Space Brief 27 Apr 2025
Today's highlights include SpaceX's dual Starlink launches, NASA's progress on the Dragonfly mission to Titan, and delays in Starlink's Indian market entry.
Launch Date
April 8, 1970
Launch Site
AFWTR
Launch Pad
SLC2E
Launch Vehicle
Thorad SLV-2G Agena D
NORAD ID
42499
International Designator
1970-025RD
Epoch
Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:16:16 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
100.09°
Right Ascension
91.22°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
161.46°
Period
104.36 min
Mean Motion
13.80 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
THORAD AGENA D DEB
Alternative Name
deb Agena D
Type
Status
Owner
LERC
Country
United States
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 42499U 70025RD 26179.01130537 .00000755 00000-0 77775-3 0 9990
2 42499 100.0924 91.2195 0005445 161.4637 198.6712 13.79825073632841
Source: Celestrak
Length
0
Diameter
0
Span
0
Dry Mass
0
Launch Mass
0
Shape
N/A
Radar Cross Section
0.0111
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
Unknown
Purpose
Unknown
Mission
Unknown
Manufacturer
Unknown
Life Expectancy
Unknown
Bus
Unknown
Configuration
Unknown
Motor
Unknown
Equipment
Unknown
Power System
Unknown
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's highlights include SpaceX's dual Starlink launches, NASA's progress on the Dragonfly mission to Titan, and delays in Starlink's Indian market entry.
Elon Musk pushed back on orbital crowding concerns as SpaceX eyes data centers in space, with 10,584 Starlink satellites currently operational.
In 2024, China launched 68 orbital missions. In 2025, the number jumped to 97. In 2026, state media and Western analysts agree the target is 140 or more. Most of that growth is being driven by two state-backed mega-constellations, a half-dozen private launch companies hitting stride, and a deliberate national pivot toward commercial space. Beijing is no longer trying to catch SpaceX. It is trying to build an industrial base that outlasts one.
Missile strike damages SES teleport facility in Israel amid military operations. Anduril acquires ExoAnalytic's 130-person space tracking team, integrating satellite/missile surveillance into defense portfolio.
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.
Today's Space Brief covers reentries, the impact of NOAA dismissals on space weather tracking, a strategic academic partnership probing cosmic mysteries, and a newly unveiled space motto.
On April 18, 2014, a Falcon 9 first stage did something no orbital rocket had ever done before. It fired its engines on the way down, steered itself through the atmosphere using grid fins that did not yet exist, and touched the Atlantic Ocean softly enough to survive the impact. Nobody recovered it. The data was the whole point.
The satellite industry's biggest operators are betting on multi-orbit architectures that combine LEO, MEO, and GEO into unified networks. A San Francisco startup called Contrivian thinks they've overcomplicated the problem, and the physics might be on its side.