Top Stories

SpaceX Awarded $2.29B to Build Space Force’s LEO Communications Backbone

SpaceX has won a $2.29 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force to develop the Space Data Network backbone — a dedicated LEO communications layer for military data relay. The constellation will integrate with the Space Development Agency’s Transport layer satellites, which are already being fielded in tranches.

This is one of the larger single-award contracts in the Space Force’s commercial integration push. The backbone architecture means SpaceX infrastructure will sit at the core of how DoD moves tactical data through space — a meaningful dependency for defense planners tracking constellation resilience and redundancy.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

European Nations Split Space Capabilities Across Sovereign, Bilateral, and Commercial Models

At SmallSat Europe in Amsterdam, defense officials described a deliberate strategy: no single model for military space. Countries are combining sovereign national assets, bilateral agreements with allies, federated architectures, and dual-use commercial services rather than committing to one approach.

The federated model in particular has tracking implications — federated constellations spread across multiple operators and registries complicate space situational awareness and attribution. Analysts monitoring European military space activity should expect a more fragmented catalog picture as this strategy matures.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Europe’s Defense Budget Surge Not Reaching Space Startups Fast Enough

European defense budgets are rising, but SmallSat Europe panelists said procurement bureaucracy is blocking that money from reaching small space companies in useful timeframes. The problem isn’t funding levels — it’s contracting speed and risk tolerance within defense ministries.

Several European space startups are building ISR, communications, and sensing capabilities that defense customers want. The gap is institutional: procurement timelines measured in years don’t match the development cycles of commercial LEO operators.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Voyager Wins $16.5M DARPA Contract for Solid Rocket Thrust-Control Technology

Voyager has received a $16.5 million DARPA award to develop thrust-control technology for solid propulsion systems. The goal is making solid rocket motors more adaptable — varying thrust profiles across different missions and weapons programs without requiring entirely separate motor designs.

Current solid motors are largely fixed once ignited. Controllable thrust on solids would affect both launch vehicle upper stages and hypersonic boost-glide systems, giving designers more flexibility in trajectory shaping.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

HASC Defense Policy Bill Tops $1.15T, Addresses Munitions and Procurement Gaps

The House Armed Services Committee’s fiscal year defense policy bill authorizes $1.15 trillion in spending, with multiyear procurement locked in for critical munitions, the F-35, and the Arleigh Burke destroyer. Multiyear authorities are intended to give contractors production certainty and reduce per-unit costs.

Space programs embedded in the broader defense budget — including Space Force procurement and missile warning satellites — will be subject to the same authorization process. Final numbers depend on Senate markup and conference.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Raytheon and Lockheed Deliver First Next-Gen Javelin Launchers to Army

Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have delivered the first production units of the next-generation Javelin Command Launch Unit to the U.S. Army. The updated launcher uses a modern infrared camera for faster target acquisition and comes in a smaller, lighter package than the legacy unit.

The Javelin system’s seeker and guidance improvements don’t directly affect orbital assets, but the infrared sensor technology underpins a range of space-based and airborne EO/IR payloads — the same industrial base serves both domains.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

KORONAS-FOTON

KORONAS-FOTON is a Russian solar observatory that launched on January 30, 2009, aboard a Tsiklon-3 rocket from Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Operated by the Institute for Space Research (IKI) and manufactured by VNIEMR, this 2,250-kilogram spacecraft was designed to study solar activity and coronal phenomena during a three-year mission. The satellite features a cylindrical body with two deployable solar arrays and orbits at a high inclination of 82.43°, allowing it extensive coverage of Earth’s polar regions while maintaining its focus on solar science observations.

Despite its ambitious three-year design life, KORONAS-FOTON’s operational mission lasted approximately one year before concluding its observations. The satellite represents an important contribution to international solar research efforts during the declining phase of Solar Cycle 23, capturing valuable data on solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other dynamic solar phenomena. Its high-inclination orbit made it particularly valuable for studying solar-terrestrial interactions and space weather events that affect Earth’s magnetosphere.

Learn more about this satellite: View KORONAS-FOTON

Upcoming Space Launches

May 29

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-53:

  • Starlink Group 10-53 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (11:52 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live Launch Preview

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

  • Amazon Leo (LA-07) from Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (23:33 UTC) A batch of 29 Amazon Leo satellites will be delivered to low Earth orbit aboard an Atlas V 551 — the penultimate Amazon Leo mission on the Atlas V. Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) is a planned mega-constellation of 3,236+ satellites aimed at providing high-speed broadband internet to underserved and remote areas globally. The Atlas V, powered by a Russian-built RD-180 first stage engine and RL10 upper stage, carries a maximum LEO capacity of 18,850 kg. Watch Live Launch Preview

May 30

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-41:

  • Starlink Group 17-41 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. Watch Live Launch Preview

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 2D | Unknown Payload:

  • Unknown Payload from Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1), Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (17:57 UTC) A Long March 2D (Chang Zheng 2D) two-stage carrier rocket will launch an unknown payload. No further mission details are currently available. The Long March 2D has been in service since 1992 and is primarily used for LEO and sun-synchronous orbit missions, with a LEO capacity of 3,500 kg.

May 31

• Rocket Lab Electron | The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7):
  • The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (TBD) A synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS will be launched to low Earth orbit. The Electron is a small-lift launch vehicle notable for its electric-pump-fed Rutherford engines, with a LEO capacity of 300 kg.

June 1

• Agency for Defense Development South Korean ADD Solid-Fuel SLV | Demo Flight:
  • Demo Flight from ADD Offshore Launch Platform, Sea Launch (05:00 UTC) A demonstration flight of South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development solid-fuel space launch vehicle, conducting a test flight to low Earth orbit. Launch Preview

June 2

• Blue Origin New Glenn | Amazon Leo (LN-01):
  • Amazon Leo (LN-01) from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (18:04 UTC) Blue Origin’s New Glenn will carry 61 Amazon Leo broadband internet satellites to low Earth orbit. Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) is a planned constellation of 3,276 satellites across 98 orbital planes at altitudes of 590–630 km, managed by Kuiper Systems LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon. New Glenn is a reusable 7-meter-diameter rocket with a LEO capacity of 45,000 kg, having made its maiden flight in January 2025.

June 3

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 10-43:

  • Starlink Group 10-43 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (08:02 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. Watch Live

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-47:

  • Starlink Group 17-47 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. Watch Live

June 10

• Indian Space Research Organization GSLV Mk II | GISAT-1A (EOS-05):
  • GISAT-1A (EOS-05) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India (TBD) GISAT-1A (GEO Imaging Satellite) is an Indian geostationary Earth observation satellite designed to provide continuous observation of the Indian subcontinent and enable rapid monitoring of natural hazards and disasters. The GSLV Mk II is India’s largest operational launch vehicle, a three-stage rocket with four liquid strap-ons and an indigenous cryogenic upper stage, with a launch mass of 401 tonnes.

Schedule Changes

• New launch added: Long March 2D carrying an unknown payload has been added to the manifest, scheduled for May 30 at 17:57 UTC from Xichang Satellite Launch Center (status: Go for Launch).
• New launch added: Blue Origin New Glenn carrying Amazon Leo (LN-01) has been added, scheduled for June 2 at 18:04 UTC from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (status: To Be Confirmed).
• Launch success: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-37 has launched successfully and has been removed from the upcoming manifest.
• Launch success: Long March 7A | TJSW-24 has launched successfully and has been removed from the upcoming manifest.
• Status update: South Korean Agency for Defense Development Solid-Fuel SLV Demo Flight has advanced from To Be Confirmed to Go for Launch.

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