Top Stories

Interim Air Force One Equipped with Starlink for Presidential Communications

Trump’s temporary Air Force One — a Qatar-gifted Boeing 747-8 valued at approximately $400 million — was unveiled at Joint Base Andrews on June 19, 2026. The aircraft has been modified for presidential use and fitted with Starlink as part of its advanced communications suite.

This is the first publicly confirmed use of SpaceX’s commercial LEO constellation for direct presidential communications infrastructure. It also puts Starlink terminals on one of the most scrutinized aircraft in U.S. airspace, raising questions about communications security and spectrum management for high-value government platforms.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Astrobotic Acquired by Voyager Technologies to Scale Lunar Lander Production

Astrobotic has agreed to be acquired by Voyager Technologies, citing the need to rapidly expand capacity in response to NASA’s lunar base initiative. The company frames the sale as a resourcing decision, not a distress move.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander failed to reach the Moon in January 2024 after a propulsion anomaly. Whether Voyager’s backing accelerates a second attempt — and what that timeline looks like under NASA’s current lunar architecture — has not been disclosed.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX Launches 24 Starlink Satellites on Falcon 9 from Vandenberg

The Starlink 17-28 mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 20, 2026 at 11:12:16 EDT. It is the 58th Starlink-dedicated Falcon 9 mission to low Earth orbit.

The mission adds 24 more Starlink satellites to an already congested LEO environment. As the constellation density increases, conjunction frequency and close approach analysis become more operationally relevant for other LEO operators.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

Echo Mapping Technique Suggests Dark Matter Clusters Around Supermassive Black Holes

Researchers using a technique called echo mapping have found evidence that supermassive black holes — including the one at the Milky Way’s center, Sagittarius A* — may be surrounded by concentrated clusters of dark matter.

Echo mapping tracks light travel-time delays between a black hole’s emission and reflected signals from surrounding material. The findings are observational astronomy, not directly relevant to orbital tracking, but they have implications for gravitational modeling at galactic scales.

Read the full story: Space.com

Experts Call for Formal Lunar Building Codes Ahead of NASA Moon Base Plans

With NASA pushing toward a sustained lunar surface presence under the Artemis program, at least one structural engineering expert is arguing that formalized construction standards — a lunar building code — need to exist before building begins.

The Moon’s environment presents challenges that terrestrial codes don’t cover: vacuum, radiation, regolith mechanics, and micrometeorite flux. No international body currently has authority to set or enforce such standards, and the timeline pressure from NASA’s base initiative makes the governance gap more immediate.

Read the full story: Space.com

Satellite of the Day

GALAXY 12

GALAXY 12 (G-12) is a communication satellite that has been serving the North American market since its launch in April 2003. Built by OSCD and operated by PAN, this spacecraft carries 20-24 C-band transponders designed to deliver reliable communications services across a wide coverage area. Launched aboard an Ariane 5G rocket from French Guiana, Galaxy 12 represents the workhorse class of geostationary satellites that formed the backbone of commercial communications networks in the early 2000s.

With a launch mass of 1,760 kg and designed for a 15-year operational lifespan, Galaxy 12 was engineered for long-term reliability in the demanding geostationary orbit environment. Its C-band payload made it particularly valuable for fixed satellite services, and the satellite’s near-equatorial orbit (6.9° inclination) positioned it perfectly for serving continental and maritime communications needs. More than two decades after launch, Galaxy 12 remains a testament to the durability of satellite design from that era.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track GALAXY 12

Upcoming Space Launches

June 21

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-28 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Booster B1063 on its 33rd flight will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

June 23

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 7A:

  • Unknown Payload from Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (02:02 UTC) Details to be determined.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Project Starfall Demonstration Mission from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (10:43 UTC) SpaceX will debut its new Starfall re-entry vehicle — a cylindrical capsule approximately 3.1 meters in diameter, weighing around 2,100 kg and capable of carrying 1,000 kg of payload. The Falcon 9 Block 5, a highly reusable two-stage rocket with a payload capacity of 22,800 kg to low Earth orbit, will deliver Starfall for demonstration re-entry(ies) over the Pacific Ocean. SpaceX has filed for up to two re-entry events, though it is unclear whether two vehicles will fly on this mission. Watch Live Launch Preview

June 25

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-45 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:48 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Booster B1063 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

June 27

• Northrop Grumman Space Systems Pegasus XL:
  • Swift Boost Mission from Kwajalein Atoll, Air Launch to Orbit (09:00 UTC) Contracted by NASA under a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 3 contract, Katalyst Space Technologies’ LINK servicing spacecraft will rendezvous with and attach to NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to re-boost its orbit. The mission aims to demonstrate in-space servicing and mission extension capabilities while prolonging the Swift Observatory’s science lifetime in gamma ray astronomy. The Pegasus XL is an air-launched solid-fueled rocket released from a carrier aircraft at approximately 40,000 ft, capable of delivering up to 443 kg to low Earth orbit.

June 28

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-40 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launching to low Earth orbit. Booster B1063 will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

June 30

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Ten Owl Of Ten (StriX Launch 10) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (TBD) The tenth StriX-series synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth observation company Synspective, launching to sun-synchronous orbit aboard Rocket Lab’s small-lift Electron vehicle. Window opens at 8:40 a.m. New Zealand Time. Launch Preview

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (TBD) A synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS, launching to low Earth orbit.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (×9) from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (TBD) The first of two planned launches to replenish Globalstar’s HIBLEO-4 satellite fleet, carrying nine satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1090, flying for the 12th time, will land on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3:

  • Unknown Payload from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, Haiyang Offshore Launch Location (TBD) Details to be determined. Smart Dragon-3 is a solid-fueled commercial orbital rocket developed by a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, with a launch mass of 140 tonnes.

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