Top Stories

SpaceX Launches First Block 2 BlueBird Satellites for AST SpaceMobile

SpaceX flew three Block 2 BlueBird satellites for AST SpaceMobile from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, lifting off at 0639 UTC on June 16. This is the third AST SpaceMobile launch on a Falcon 9 and the first to carry the upgraded Block 2 variant of the BlueBird bus.

Block 2 satellites are larger and carry more capacity than the Block 1 units already in orbit. As these new objects get catalogued, you’ll be able to track them directly in KeepTrack once NORAD IDs are assigned.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

PiLogic Partners with Air Force Lab to Test Satellite Fault-Prediction Software

PiLogic, a startup applying probabilistic reasoning to spacecraft anomaly diagnosis, has entered a partnership with an Air Force research laboratory to test its fault-prediction tools on real satellite data. The goal is automated, early identification of on-orbit failures before they become unrecoverable.

For operators and analysts tracking anomalous behavior in resident space objects, predictive fault software in the hands of the Air Force could eventually feed into faster conjunction assessments and more accurate state vector updates for at-risk satellites.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Army Red Team Jammed Its Own Forces at Ivy Mass — Here’s What It Found

Breaking Defense embedded with the Army’s electronic warfare red team during the Ivy Mass exercise, observing deliberate jamming of friendly forces. The findings are feeding directly into updated tactics and procurement decisions.

GPS and communications jamming against friendly units is a known vulnerability in contested environments. The Ivy Mass results are a live data point on how current Army formations hold up — and where they don’t — under the kind of EW pressure peer adversaries can generate.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon Using Defense Production Act to Let Defense Firms Coordinate Without Antitrust Risk

Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, told reporters the Pentagon is using voluntary agreements under the Defense Production Act to let competing firms share supply chain information without triggering antitrust violations. The explicit aim is to address bottlenecks in munitions and defense industrial capacity.

The mechanism allows firms to discuss production constraints they otherwise couldn’t legally coordinate on. DoD is treating it as a tool to accelerate output across the industrial base without restructuring procurement law.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Lockheed Martin and GM Announce Manufacturing Partnership

Lockheed Martin COO Frank St. John and General Motors announced a production partnership targeting munitions and defense systems, drawing a direct comparison between THAAD interceptor manufacturing and Corvette production — both high-precision, high-rate lines with complex supply chains.

The partnership is aimed at applying GM’s automotive-scale manufacturing expertise to defense production rates. THAAD is a direct-ascent capable interceptor tracked by KeepTrack users monitoring missile defense assets.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Mach Industries Wins DIU Contract for Ship-Launched Long-Range Strike Drone

The Defense Innovation Unit awarded Mach Industries a contract to develop an unmanned aerial system capable of conducting long-range strikes from Navy ships without a large flight deck. The requirement targets vessels that can’t operate conventional fixed-wing aircraft.

Small-deck maritime UAS with strike capability is a gap the Navy has been trying to close for several years. A ship-launched, long-range platform changes the targeting geometry for surface combatants operating without carrier support.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

UK Defense Chief Warns of Capability Cuts Without More Operations Funding

Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, Chief of the UK Defence Staff, told a House of Lords committee that day-to-day operations budgeting is his primary concern, and that activities will be scaled back if additional spending isn’t approved. He did not specify which programs or operations are at risk.

The statement is a public pressure move ahead of UK budget discussions. Cuts to operations funding typically hit readiness, maintenance cycles, and exercise participation before they reach procurement — all of which affect allied interoperability.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

Kosmos 482

Launched by the Soviet Union on March 25, 1972, Kosmos 482 was a geodetic satellite designed to support the USSR’s ground surveying and mapping programs. Built by OKB10 and lofted aboard a Kosmos 11K65M rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, this cylindrical spacecraft with external antennae was part of the broader Soviet effort to create accurate geodetic reference frames during the Cold War space race. Geodetic satellites like Kosmos 482 were critical for everything from cartography to missile targeting, making them strategically important assets for Soviet space operations.

With a launch mass of 800 kg and an inclination of 82.98 degrees, Kosmos 482 operated in a high-inclination orbit suited for global geodetic coverage. Though now over 50 years old, this veteran satellite remains trackable and represents an important piece of space history—a window into how both superpowers leveraged orbital assets for Earth observation and scientific advancement during the early decades of the Space Age.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track Kosmos 482

Upcoming Space Launches

June 17

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Launch in Flight

  • BlueBird Block 2 #3-5 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (06:39 UTC) Three Block 2 satellites for AST SpaceMobile’s in-orbit cellular service, each featuring a communications array of approximately 2,400 square feet. Booster B1077 is flying for its 29th time, targeting a landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live

• Arianespace Ariane 64 Block 2: Go for Launch

  • Amazon Leo (LE-03) from Ariane Launch Area 4, Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana (11:53 UTC) 36 satellites for Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), a planned 3,276-satellite broadband internet mega-constellation in Low Earth Orbit. Satellites will be deployed across orbital shells at 590 km, 610 km, and 630 km altitude. Watch Live

• Rocket Lab Electron: Go for Launch

  • Ten Owl Of Ten (StriX Launch 10) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (20:40 UTC) A synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese imaging company Synspective, continuing the StriX constellation.

June 18

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Go for Launch

  • NROL-179 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (08:54 UTC) The fourteenth batch of satellites for a classified reconnaissance constellation built by SpaceX and Northrop Grumman for the National Reconnaissance Office, providing imaging and other intelligence capabilities. Watch Live

• Isar Aerospace Spectrum: To Be Confirmed

  • Onward and Upward from Orbital Launch Pad, Andøya Spaceport, Norway (20:00 UTC) Second test flight of the Spectrum small launch vehicle, carrying five CubeSats: CyBEEsat (TU Berlin), TriSat-S (University of Maribor), Platform 6 (EnduroSat), FramSat-1 (NTNU), and SpaceTeamSat1 (TU Wien Space Team), plus the “Let it Go” experiment from Dcubed. Exolaunch is managing payload integration and deployment. Previously delayed from January 21 due to a pressurization valve issue. Watch Live Launch Preview

June 20

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: To Be Confirmed

  • Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x 9) from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (06:39 UTC) Nine HIBLEO-4 satellites for Globalstar, constituting the first of two launches to replenish the HIBLEO-4 fleet. Booster B1090 flies for its 12th time, targeting a landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff. Watch Live Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Go for Launch

  • Starlink Group 17-28 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink broadband internet mega-constellation. Watch Live

June 21

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: To Be Confirmed
  • Project Starfall Demonstration Mission from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:43 UTC) Demonstration mission for SpaceX’s Project Starfall, a program to mass-produce reentry capsules for autonomously returning customer experiments and in-orbit manufacturing payloads safely to Earth. The Starfall capsule is approximately 0.75 m tall, 3.1 m in diameter, weighs ~2,100 kg, and can carry up to 1,000 kg of payload. It is ultimately designed to be carried on Starship flights.

June 23

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7A: To Be Confirmed
  • Unknown Payload from Launch Area 201, Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (02:00 UTC) Mission details are to be determined.

Schedule Changes

• Long March 3B/E | Shijian 31 has launched successfully and has been removed from the upcoming schedule.
• Long March 12 | SatNet LEO Group 22 has launched successfully and has been removed from the upcoming schedule.
• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 | BlueBird Block 2 #3-5 status has changed from Go for Launch to Launch in Flight.
• Isar Aerospace Spectrum | Onward and Upward status has changed from Go for Launch to To Be Confirmed.
• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7A | Unknown Payload has been newly added to the schedule, targeted for June 23, 2026 at 02:00 UTC (To Be Confirmed).

Note: Launch dates and times are subject to change due to technical or weather considerations.