Space Brief 20 Sep 2025
Today's highlights include SpaceX's Starlink launch, NASA's revived lunar mission, and a spotlight on space-defense activities.
Launch Date
November 8, 1991
Launch Site
AFWTR
Launch Pad
SLC4E
Launch Vehicle
Titan 403A
NORAD ID
21775
International Designator
1991-076A
Epoch
Tue, 30 Jun 2026 11:50:40 GMT
Apogee
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Perigee
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Inclination
63.35°
Right Ascension
204.85°
Eccentricity
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Argument of Perigee
273.11°
Period
260.21 min
Mean Motion
5.53 rev/day
Latitude
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Longitude
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Altitude
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Velocity
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Name
USA 72
Alternative Name
USA 72
Type
Status
Owner
NRO/NRL
Country
United States
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 21775U 91076A 26181.49352902 .00000038 00000-0 00000-0 0 9998
2 21775 63.3518 204.8506 3336690 273.1085 50.0001 5.53396856 43295
Source: Celestrak
Length
3
Diameter
4
Span
4
Dry Mass
3000
Launch Mass
3000
Shape
Cyl
Radar Cross Section
Unknown
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
SLDCOM 2
Purpose
Communication
Mission
Communication
Manufacturer
Naval Research Laboratory
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
NOSS B
Configuration
?
Motor
AJ-23-153 ?
Equipment
UHF transponder
Power System
Unknown
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's highlights include SpaceX's Starlink launch, NASA's revived lunar mission, and a spotlight on space-defense activities.
Europe's first high-power all-electric telecom satellite doesn't just sit above the Pacific - it got there on robotic arms and plasma thrusters, broke records doing it, and now keeps your airplane Wi-Fi running between LA and Tokyo.
Booster B1067 hit 36 flights on July 9, while SpaceX files to expand Starlink to 100,000 satellites at 4,400 lbs each.
Space Force terminates Resilient GPS satellite program. China successfully tests Long March 12B reusable first stage at Jiuquan. GE and Lockheed validate detonation ramjet for hypersonic missiles.
SpaceX continues to dominate with two Starlink launches in one day, the unveiling of its final Crew Dragon, and facing legal challenges from Mexico regarding a recent Starship incident.
SpaceX achieves significant milestones with multiple satellite launches and ongoing challenges in rural broadband funding. Noteworthy advances in Starlink capabilities enhance international connectivity.
Today's highlights include the cancellation of Starship landing plans, Planet Labs' defense expansion, and cutting-edge radiation-hardened tech for space and defense.
On February 10, 2009, an active Iridium communications satellite and a derelict Soviet military spacecraft slammed into each other 789 kilometers above Siberia. The collision produced more than 2,300 pieces of trackable debris that are still up there. Seventeen years later, the Iridium-Cosmos collision remains the event that made space debris a policy problem the world could no longer ignore.