Top Stories

AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 Lost After New Glenn Upper Stage Malfunction

Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a second-stage malfunction on its third flight, April 19, stranding AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 in an off-nominal orbit. AST SpaceMobile has declared the satellite lost and will deorbit it. The first-stage booster was successfully recovered — the first time Blue Origin has landed a previously flown New Glenn booster — but the mission outcome is a payload loss.

BlueBird 7 was part of AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device broadband constellation. The satellite will not be trackable in its intended operational orbit. Watch for deorbit TLE updates as the object maneuvers toward reentry.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Space Force Weighs Flying Vulcan Without Solid Rocket Boosters

The U.S. Space Force is evaluating whether Vulcan Centaur can fly lower-energy missions without its solid rocket motor strap-ons while the investigation into the SRM anomaly continues. No new launch date has been announced. The anomaly affects ULA’s ability to fly higher-energy national security payloads until the root cause is resolved.

Vulcan holds a key role in the NSSL launch contract alongside Falcon 9 and, eventually, New Glenn. A restricted flight envelope further concentrates near-term heavy-lift national security launches on SpaceX.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX to Launch GPS III SV-10 for Space Force on April 21

SpaceX is targeting an early April 21 launch of GPS III Space Vehicle 10 for the U.S. Space Force. GPS III SV-10 is the tenth satellite in the modernized GPS III series, built by Lockheed Martin. The series adds a new L1C civil signal and improved anti-jamming capability over legacy Block IIF satellites.

Once on orbit and operational, GPS III SV-10 joins a constellation you can monitor across the GPS constellation in KeepTrack.

Read the full story: Space.com

BlueBird 7 Deorbit Confirmed — Wrong Orbit After New Glenn Mission

Blue Origin placed AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 in the wrong orbit following the April 19 New Glenn launch. The satellite cannot maneuver to its intended operational altitude and will be deorbited. This is a separate confirmation from AST SpaceMobile’s own declaration of total loss.

The object will generate trackable debris risk data during its deorbit phase. KeepTrack users should watch for updated TLE data as the deorbit sequence progresses.

Read the full story: Space.com

Rhea Space Activity Raises $6M for GPS-Free Spacecraft Navigation

Rhea Space Activity closed a $6 million funding round to develop autonomous navigation for spacecraft that doesn’t rely on GPS. The technology traces to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The system is designed to navigate using pulsar timing and other non-GPS reference signals.

GPS-denied navigation is a high priority for both military and commercial operators, particularly as GPS jamming and spoofing incidents increase in contested orbital environments.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Synthetic Universe Simulation Reproduces Galaxy Evolution With Near-Real Accuracy

Researchers have built a synthetic universe simulation detailed enough that some astronomers cannot distinguish it from real observational data. The model reproduces galaxy formation from shortly after the Big Bang through the present. The simulation is being used to stress-test analysis pipelines for upcoming large-scale sky surveys.

Read the full story: Space.com

Satellite of the Day

LEMUR-2-JOEL

LEMUR-2-JOEL is a 3U CubeSat operated by Spire, a commercial space company specializing in Earth observation and maritime tracking. Launched on September 28, 2015, aboard an Indian PSLV-XL rocket, this compact 4 kg satellite packs a surprising amount of capability into its small frame. The name “JOEL” is part of Spire’s LEMUR (Low-Earth Multiuse Runtime) constellation—a series of identical nanosatellites designed for atmospheric and maritime monitoring from low Earth orbit.

Equipped with three specialized payloads, LEMUR-2-JOEL demonstrates the versatility of modern CubeSat missions. The STRATOS instrument performs GPS radio occultation measurements to study atmospheric conditions, the SENSE receiver tracks ships via AIS (Automatic Identification System) signals, and the AirSafe payload monitors aircraft transponder broadcasts. This multi-mission approach allows a single small satellite to gather weather data, maritime traffic intelligence, and aviation information simultaneously—showcasing how nanosatellites have become valuable tools for both commercial and scientific Earth observation.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track LEMUR-2-JOEL

Upcoming Space Launches

April 21

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • GPS III SV10 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA (06:53 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the GPS III Space Vehicle 10, named “Hedy Lamarr” after the actress and inventor of frequency-hopping technology, into medium Earth orbit for the United States Space Force. Booster B1095, flying for its seventh time, will land on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean. This mission is part of the Global Positioning System (GPS) constellation, a satellite-based radio navigation system operated by the U.S. Space Force providing geolocation and time information worldwide. Watch Live

April 22

• Rocket Lab HASTE:
  • Bubbles from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 (Launch Area 0 C), Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA (00:00–05:00 UTC) A sub-orbital launch under Rocket Lab’s Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron (HASTE) program, utilising the Electron vehicle as a suborbital testbed for hypersonics research. Details to be determined.

April 23

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

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

• Rocket Lab Electron:

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

April 25

• Agency for Defense Development South Korean ADD Solid-Fuel SLV:

  • Demo Flight from ADD Offshore Launch Platform, Sea Launch (05:00–09:00 UTC) The first orbital full-version launch of South Korea’s military small satellite launch vehicle, following two sub-orbital stage tests in March and December 2022, and one orbital test flight without the second stage in December 2023. The launch vehicle name is provisional and further details are to be confirmed.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-16 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

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

  • Progress MS-34 (95P) from Site 31/6, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (22:21 UTC) Uncrewed cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. (Status: To Be Confirmed)

April 27

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:
  • Amazon Leo (LA-06) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA (00:00 UTC) A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket will launch 29 broadband internet satellites for Amazon Leo’s low Earth orbit constellation, as part of the Kuiper Systems satellite internet project aimed at delivering high-speed, low-latency connectivity to underserved and remote areas globally. This is the seventh of nine Atlas V rockets contracted by Amazon for its constellation deployment. (Status: To Be Determined)

Schedule Changes

• New Glenn | BlueBird Block 2 #2: Status changed from Go for Launch to Launch Failure.
• Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-22: Status changed from Go for Launch to Launch Successful — this mission has been removed from the upcoming launches calendar.

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