheduled at 10:33:40 UTC on April 18. The mission also marked an attempt at the 600th Falcon 9 booster landing — a cumulative milestone across the entire Falcon fleet.

Starlink 17-22 adds to Shell 17, which operates in a distinct orbital plane from the main Starlink constellation. Track newly launched Starlink batches in KeepTrack as they maneuver to operational altitude over the days following insertion.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

NASA Picks Falcon Heavy to Launch ESA’s ExoMars Rover — Then Proposes Cutting Its Own Funding

NASA selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, while simultaneously proposing in its budget request to cancel U.S. contributions to the mission. The contradiction puts ESA in an awkward position: a launch vehicle is chosen, but the American funding that would support it may not materialize.

If NASA’s contribution is cut, ESA would need to find alternative funding or renegotiate the mission scope. Falcon Heavy’s manifest and the rover’s launch window will determine how much time ESA has to resolve the gap.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Artemis 2 and Tiangong Crews Set Record for Farthest Human Separation

On April 6, the four Artemis 2 astronauts en route to the Moon and the three crew members aboard China’s Tiangong space station were farther apart from each other than any humans in history. The geometry — with Artemis 2 deep in cislunar space and Tiangong in low Earth orbit — produced the record separation for a brief window during the lunar flyby trajectory.

Tiangong currently hosts three crew. Track Tiangong to see its current position relative to other crewed platforms.

Read the full story: Space.com

Space Force’s ‘Commercial First’ Doctrine Takes Shape Under Col. Trimailo

Col. Tim Trimailo outlined how the Space Force is operationalizing its commercial-first acquisition posture in a conversation with SpaceNews. The service is pushing to use commercial satellites and services as the default before turning to purpose-built military systems — a shift that directly affects how national security payloads get procured and hosted.

The doctrine has real implications for which commercial operators end up in the national security supply chain and how orbital slots get prioritized for dual-use missions.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Vast Reveals Flight Suit and Large Docking Adapter for Haven-1 Station

Vast unveiled an astronaut flight suit and a Large Docking Adapter designed for its Haven-1 commercial space station. The docking adapter is built to accommodate multiple vehicle types, which matters for a commercial station trying to attract customers beyond a single launch provider.

Haven-1 is targeting launch on a Falcon 9 with a crew arriving via Dragon. Hardware reveals at this stage suggest Vast is moving from paper designs toward flight-ready components.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

Satellite of the Day

NAVSTAR 1 (Navigation Technology Satellite 1)

NAVSTAR 1 holds a special place in space history as one of the earliest satellites in what would become the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation. Launched by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on October 28, 1977, from the Air Force Western Test Range, this pioneering spacecraft was designed to validate the navigation and technology concepts that underpin modern GPS. Built by Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and weighing just 92 kilograms, NAVSTAR 1 carried a Transit transponder and SATRACK transponder to test real-time positioning and tracking capabilities during the development phase of what was then called the NAVSTAR system.

The satellite’s near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit at 89.6° inclination made it ideal for testing navigation signals across diverse geographic regions. Though NAVSTAR 1 itself no longer transmits, its mission data proved essential in demonstrating that satellite-based navigation could work reliably—paving the way for the operational GPS system that launched throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the constellation it helped validate serves billions of devices worldwide, making this modest spacecraft an unsung hero of the space age.

Learn more about this satellite: View NAVSTAR 1

Upcoming Space Launches

April 19

• Blue Origin New Glenn:

  • New Glenn | BlueBird Block 2 #2 from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:45 UTC) A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite into low Earth orbit. This is the second satellite in AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation constellation, designed to support space-based cellular broadband for commercial and government customers. This will be the third New Glenn launch to date. New Glenn is a 7-meter-diameter, two- or three-stage reusable rocket capable of lifting up to 45,000 kg to LEO. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-22 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097, flying for its eighth time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 20

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 | GPS III SV10 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (06:57 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch GPS III Space Vehicle 10, named Hedy Lamarr after the actress and inventor of frequency-hopping spread-spectrum technology, into medium Earth orbit for the United States Space Force. GPS III SV10 is part of the Global Positioning System constellation, a satellite-based radio navigation system providing geolocation and time information worldwide. Booster B1095, flying for its seventh time, will land on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live

April 22

• Rocket Lab HASTE:
  • HASTE | Bubbles from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C), Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA (00:00 UTC) A suborbital launch under Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program. The HASTE vehicle is a suborbital testbed derived from the Electron rocket, used for hypersonics research. Further mission details are to be determined.

April 23

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-14 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:00 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097, flying for its eighth time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Electron | Kakushin Rising (JAXA Rideshare) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (03:09 UTC) A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will launch the Kakushin Rising rideshare mission on behalf of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle capable of delivering up to 300 kg to sun-synchronous orbit, powered by nine electric-pump-fed Rutherford engines.

April 25

• Agency for Defense Development Solid-Fuel SLV:

  • South Korean ADD Solid-Fuel SLV | Demo Flight from ADD Offshore Launch Platform, Sea Launch (05:00 UTC) The first full orbital launch attempt of South Korea’s military small satellite launch vehicle, following two sub-orbital stage tests in March and December 2022 and one partial orbital test flight in December 2023. The launch vehicle name is provisional and further details are to be determined.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-16 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097, flying for its eighth time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

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

  • Soyuz 2.1a | Progress MS-34 (95P) from Launch Pad 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (22:21 UTC) A Roscosmos Soyuz 2.1a rocket will launch the Progress MS-34 uncrewed cargo spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station. (Status: To Be Confirmed)

April 27

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:
  • Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-06) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (time TBD) A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket will launch 29 broadband internet satellites for Amazon’s Kuiper low Earth orbit constellation. This is the seventh of nine Atlas V vehicles purchased by Amazon for Kuiper satellite deployment. The Atlas V uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine on its first stage and an RL10-powered Centaur upper stage, with five solid rocket strap-on boosters in the 551 configuration. (Status: To Be Determined)

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