Space Brief 16 Sep 2025
Today's brief highlights the impact of military spending and technology competition on the space economy, new satellite connectivity partnerships, and defense spending pledges in Europe.
Launch Date
January 15, 1986
Launch Site
PLMSC
Launch Pad
LC41/1
Launch Vehicle
Soyuz-U
NORAD ID
16491
International Designator
1986-004B
Decay Date
1/21/1986
Name
SL-4 R/B
Alternative Name
Soyuz-U 21-837 Blok-I
Type
Status
Owner
RVSN
Country
USSR
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
Length
6.7
Diameter
2.7
Span
6.7
Dry Mass
2350
Launch Mass
2350
Shape
Cyl
Radar Cross Section
Unknown
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
11S510
Purpose
Unknown
Mission
Unknown
Manufacturer
PROG
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
Blok-I
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
Unknown
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
Unknown
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's brief highlights the impact of military spending and technology competition on the space economy, new satellite connectivity partnerships, and defense spending pledges in Europe.
AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird constellation is a bet that raw aperture size wins. Each satellite unfolds a 64-square-meter phased-array antenna in orbit, the largest commercial antenna ever deployed. The company claims a stock smartphone on the ground can connect directly to it. The competition says the physics doesn't support that. Seventeen satellites in and a contract with AT&T, Verizon, and Vodafone, somebody's math is wrong.
SpaceX preps for Starship Flight 6 while Shotwell predicts Starship's future impact. Impulse Space secures Falcon 9 launches, and potential shifts in US space policy loom.
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Russia's Volna Kupol Garant electronic warfare system was purpose-built to jam Starlink. It costs around $1.5 million per unit, covers just 20 square kilometers, and can only target one satellite at a time. Ukraine has been finding and destroying them within days of deployment.
A 220-year-old Japanese construction company wants to build an 11,000-kilometer belt of solar cells around the lunar equator and beam the power back to Earth. The physics checks out. Everything else is another story.
Today's space brief covers NASA's shift to private companies for astronaut rescue, EU's potential collaboration with SES for satellite services, and notable military contract allocations. Plus, a satellite spotlight on LEMUR-2-KADI.
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