Top Stories

New Glenn Explodes at LC-36, Grounded for a Year or More

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. Satellite imagery has confirmed visible damage to the pad structure from orbit. The vehicle is expected to be out of service for a year or more.

The failure compounds pressure on an already constrained launch market. SpaceNews reports that customers and mission planners are now reassessing manifest options with one fewer heavy-lift provider available. For context on how launch anomalies affect the tracked object catalog, see the KeepTrack glossary entry on debris.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Satellite Imagery Captures LC-36 Pad Damage After New Glenn Explosion

Commercial satellites imaged Blue Origin’s LC-36 launchpad following the New Glenn explosion, and the extent of structural damage is visible from orbit. The imagery shows the destructive reach of the blast across the pad complex.

This is a practical demonstration of how commercial Earth observation assets provide rapid ground-truth after launch site incidents — the same orbital vantage point that KeepTrack users track daily.

Read the full story: Space.com

New Glenn Loss Threatens NASA Moon Plans, Delays Lunar Lander Work

Blue Origin’s New Glenn was tied to NASA’s lunar ambitions, including cargo and infrastructure deliveries supporting Artemis. Analysts are calling the explosion “a pretty significant setback” for the company’s role in the lunar program timeline.

Blue Origin held contracts for lunar surface work that depended on New Glenn’s operational status. With the vehicle grounded indefinitely, NASA will need to evaluate alternative delivery options for planned lunar missions.

Read the full story: Space.com

National Security Launch Schedule Likely Intact Despite New Glenn Loss

The National Security Space Launch program is not expected to face immediate disruption from the New Glenn explosion. Todd Harrison, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said NSSL can absorb the loss by continuing to rely on SpaceX’s Falcon 9.

New Glenn had been working toward NSSL Phase 3 certification, but had not yet taken on a full national security manifest. That limited exposure reduces short-term risk to DoD launch schedules, though long-term competition in the NSSL pool narrows.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Navy Names Seven Companies for MUSV At-Sea Testing Phase

The U.S. Navy has selected seven companies — including Leidos, HII, and Saronic Technologies — to advance to at-sea testing for the Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicle program. This moves the MUSV competition from development into operational evaluation at sea.

The MUSV program is part of the Navy’s broader push to field autonomous surface vessels for maritime operations, including potential ISR and logistics roles relevant to naval space coordination.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Malaysia Publicly Rebukes Norway Over Cancelled Missile Sale

Malaysian Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin publicly criticized Norway at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore after Norway cancelled a missile sale to Malaysia. Nordin said the cancellation raises questions about whether “international agreement and strategic partnership can still be trusted at all.”

The dispute puts Norway’s export control decisions under direct diplomatic fire from a Southeast Asian partner. The public rebuke at a major regional security forum adds pressure on European defense exporters navigating dual-use technology and arms transfer policy.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Analysis: Reintroduce US Theater Nuclear Weapons to South Korea and Japan

Analysts Kyle Balzer and Robert Peters argue in Breaking Defense that the U.S. should reintroduce theater nuclear forces to South Korea first, then Japan, to reassure allies and strengthen deterrence against China. The argument draws on concerns about ally confidence in extended deterrence commitments.

The proposal is a policy argument, not an announced decision. It reflects a live debate in Washington over whether forward-deployed nuclear assets in the Pacific are necessary to maintain credible deterrence as China’s nuclear arsenal expands.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

RAPIS-1

RAPIS-1 is a technology demonstration satellite developed and operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Launched on January 18, 2019, aboard a Epsilon rocket from the Kagoshima Space Center (KSCUT), this compact 200-kilogram spacecraft was designed to validate new satellite technologies and engineering concepts. With dimensions of roughly 1 meter cubed and solar panel arrays spanning 2.5 meters, RAPIS-1 carried advanced power systems and was built to operate for approximately 27 months—making it an ideal testbed for next-generation satellite capabilities.

The mission was part of JAXA’s broader effort to advance Japan’s independent launch and satellite technology capabilities. Though RAPIS-1 has now completed its operational life and decayed from orbit, it successfully demonstrated critical technologies that informed subsequent Japanese satellite programs. Its sun-synchronous orbit at 97.17° inclination positioned it well for Earth observation and technology validation tasks during its operational window.

Learn more about this satellite: View RAPIS-1

Upcoming Space Launches

June 3

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

  • Routine Starlink mission launching 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA (08:02 UTC) Watch Live

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

  • Routine Starlink mission launching 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA (14:00 UTC) Watch Live

June 4

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

  • Probable SpaceSail Polar Orbit LEO communication satellites launching from Launch Complex 9A, Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (11:31 UTC). The Long March 6A is China’s first rocket with solid rocket boosters, developed by CASC and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, capable of lifting payloads to sun-synchronous orbit.

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

  • Carrying 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo broadband internet constellation (formerly Project Kuiper), which will ultimately comprise 3,276 satellites in low Earth orbit to deliver high-speed connectivity to underserved regions globally. Launching from Launch Complex 36A, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA (17:21 UTC).

June 5

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8: Unknown Payload
  • Probable SpaceSail Polar Orbit LEO communication satellites launching from Commercial LC-1, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (06:25 UTC). The Long March 8, capable of lifting up to 8,100 kg to LEO, is based on the Long March 7 and features an optional core-only configuration without side boosters.

June 7

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 10-35
  • Routine Starlink mission launching 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA (10:30 UTC). Watch Live

June 8

• Agency for Defense Development South Korean ADD Solid-Fuel SLV: Demo Flight
  • Demonstration flight of South Korea’s solid-fuel small launch vehicle launching from an offshore launch platform at sea (05:00 UTC). Launch Preview

June 10

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

  • GISAT-1A (GEO Imaging Satellite) is an Indian Earth observation satellite that will operate from geostationary orbit to enable continuous monitoring of the Indian subcontinent and rapid assessment of natural hazards and disasters. Launching from Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India (time TBD).

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

  • Test flight of the H3-30 variant featuring 3 LE-9 engines and no solid rocket boosters. Carries dummy payload VEP-5 and five hitchhiking small satellites: PETREL, STARS-X, BRO-22, VERTECS, and HORN-L/R. Launching to sun-synchronous orbit from Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2, Tanegashima Space Center, Japan (00:53 UTC).

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

  • Details TBD. The Smart Dragon-3 is a solid-fuel commercial orbital rocket developed by a CASC subsidiary. Launching from Haiyang offshore launch location, Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, People’s Republic of China (00:30 UTC).

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 5: Unknown Payload

  • Details TBD. The Long March 5 is China’s heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of carrying up to 25,000 kg to low Earth orbit, roughly equivalent in class to the American Delta IV Heavy. Launching from Launch Complex 101, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (06:00 UTC).

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

  • Routine Starlink mission launching 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, USA (14:00 UTC). Watch Live

Schedule Changes

• New Addition: A China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 5 carrying an unknown payload has been added to the manifest, currently scheduled for To Be Confirmed on June 10, 2026 at 06:00 UTC from Wenchang Space Launch Site.
• Status Update: The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8 | Unknown Payload mission has been upgraded from To Be Confirmed to Go for Launch, targeting June 5, 2026.

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