Top Stories

New Glenn Explodes Hours After USSF and NRO Award Blue Origin a National Security Launch Task Order

Blue Origin received a national security launch task order from the U.S. Space Force and National Reconnaissance Office hours before New Glenn suffered an explosion. Both agencies issued a joint statement saying they “remain committed partners with Blue Origin” despite the anomaly.

The timing raises immediate questions about schedule impacts on NRO payloads and Blue Origin’s place in the national security launch market alongside ULA and SpaceX. The explosion will likely trigger a stand-down and mishap investigation before New Glenn flies again.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

FAA Documents Reveal SpaceX Starfall Reentry Vehicle Program

FAA licensing documents detail SpaceX plans to develop and test a new reentry vehicle called Starfall. The vehicle is intended to support in-space manufacturing — returning processed materials from orbit to Earth.

Reentry vehicles operating outside the traditional crewed or cargo capsule context are a sparse category in the catalog. Starfall, once flying, will be worth tracking as a distinct object class. Watch for FAA environmental assessments and experimental permits as the program advances toward test flights.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Japan’s Defense Minister Defends Expanded Arms Sales and Regional Military Presence

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi pushed back against accusations of “new militarism,” arguing Japan’s increased arms exports and more visible regional military presence are oriented toward helping partners defend themselves — not toward unilateral power projection.

Japan’s expanding defense posture has direct space implications. The country has been accelerating investments in ISR satellites, space situational awareness, and military space cooperation with the U.S. under its revised National Security Strategy.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Webb Telescope Resolves Ancient Black Hole Behind ‘Little Red Dots’ Mystery

An international team using JWST has linked a newly characterized ancient black hole to the so-called “Little Red Dots” — compact, red objects detected in deep field images that didn’t fit existing galaxy formation models. The black hole is hosted in the galaxy cluster field Abell 2744.

The observation was made using JWST’s NIRSpec and NIRCam instruments. Little Red Dots have been a standing tension with standard cosmological models since Webb’s first deep field releases in 2022.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

Bio-Inspired Rover Concept Uses Curved Wheels to Move Through Sand Like a Desert Lizard

Researchers have developed a Mars rover concept that mimics the locomotion of Scincus scincus, a Saharan sandfish lizard that swims through loose sand using undulating body motion. The prototype uses curved wheels to replicate this movement across granular terrain.

Loose regolith mobility has been a persistent engineering challenge — the Spirit rover was lost in 2010 after becoming embedded in soft soil. Designs that reduce sinkage and slippage in fine-grained material are directly relevant to future Mars surface operations.

Read the full story: Space.com

Solar Sail Advocates Say Human Interstellar Travel Concepts Are Closer Than They Appear

Researchers working on solar sail propulsion are arguing the concept isn’t speculative — current materials science and photon pressure physics already support serious mission design work. The discussion centers on scaling sail area and reducing spacecraft mass to achieve meaningful acceleration without propellant.

IKAROS, launched by JAXA in 2010, remains the only spacecraft to have demonstrated solar sail propulsion in deep space. LightSail 2, operated by the Planetary Society, deorbited in 2022 after successfully demonstrating attitude control via sail trim. Both showed the physics works at small scale.

Read the full story: Space.com

Satellite of the Day

COSMOS 2146

COSMOS 2146, also known as Kosmos-2146, is a military communication satellite launched by the Soviet Union on May 16, 1991, during the final months before the USSR’s dissolution. Manufactured by NPOPM and deployed via Tsiklon-3 rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, this 225 kg spacecraft carries the Strela-3 payload—a military-grade communication system designed to support secure messaging across Soviet and post-Soviet territories. The satellite’s cylindrical design with articulated solar panels and a 7-meter antenna span reflects the compact, efficient engineering typical of Soviet military space platforms from this era.

Orbiting at a highly inclined 82.57°, COSMOS 2146 provides near-polar coverage ideal for northerly communication routes and arctic operations. Nearly three decades after launch, this satellite remains an active piece of Cold War legacy hardware still tracked by space surveillance networks. Its longevity is noteworthy—most communication satellites are designed for 10-15 year lifespans, making COSMOS 2146 a testament to robust Soviet spacecraft engineering and a fascinating relic of when the space domain reflected geopolitical divisions below.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track COSMOS 2146

Upcoming Space Launches

June 3

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

  • From Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (08:02 UTC) A batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

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

  • From Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

June 4

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

  • From Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (11:31 UTC) Details to be determined — likely SpaceSail polar orbit LEO communication satellites. The Long March 6A is China’s first rocket with solid rocket boosters, developed by CASC and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, with a lift capacity augmented by four solid strap-on boosters.

• Blue Origin New Glenn: Amazon Leo (LN-01)

  • From Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (17:21 UTC) New Glenn will carry 48 satellites for Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), Amazon’s planned 3,276-satellite broadband mega-constellation targeting underserved and remote areas globally. Satellites will be placed in low Earth orbit at altitudes between 590–630 km. New Glenn is a reusable, 7-meter-diameter two- or three-stage rocket developed by Blue Origin.

June 5

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8: Unknown Payload
  • From Commercial LC-1, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (05:00 UTC) Details to be determined — likely SpaceSail polar orbit LEO communication satellites. The Long March 8 can carry up to 8,100 kg to low Earth orbit and is based on the Long March 7 first stage, augmented by a liquid hydrogen upper stage.

June 8

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

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

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 10-35

  • From Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:07 UTC) A batch of 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

June 10

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3: Unknown Payload

  • From Haiyang Offshore Launch Location, Haiyang Oriental Spaceport (00:30 UTC) Details to be determined. Smart Dragon-3 is a solid-fuel orbital rocket designed for the commercial market by a subsidiary of CASC.

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3-30: H3-30 Test Flight

  • From Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan (00:53 UTC) Test flight of the H3-30 variant featuring three LE-9 engines on the first stage and no solid rocket boosters. The mission will carry a dummy main payload (Vehicle Evaluation Payload 5, VEP-5) along with five hitchhiking small satellites: PETREL, STARS-X, BRO-22, VERTECS, and HORN-L/R. The H3 is an expendable liquid-propellant launch vehicle developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and JAXA.

• Indian Space Research Organization GSLV Mk II: GISAT-1A (EOS-05)

  • From Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India (TBD UTC) GISAT-1A is an Indian geostationary earth observation satellite designed for continuous imaging of the Indian subcontinent and rapid monitoring of natural hazards and disasters. GSLV Mk II is India’s largest operational launch vehicle, featuring an indigenous cryogenic upper stage.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-44

  • From Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Watch Live

Schedule Changes

• H3-30 | H3-30 Test Flight has been newly added to the manifest, scheduled for June 10 at 00:53 UTC from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, with a status of Go for Launch.
• Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-44 has been newly added to the manifest, scheduled for June 10 at 14:00 UTC from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, with a status of Go for Launch.

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