Space Brief 15 May 2025
Today's brief highlights a nuclear battery startup's funding boost, advisory board additions in the space sector, and key military updates impacting space operations.
Launch Date
March 25, 2021
Launch Site
VOSTO
Launch Pad
PU1S
Launch Vehicle
Soyuz-2-1B
NORAD ID
48068
International Designator
2021-025AC
Epoch
Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:57:56 GMT
Apogee
Calculating...
Perigee
Calculating...
Inclination
87.90°
Right Ascension
316.92°
Eccentricity
Calculating...
Argument of Perigee
101.36°
Period
109.63 min
Mean Motion
13.13 rev/day
Latitude
Calculating...
Longitude
Calculating...
Altitude
Calculating...
Velocity
Calculating...
Name
ONEWEB-0168
Alternative Name
OneWeb SL0168
Type
Status
Owner
ONEWEBN
Country
United Kingdom
Constellation
N/A
Related Satellites
Major Events
N/A
1 48068U 21025AC 26184.74856579 .00000322 00000-0 84790-3 0 9996
2 48068 87.8981 316.9248 0001947 101.3580 258.7768 13.13469014255738
Source: Celestrak
Length
1.3
Diameter
1
Span
5
Dry Mass
140
Launch Mass
148
Shape
Trapezoid+2 pan
Radar Cross Section
Unknown
Visual Magnitude
Unknown
Color
Unknown
Material Composition
Unknown
Payload
OneWeb L5-031
Purpose
Communication
Mission
Communication
Manufacturer
ONEWUS
Life Expectancy
+ 7 years
Bus
ARROW
Configuration
Arrow bus
Motor
SPT-50 or BHT-350 Hall effect thrusters
Equipment
Ku-Band payload
Power System
solar arrays, batteries
ADCS
Unknown
Transmitter Frequency
Unknown
Learn more about satellites and other related topics.
Today's brief highlights a nuclear battery startup's funding boost, advisory board additions in the space sector, and key military updates impacting space operations.
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.
Starship Flight 6 approaches with a daring booster catch, while SpaceX ramps up satellite launches and navigates regulatory challenges.
SpaceX celebrates significant milestones with its 100th launch of the year, enhancing Starlink's coverage while preparing for an escalating Starship production cadence.
Today's edition covers SpaceX scrubbing and successfully launching Starlink satellites, AI innovations in spacecraft propulsion, and the impact of SPHERE's debris disk survey in discovering hidden asteroid belts.
Today's highlights include SpaceX's record-breaking launches, Japan's final H-2A launch, and significant developments in satellite data policies impacting weather forecasting.
Today's space brief covers significant advancements in military counter-drone capabilities, workforce challenges in the Navy related to DOGE budget cuts, and highlights Germany's rise in defense spending. We also shine a spotlight on the communications satellite INTELSAT 901.
Space Force awards Pulse Space $40 million to develop laser systems for transmitting power and data between spacecraft in orbit. Game-changing on-orbit energy transfer capability.