Top Stories

ESA and JAXA Sign Joint Agreement for Apophis 2029 Flyby Mission

ESA and JAXA have finalized a formal collaboration agreement to study asteroid Apophis during its close Earth approach in 2029. Apophis will pass within roughly 32,000 kilometers of Earth — closer than geostationary orbit — making it one of the most accessible near-Earth asteroid encounters in recorded history.

The agreement locks in coordination between the two agencies ahead of what will be a heavily observed event. Both ground-based and space-based assets are expected to be trained on Apophis during the flyby. For anyone tracking near-Earth objects, 2029 is already a key date on the calendar.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

MDA Space Presses Forward on Gateway Robotic Arm Amid Program Uncertainty

MDA Space is continuing development of the robotic arm for NASA’s lunar Gateway station while still negotiating the program’s future scope with the Canadian Space Agency. The arm — Canada’s contribution to Gateway — is modeled on the legacy of Canadarm and Canadarm2.

The ongoing talks suggest there’s unresolved uncertainty around Gateway’s timeline and funding, but MDA is keeping hardware work moving in parallel. Gateway’s fate has been a recurring question given shifting NASA priorities under the current U.S. administration.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

UAE Defense Firm EDGE Discusses UAV Role in Iran Conflict and Expansion Plans

EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar spoke with Breaking Defense about the company’s UAV technology and its involvement in the recent Iran conflict, along with plans for future partnerships. EDGE is a Abu Dhabi-based defense conglomerate with a growing portfolio of unmanned systems and electronic warfare capabilities.

The interview doesn’t get into classified operational details, but it confirms EDGE played an active role and is actively courting new international partners. For defense-focused KeepTrack users tracking regional activity, EDGE’s expanding UAV and space-adjacent capabilities are worth watching.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

Cosmos 2323

Cosmos 2323 is a Russian military reconnaissance satellite operated by the VKS (Aerospace Forces of Russia). Launched on October 31, 1995, from Tyuratam Cosmodrome aboard a Zenit-2 rocket, this satellite belongs to the prolific Cosmos program—Russia’s workhorse designation for military and civilian space assets. The satellite was manufactured by Yuzhnoye Design Bureau, a major Ukrainian aerospace contractor that has supported Russian space operations for decades.

Operating in a sun-synchronous-like orbit with a 70.9° inclination, Cosmos 2323 is positioned for continuous reconnaissance coverage of high-latitude regions. With nearly three decades in orbit, this satellite represents the longevity and reliability of Russian reconnaissance platforms. Its cone-shaped design is typical of Zenit-class payloads optimized for imaging and signals intelligence missions, making it a notable example of Cold War-era space technology that remains operational in the modern era.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track Cosmos 2323

Upcoming Space Launches

May 11

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • NROL-172 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (22:28 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch the NROL-172 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, the 12th mission supporting the agency’s proliferated architecture — a constellation believed to consist of Starshield satellites. Booster B1103, flying for a second time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

May 12

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Dragon CRS-2 SpX-34 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (23:16 UTC) SpaceX will launch NASA’s 34th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station aboard a Dragon spacecraft (tail number C209, flying for a sixth time). The vehicle will deliver thousands of pounds of science experiments and supplies, arriving at the orbiting outpost after a roughly 38-hour transit. Watch Live

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

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (11:49 UTC) Details to be determined. The Long March 6A is a further development of the Long March 6, featuring two YF-100 first-stage engines and four solid rocket boosters — China’s first rocket configuration of its kind.

May 13

• LandSpace Zhuque-2E:
  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 96A, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (02:52 UTC) Details to be determined. The Zhuque-2E is an enhanced liquid oxygen/methane medium-lift rocket capable of delivering 6,000 kg to low Earth orbit, featuring upgraded TQ-12A first-stage engines and a new TQ-15A second-stage engine.

May 15

• CAS Space Kinetica 1:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 130, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (04:24 UTC) Details to be determined. Kinetica 1 (Lijian-1) is China’s largest solid-propellant light launch vehicle, capable of placing approximately 2,000 kg into low Earth orbit.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-37 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097 (ninth flight) will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Starship:

  • Flight 12 from Orbital Launch Pad 2, SpaceX Starbase, TX, USA (22:30 UTC) (To Be Confirmed) The 12th integrated flight of SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy vehicle and the first launch of a version 3 rocket. The mission will fly a suborbital profile, using Ship 39 and Booster 19. Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift system with a target payload capacity of 100,000 kg to low Earth orbit.

May 17

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x 9) from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (12:50 UTC) SpaceX will launch nine Globalstar HIBLEO-4 replenishment satellites into low Earth orbit — the first of two planned launches to refresh the fleet. Booster B1090, flying for a 12th time, will land on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8:

  • Unknown Payload from Commercial LC-1, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (14:34 UTC) Details to be determined. The Long March 8 is capable of delivering up to 5,000 kg to a 700 km Sun-synchronous orbit, based on Long March 7 heritage hardware.

May 19

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-42 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:11 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Booster B1097, flying for a ninth time, will land on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

• Avio S.p.A Vega-C:

  • Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) from Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV), Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (03:52 UTC) A Vega-C rocket will launch the SMILE spacecraft, a joint mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Deploying 57 minutes after liftoff into a highly elliptical orbit, SMILE will use four science instruments over a three-year mission to study how Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere respond to the solar wind, advancing our understanding of space weather. Watch Live

May 21

• Indian Space Research Organization GSLV Mk II:
  • GISAT-1A (EOS-05) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India (03:15 UTC) (To Be Confirmed) GISAT-1A (GEO Imaging Satellite) is an Indian Earth-observing satellite that will operate from geostationary orbit to enable continuous monitoring of the Indian subcontinent and rapid response to natural hazards and disasters.

May 22

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:

  • Amazon Leo (LA-07) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (00:00 UTC) (To Be Determined) A United Launch Alliance Atlas V will launch 29 Amazon Kuiper broadband satellites into low Earth orbit. This is the penultimate Atlas V mission booked by Amazon for its LEO broadband constellation.

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Viva La StriX (StriX Launch 9) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (09:30 UTC) Rocket Lab’s ninth dedicated Electron mission for Japanese Earth-observation company Synspective, delivering a StriX Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite to a 572 km circular orbit at 44.8 degrees inclination.

May 31

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (00:00 UTC) (To Be Determined) A synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.

Schedule Changes

• Long March 8 | Unknown Payload has been added to the manifest, scheduled for 14:34 UTC on May 17, 2026, launching from Commercial LC-1 at Wenchang Space Launch Site, China.
• Long March 7 | Tianzhou-10 has been removed from the upcoming launch calendar — its status has been updated to Launch Successful.

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