Top Stories

NRO Awards Three New Commercial Satellite Data Contracts

The National Reconnaissance Office has awarded three new contracts for commercial satellite data, continuing its push to integrate commercial imagery and sensing into intelligence workflows. Pete Muend, who heads NRO’s commercial programs, floated the idea of using the agency’s vendor vetting process to evaluate whether commercial satellite firms could track airborne targets on behalf of U.S. Space Force.

That’s a meaningful expansion in scope — from static Earth observation to dynamic, moving-target tracking. If NRO formalizes that role, it would pull commercial remote sensing operators deeper into real-time military operations.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Chris Scolese Exits NRO After Expanding Commercial and Public Engagement Programs

Chris Scolese is departing as NRO director after a tenure defined by deepening commercial partnerships and a deliberate effort to declassify and publicize more of the agency’s work. In 2022 he publicly warned that China and Russia were developing both ground-based and on-orbit tools to threaten U.S. space infrastructure — an unusually direct statement from an NRO director at the time.

His exit comes as the commercial satellite market he helped the NRO engage with has grown substantially. The three new commercial data contracts announced this week reflect the procurement model his office built out.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Jim Bridenstine Named CEO of Quantum Space

Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has taken over as CEO of Quantum Space, a startup developing maneuverable spacecraft for national security and commercial customers. He replaces the company’s previous leadership as Quantum Space pursues Space Force contracts, with a particular focus on cislunar operations.

Bridenstine has been vocal about the strategic importance of the Earth-Moon corridor. Quantum Space’s core product — autonomous, maneuverable spacecraft that can operate in high and cislunar orbits — fits directly into emerging Space Force requirements for domain awareness beyond GEO. Cislunar space is largely unmonitored by existing tracking infrastructure, including the public catalog.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Poland’s Eycore Launches First SAR Satellite on Falcon 9

Polish startup Eycore launched Eycore-1 on May 3 aboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The satellite carries the company’s own synthetic aperture radar, making Eycore the second privately-owned European company to operate a SAR asset.

SAR satellites are increasingly relevant for defense and intelligence customers because they image through clouds and at night. Poland joining the short list of European countries with indigenous SAR commercial capability has implications for NATO situational awareness, particularly given the country’s proximity to the conflict in Ukraine.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

AI-Generated Imagery Is Being Passed Off as Satellite Data

On February 28, the day U.S. forces struck Iran, a Chinese AI startup posted an image on X purporting to show a burning ship at Iran’s Konarak Naval Base. The image closely resembled a WorldView-1 frame released the same day by Vantor’s News Bureau — but the AI startup’s version contained alterations. The company behind it, MizarVision, did not disclose that the image was AI-modified.

This is a direct problem for anyone using open-source satellite imagery for analysis. If AI-processed or AI-generated imagery circulates without clear labeling, analytic pipelines built on commercial data become unreliable. For tracking applications and defense users cross-referencing commercial imagery with orbital data, source verification is no longer optional.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Firefly Targeting Late Summer for First Alpha Block 2 Launch

Firefly Aerospace plans to fly the upgraded Alpha Block 2 rocket for the first time in late summer 2026. The Block 2 variant is aimed squarely at national security customers, where Firefly says demand is strongest.

Alpha has had a mixed track record — the first flight failed in 2021, the second succeeded in 2022, and subsequent missions have built on that base. The Block 2 upgrade is intended to improve reliability and payload capacity for the responsive launch missions the Space Force has been contracting.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Satellite of the Day

SHIYAN 20C

SHIYAN 20C (SY-20C) is a Chinese technology demonstration satellite operated by the China Academy of Space Technology (CASC). Launched on October 29, 2022, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Chang Zheng 2D rocket, this 1,300-kilogram spacecraft serves as a testbed for advanced technologies and engineering concepts. The satellite’s design—a box structure with two deployable solar panels spanning 5 meters—is typical of CASC’s experimental platforms used to validate new systems before integration into operational constellations.

As part of China’s broader effort to develop and mature space technologies, SHIYAN 20C operates in a sun-synchronous orbit at an inclination of 59.9953°, allowing it to maintain consistent lighting conditions for its mission objectives. The satellite was manufactured by IMICAS and represents the continued investment in experimental space platforms that support China’s expanding capabilities in remote sensing, communications, and other space-based applications. Its presence in orbit underscores the competitive pace of space technology development among major spacefaring nations.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track SHIYAN 20C

Upcoming Space Launches

May 9

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7 | Tianzhou-10:
  • Tianzhou-10 from Launch Complex 201, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (22:00 UTC) Ninth cargo delivery mission to the Chinese space station. Launch Preview

May 10

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-37:
  • Starlink Group 17-37 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (14:00–18:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. First stage booster B1081, flying for its 24th time, will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 12

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 6A | Unknown Payload:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (11:49–12:09 UTC) Details to be determined.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | NROL-172:

  • NROL-172 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (22:15 UTC) A classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, representing the 12th flight supporting the agency’s proliferated architecture — a constellation believed to consist of Starshield satellites.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-34:

  • Dragon CRS-34 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA (23:16 UTC) Part of NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services program, the Dragon spacecraft will deliver thousands of pounds of science cargo and supplies to the International Space Station, arriving within two days of liftoff. The Falcon 9 first stage booster will return to land at Landing Zone 40. Watch Live

May 15–16

• SpaceX Starship | Flight 12:
  • Flight 12 from Orbital Launch Pad 2, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA (22:30–00:43 UTC) The 12th integrated flight of SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy vehicle and the first launch of a version 3 rocket, flying a suborbital profile. This mission uses Ship 39 as the upper stage and Booster 19 as the first stage. Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of lifting up to 100,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

May 17

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-42:
  • Starlink Group 17-42 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (02:11–06:11 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. First stage booster B1081 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

May 19

• Avio S.p.A Vega-C | Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE):
  • SMILE from Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (03:52 UTC) A joint European Space Agency and Chinese Academy of Sciences mission, SMILE will operate in a highly elliptical Earth orbit for a planned three-year mission life. Using four science instruments, the spacecraft will study how Earth responds to the solar wind, advancing our understanding of solar storms, geomagnetic storms, and space weather. The satellite will deploy 57 minutes after liftoff aboard the Vega-C, a 35-metre, 210-tonne rocket featuring a P120C solid-propellant first stage. Watch Live

May 22

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 | Amazon Leo (LA-07):

  • Amazon Leo LA-07 from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA (00:00 UTC) A batch of 29 Amazon Kuiper broadband internet satellites will launch to low Earth orbit aboard an Atlas V 551. This is the penultimate Atlas V mission contracted by Amazon for its Leo constellation, which aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity to underserved and remote areas globally.

• Rocket Lab Electron | Viva La StriX (StriX Launch 9):

  • Viva La StriX from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (09:30 UTC) The ninth Electron mission for Japanese Earth observation company Synspective, delivering a StriX Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite to a 572 km circular orbit at 44.8° inclination.

May 31

• Rocket Lab Electron | The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7):
  • The Grain Goddess Provides from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (00:00 UTC) A synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS, continuing Rocket Lab’s ongoing small-satellite launch partnership with the company.

Schedule Changes

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-29: Status changed from Go for Launch to Launch Successful — removed from the upcoming launch calendar.

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