Top Stories

Golden Dome Officials Pitch Commercial Space Firms and Venture Investors on Missile Defense Platform

Pentagon officials running the Golden Dome missile defense program are actively recruiting commercial space founders, software companies, and venture capital investors. Their argument: missile defense should be built and iterated like a modern tech platform, not a traditional defense acquisition program.

The outreach reflects a deliberate strategy to pull in non-traditional defense contractors who have been reluctant to engage with Pentagon procurement. How much of Golden Dome’s architecture depends on space-based sensing and tracking layers will directly affect what satellites end up in orbit — and what analysts using tools like KeepTrack will need to monitor.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

ESA-China SMILE Mission Reaches Orbit After 10-Year Development

The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE), a joint ESA and Chinese Academy of Sciences mission, has successfully launched from Kourou, French Guiana. The spacecraft is designed to produce the first continuous global images of Earth’s magnetosphere, capturing how solar wind interacts with the planet’s magnetic field in real time.

SMILE took more than a decade to move from concept to orbit. It represents one of the few active ESA-China cooperative science missions still operating under current geopolitical constraints. Track the spacecraft once NORAD assigns a catalog number via KeepTrack’s satellite search.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Ukraine War Lessons Drive Renewed Focus on Orbital Military Infrastructure

A SpaceNews analysis argues that four years of full-scale conflict in Ukraine — and 12 years since the initial 2014 invasion — have demonstrated that space-based ISR, communications, and navigation are no longer force multipliers but prerequisites for modern warfare. Western European nations increasing defense budgets face a lag of years before that spending produces real capability.

The piece makes the case that orbital infrastructure is now inseparable from ground combat effectiveness. For KeepTrack users tracking military satellites, that context matters — the constellations you’re watching are increasingly the ones armies depend on to fight.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

DoD Awards ‘Lethality Prize’ to Five Companies in Small Drone Challenge

The Department of Defense selected five companies under its Drone Dominance Lethality Prize Challenge, focused on small lethal drone systems. One of the winners, drone-maker Bravo, said the selection opens a path to thousands or tens of thousands of unit orders and has materially changed conversations with investors and suppliers.

DoD framed the challenge as a fast-path procurement mechanism to accelerate fielding of affordable lethal drones. No dollar values were disclosed, but the “tens of thousands of units” scale cited by Bravo suggests significant production volume if orders materialize.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

10th Special Forces Group Joins Army’s Next-Gen C2 Prototype Program

After the 4th Infantry Division demonstrated results from its experimental next-generation command and control technology, the 10th Special Forces Group requested participation. Both units exercised the C2 prototype during the recent Ivy Mass exercise.

Special Operations involvement suggests the Army sees the system as applicable beyond conventional maneuver units. No specific platform or vendor was identified in the available reporting.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Apollo ‘UFO’ Images Resurface After Pentagon UAP Release — But Most Are Decades Old

Last week’s Pentagon UAP imagery release included new material, but the Apollo-era photographs circulating widely on social media have been publicly available for decades. The odd objects and light anomalies recorded during Apollo missions were documented in NASA archives and have been analyzed repeatedly since the 1970s.

The renewed attention is driven by the timing of the Pentagon release, not by new findings. Analysts looking for genuinely new UAP data should focus on the non-Apollo portion of last week’s release.

Read the full story: Space.com

US Army Explores Audio-Based Drone Identification Training

The US Army has not formally added audio drone identification to its training curriculum, but field commanders are recognizing that soldiers who spend time listening to airspace develop an ability to distinguish drone types by sound. A senior official told reporters that acoustic recognition could serve as a low-cost complement to electronic detection methods.

No formal program of record exists yet. The discussion reflects broader counter-UAS challenges the Army faces as cheap commercial drones proliferate on the battlefield.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

BRO-8

BRO-8 is a compact 6U CubeSat manufactured by GOMSP and launched on January 3, 2023, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral’s LC-40. Despite its modest 10 kg mass and small form factor—just 30 cm long with a 20 cm diameter—this French satellite packs a sophisticated payload dedicated to RF spectrum monitoring, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and traffic monitoring. The satellite operates in a near-polar sun-synchronous orbit, making it ideal for persistent global coverage of electromagnetic emissions.

BRO-8 represents France’s investment in space-based spectrum awareness and intelligence gathering capabilities, leveraging the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the CubeSat platform. Its combination of RF monitoring and traffic analysis makes it a valuable asset for detecting unauthorized transmitters, monitoring communications patterns, and contributing to broader space domain awareness. For satellite trackers and space enthusiasts, BRO-8 offers an excellent example of how modern defense and intelligence agencies are deploying smaller, more agile spacecraft for specialized missions.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track BRO-8

Upcoming Space Launches

May 20

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-42 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (02:11 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. The first stage will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

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

  • Demo Flight from Sea Launch, ADD Offshore Launch Platform (05:00 UTC) A demonstration test flight of South Korea’s solid-fuel small launch vehicle, launched from an offshore platform. Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x9) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (12:04 UTC) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch nine Globalstar HIBLEO-4 satellites into low Earth orbit as part of the first of two replenishment launches for the HIBLEO-4 fleet. Booster B1090 will fly for a 12th time, targeting a landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 21

• Indian Space Research Organization GSLV Mk II:

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

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 10-31 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (09:26 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. The first stage will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. Watch Live

May 21–22

• SpaceX Starship:
  • Flight 12 from SpaceX Starbase, Orbital Launch Pad 2 (22:30 UTC) The 12th integrated flight of SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle and the debut of the version 3 rocket configuration. Ship 39 and Booster 19 will fly on this suborbital test mission. Starship is a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle with a 100,000 kg payload capacity to low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 22

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551:

  • Amazon Leo (LA-07) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 41 (time TBD) A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch 29 Amazon Kuiper low Earth orbit broadband internet satellites. This is the penultimate Atlas V mission booked by Amazon for its Leo constellation.

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Viva La StriX (StriX Launch 9) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (09:30 UTC) A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will deliver the ninth Synspective StriX synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Earth observation satellite on behalf of the Japan-based company. The satellite will be deployed into a circular 572 km orbit at 44.8 degrees inclination.

May 23

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-37 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. The first stage will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 24

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 2F/G:
  • Shenzhou 23 from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Launch Area 91 (SLS-1/921) (14:58 UTC) Shenzhou 23 will be the 23rd crewed mission of China’s Shenzhou human spaceflight program. The Long March 2F/G is China’s human-rated launch vehicle, purpose-built to carry the Shenzhou spacecraft to orbit. China’s Shenzhou program launched its first citizen, Yang Liwei, into orbit in 2003.

May 25

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 10-47 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (11:41 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. The first stage will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 26

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7A:
  • Unknown Payload from Wenchang Space Launch Site, Pad 201 (16:00 UTC) Payload details have not yet been disclosed.

May 27

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-41 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

May 31

• Rocket Lab Electron:
  • The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (time TBD) A Rocket Lab Electron rocket will deploy a synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.

Schedule Changes

• New Launch Added: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-41 has been added to the manifest, scheduled for May 27, 2026 at 14:00 UTC from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
• Status Change: Vega-C | Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) has been removed from the upcoming launches calendar following a successful launch.

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