Space Brief 8 Jan 2025
Today's highlights include China's launch of the Shijian-25 for on-orbit refueling tests, major Pentagon contracts for solid rocket motors and hypersonic testing, and the US Space Force's record-setting year of launches.
Launch Date
April 3, 1965
Launch Site
AFWTR
Launch Pad
PALC2-4
Launch Vehicle
Atlas SLV-3 Agena D
NORAD ID
01314
International Designator
1965-027A
Epoch
Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:53:39 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
90.24°
Right Ascension
6.61°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
245.89°
Period
111.47 min
Mean Motion
12.92 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
OPS 4682 (SNAPSHOT)
Alternative Name
SNAPSHOT-1
Type
Status
Owner
AFSSD/AEC
Country
United States
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 01314U 65027A 26184.99559506 .00000040 00000-0 12365-3 0 9992
2 01314 90.2386 6.6100 0028679 245.8926 281.2231 12.91805720633196
Source: Celestrak
Apologies, there is no summary for this satellite yet. I am working to generate these for every object in the catalog, but it is going to take time.
Length
5
Diameter
1.5
Span
5
Dry Mass
422
Launch Mass
422
Shape
Cone + Cyl
Radar Cross Section
5.3791
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
SNAP-10A FS-4
Purpose
Experimental
Mission
Experimental
Manufacturer
RCA
Life Expectancy
1 year (planned); 43 days (achieved)
Bus
SNAP 10 Reactor
Configuration
Agena-D, Ion engine
Motor
Bell 8096, ion engine
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
SNAP-10A nuclear reactor
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's highlights include China's launch of the Shijian-25 for on-orbit refueling tests, major Pentagon contracts for solid rocket motors and hypersonic testing, and the US Space Force's record-setting year of launches.
Today's brief covers advances in satellite docking technology, challenges faced by space companies with government navigation, and China's leap in space autonomy through AI developments.
The bustling downtown of space: where most satellites operate, communication networks bloom, and the challenges of atmospheric drag and radiation shape our approach to space operations
Starlink satellite count 2026: SpaceX tops 10,000 active satellites, 10,037 working of 11,558 launched, under seven years after first launch.
Rocket Lab Neutron launch schedule holds at Q4 2026 for the first flight as a five-launch contract lands; barge recovery starts on flight two.
Elon Musk shifts SpaceX's priority to lunar settlement before Mars colonization. Crew-12 launch delayed by weather to Feb 12. SpaceX partners with Hexagon Purus for manufacturing.
Starlink satellites fired their thrusters to dodge a collision roughly 300,000 times in 2025, about 822 times a day. Behind that number is a fragile, half-automated system of warnings, probabilities, and judgment calls that decides which close approaches are worth a maneuver and which are just noise.
Recent Starlink launches, autonomous navigation for satellite swarms, major funding for asteroid mining, and insights into NASA's various projects and developments.