Latest Developments

SpaceX is making a second attempt to launch the ViaSat-3 F3 communications satellite aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, after Monday’s attempt was waved off due to weather. The mission targets a 10:13 a.m. EDT liftoff opening an 85-minute window, with ViaSat-3 F3 destined for geosynchronous transfer orbit. Meanwhile, the broader SpaceX manifest continues to support a Starlink constellation now numbering 11,877 launched, with 10,280 satellites actively working on orbit. In executive news, the SpaceX board has formalized a landmark compensation structure tying Elon Musk’s bonus directly to the goal of placing one million people on Mars.

Space Safety

The current Starlink conjunction threat picture shows four MODERATE risk events concentrated within a 72-hour window (April 9-14, 2026), with the highest-risk event involving STARLINK-33563 and COSMOS 2251 debris on April 13 at 21:44 UTC (maximum probability 0.3973). No HIGH risk conjunctions are currently flagged, though the debris-involved events warrant continued monitoring given their involvement with non-operational objects. Concurrently, five Starlink satellites are predicted to reenter between April 29-30, 2026, with decay windows ranging from 1,440 to 2,880 minutes, representing typical end-of-life disposal operations.

Detailed Coverage

Weather Forces Falcon Heavy to Stand Down — Second Attempt Underway for ViaSat-3 F3

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy returned to the pad Tuesday for a fresh shot at lofting the ViaSat-3 F3 satellite after unfavorable weather conditions scrubbed Monday’s initial attempt. The 85-minute launch window opens at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, with the rocket targeting a geosynchronous transfer orbit insertion for the high-throughput communications satellite.

ViaSat-3 F3 is the third and final spacecraft in ViaSat’s third-generation GEO broadband fleet, intended to expand capacity over the Asia-Pacific region. A successful Falcon Heavy delivery would complete the global ViaSat-3 arc and represent another marquee commercial GEO mission for SpaceX’s triple-core heavy-lift vehicle. Trackers can expect a coast phase of several hours before the Payload Separation Event in the early afternoon.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX Board Formalizes Mars Colonization Bonus for Elon Musk

The SpaceX board of directors has established a formal compensation milestone directly tied to Elon Musk achieving the company’s defining long-term objective: placing one million people on Mars. The structure reflects the board’s confidence that Starship, currently in iterative flight testing, is the credible vehicle to make interplanetary colonization economically viable within Musk’s lifetime.

The bonus arrangement is notable not only for its astronomical ambition but for what it signals about SpaceX’s internal governance and strategic priorities. With Starship’s orbital flight test cadence accelerating and Starlink’s cash flows—generated by more than 10,280 working satellites—funding rapid development, the board appears to be betting that the Mars timeline is now concrete enough to warrant contractual incentives rather than aspirational rhetoric.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Artemis III Lunar Landing Slips to Late 2027 as SpaceX and Blue Origin Align Timelines

NASA has formally revised the target date for the Artemis III crewed lunar landing to no earlier than late 2027, with both SpaceX and Blue Origin confirming their respective Human Landing System vehicles will be ready on that schedule. The delay extends a pattern of schedule pressure across the Artemis program driven by technical development timelines, suit readiness, and Gateway-related planning.

For SpaceX, the revised date affects the Starship Human Landing System variant, which must complete its own series of uncrewed demonstration milestones before astronauts can rely on it for a surface touchdown near the lunar south pole. The alignment between SpaceX and Blue Origin on the late-2027 readiness window gives NASA a degree of schedule confidence, but the “put it in pencil” framing from agency officials underscores that further slippage remains a live risk. Satellite trackers following Lunar Gateway hardware launches will want to monitor how the revised Artemis cadence affects future Falcon Heavy and Starship manifest commitments.

Read the full story: Ars Technica

Constellation Status

There have been no changes to the Starlink constellation since the last check. The constellation currently consists of 11,877 total launched satellites, with 10,296 currently in orbit, 10,280 of which are actively working, and 1,581 that have decayed.

• Total Launched: 11877
• Total On Orbit: 10296
• Total Working: 10280

Track Starlink satellites in real-time: Track Starlink