X Report 28 Mar 2025
SpaceX sees another successful Starlink launch and faces strategic contract discussions as NASA pivots to reliable Dragon missions.
Launch Date
February 1, 1986
Launch Site
PLMSC
Launch Pad
LC16/2
Launch Vehicle
Molniya 8K78M
NORAD ID
16530
International Designator
1986-011C
Decay Date
3/24/1986
Name
SL-6 R/B(1)
Alternative Name
Molniya-M 56-677 Blok-I
Type
Status
Owner
RVSN
Country
USSR
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
Length
7
Diameter
2.7
Span
7
Dry Mass
2700
Launch Mass
2700
Shape
Cyl
Radar Cross Section
31.13
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.
SpaceX sees another successful Starlink launch and faces strategic contract discussions as NASA pivots to reliable Dragon missions.
Today's brief highlights key advancements in space technology and innovative military initiatives. Featuring deep space tracking system upgrades, a push towards quantum communications in orbit, and critical radar developments.
SpaceX successfully launched another batch of Starlink satellites in a night mission, marking a significant return to evening launches post-regulations.
The FAA has approved Starship Flight 9, paving the way for an upcoming test launch, while SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft is set to undock from the ISS after weather delays.
Space Force selects 14 companies for $1.8 billion Andromeda program to replace GSSAP geosynchronous surveillance satellites with commercial alternatives through 2036.
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.
Starlink constellation size in 2026: 9,931 satellites in orbit, 9,920 working from 11,463 launched. Starlink 17-18 adds 25 more from Vandenberg.
Today's brief covers Blue Origin's national security mission, a new missile interceptor project by Space Force, developments with Starship boosters, and more.