Top Stories

Space Force Awards $3.2B to 12 Companies for Space-Based Missile Interceptors

The Space Force handed out contracts totaling up to $3.2 billion to 12 companies to develop competing prototype designs for boost-phase missile intercept from orbit. The program is part of the Golden Dome initiative. Initial operational capability is targeted for 2028.

Boost-phase intercept is the hardest intercept problem — you have minutes, not tens of minutes, and you need assets already in position overhead. Putting interceptors in orbit means tracking coverage and orbital geometry become tactical factors, not just engineering ones.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX Wins $57M Contract to Demo Satellite Crosslinks for Golden Dome

SpaceX secured a $57 million contract to demonstrate space-based data links using the Link-182 standard. The crosslink capability is intended to feed directly into the Golden Dome missile defense architecture.

Link-182 is a military waveform standard for inter-satellite data exchange. Getting Starlink-class infrastructure compliant with that standard would give Golden Dome a ready-made low-latency data backbone across a large orbital shell.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX Also Joins Golden Dome Software Group

Beyond the crosslink contract, SpaceX has been brought into the Golden Dome software working group. That puts the company inside the architecture decision-making process, not just as a hardware vendor.

SpaceX’s dual role — as both an interceptor prototype contractor candidate and a software contributor — gives it unusual visibility into the full system design.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Pentagon’s Next-Gen Space Architecture Leans Hard on Satellites for Missile Tracking and Data

Breaking Defense published a detailed look at how the Pentagon is restructuring its space architecture around satellite networks for missile tracking, data relay, and cyber-resilient communications. The piece draws on reporting across multiple programs, including Golden Dome-adjacent efforts.

The shift away from large exquisite satellites toward distributed constellations changes the tracking picture. More objects in more orbital regimes means congestion in the same shells that defense architectures depend on.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

NATO Eastern Flank Countries Show Serious Sustainment Gaps, Report Finds

A new report on NATO’s eastern flank found that sustainment — maintenance capacity and logistics infrastructure — is the primary readiness gap, not hardware. Transportation network limitations compound the problem across multiple member states.

For space operations specifically, sustainment gaps on the eastern flank affect ground station reliability and the ability to integrate space-based ISR data at the tactical edge where it’s needed most.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Captures Spring Ice Melt at Chasma Boreale

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged seasonal CO₂ ice sublimation at Chasma Boreale, a canyon system cutting into the Martian north polar cap. The image was captured as spring arrived in Mars’s northern hemisphere.

MRO has been operating since 2006 and remains one of the most productive planetary observation platforms ever flown. You can track MRO in KeepTrack to see its current orbit around Mars relative to Earth’s position.

Read the full story: Space.com

Satellite of the Day

Asterix (A-1)

Asterix, also known as A-1, holds a special place in space history as France’s first satellite and the third independent nation to reach orbit. Launched on November 26, 1965, aboard the French Diamant A rocket from Hammaguir in Algeria, this small 42-kilogram technology demonstrator was a major achievement for the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). The satellite’s successful deployment proved France’s indigenous launch capability and marked a turning point in European space independence during the Cold War era.

The mission was primarily focused on technology validation, carrying a simple transmitter to test orbital operations and signal transmission from space. Operating in a low Earth orbit inclined at 34.25 degrees, Asterix remained functional for several years and became a symbol of French technological prowess. While the satellite itself has long since decayed, its legacy lives on as a cornerstone of the European space program and a reminder of France’s pioneering contributions to spaceflight.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track Asterix (A-1)

Upcoming Space Launches

April 25

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

  • Demo Flight from Sea Launch (05:00–09:00 UTC) First orbital full-version launch of the South Korean military small satellite launch vehicle, following two sub-orbital stage tests in 2022 and one orbital test flight without the second stage in December 2023. Launch Preview

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 6:

  • Unknown Payload from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (12:08–12:37 UTC) Details to be determined.

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

  • Progress MS-34 (95P) from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (22:21 UTC) An uncrewed Progress resupply spacecraft launching to the International Space Station. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 26

• RKK Energiya Soyuz-5:

  • Demo Flight from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan (11:00–13:00 UTC) Demonstration flight of Russia’s new Soyuz-5 (Irtysh) launch vehicle, a two-stage rocket designed to replace the Zenit-2 and Proton Medium, capable of lifting 17 tonnes to low Earth orbit. A mass simulator will serve as the payload. Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-16 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00–18:00 UTC) A batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1088, flying for the 15th time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

April 27

• SpaceX Falcon Heavy:
  • ViaSat-3 F3 (ViaSat-3 Asia-Pacific) from Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA (14:21–15:46 UTC) The third and final satellite in Viasat’s three-satellite ViaSat-3 series, launching to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The core booster will be expended, while side boosters B1072 (second flight) and B1075 (22nd flight) will return to Landing Zone 2 and Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Watch Live

April 28

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:

  • Amazon Leo (LA-06) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (00:52–01:21 UTC) The seventh of nine Atlas V rockets purchased by Amazon, carrying 29 broadband internet satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper low Earth orbit constellation, aimed at delivering high-speed connectivity to underserved and remote areas worldwide. The Atlas V 551 is an expendable vehicle powered by a Russian-built RD-180 engine on its first stage and an American RL10 engine on its Centaur upper stage. Watch Live

• Arianespace Ariane 64:

  • Amazon Leo (LE-02) from Ariane Launch Area 4, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (08:51–09:39 UTC) A batch of 29 broadband internet satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper low Earth orbit constellation. The Ariane 64 variant features four solid strap-on boosters and can lift up to 21,650 kg to low Earth orbit, making it well-suited for large satellite batch deployments. Watch Live

April 30

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 10B:

  • Demo Flight from Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (TBD) First test launch of the Long March 10B, a reusable rocket based on the Long March 10A first stage, powered by seven YF-100 series engines. The first stage is designed for downrange recovery via an arrestor net on a recovery barge. The second stage uses a single YF-219 methane/liquid oxygen engine.

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7A:

  • Unknown Payload from Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (TBD) Details to be determined.

• Russian Space Forces Angara 1.2:

  • Kosmos (Unknown Payload) from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation (TBD) An unknown satellite or satellites launching for the Russian military. The Angara 1.2 is the base configuration of the modular Angara launch family, capable of lifting up to 3,700 kg to low Earth orbit.

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

  • 16 x Rassvet-3 from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation (TBD) A batch of 16 Rassvet-3 low Earth orbit communications satellites for Russia’s Byuro-1440 (Bureau 1440) constellation, intended to provide broadband high-speed internet access across Russia. Payload identities are reported as uncertain.

Schedule Changes

• New launch added: Soyuz 2.1b carrying 16 x Rassvet-3 satellites has been added to the manifest, currently scheduled no earlier than April 30, 2026, from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation. The date and time are to be determined.

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