Top Stories

Space Force Terminates $1.7B SCAR Contract, Relaunches Competition

Space Force has terminated its Satellite Control Antenna Replacement (SCAR) contract, which had been valued at $1.7 billion, and is now seeking fresh bids for the program. SCAR is intended to modernize the ground-based antenna infrastructure used to command and control military satellites. A recompete means delays to an already critical gap in ground segment modernization.

For KeepTrack users tracking Space Force assets, ground antenna availability directly affects how consistently operators can maintain contact windows with satellites in MEO and GEO orbits. Any gap in SCAR fielding extends reliance on aging legacy systems.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Boeing Wins $2B Contract for Two New MUOS Satellites

Boeing has been awarded a $2 billion Space Force contract to build two additional Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites. The Space Systems Command says the satellites will launch no earlier than 2031 and 2032, extending MUOS constellation operations through 2035.

MUOS provides narrowband UHF satellite communications for U.S. and allied military forces worldwide. The existing constellation consists of five satellites in GEO. You can track the current MUOS birds — for example, MUOS-5 — directly in KeepTrack.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Former Air Force No. 2 Officer Calls Out Space Acquisition Failures

Jim Slife, who served as the Air Force’s second-highest-ranking officer, published his first op-ed since leaving service, arguing that slow and dysfunctional space procurement processes are undermining U.S. readiness. He frames acquisition reform as the prerequisite for winning future conflicts that will have a space dimension from day one.

The piece carries weight given Slife’s direct visibility into both Air Force and Space Force budget and acquisition decisions at the senior-most levels.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

House Approves $1T FY2027 Defense Spending Bill, Adopts ‘War Department’ Rename

House appropriators passed the fiscal year 2027 defense spending bill at $1 trillion during a markup session in which no Democratic amendments survived. The bill also adopts the renaming of the Department of Defense to the “War Department.”

The bill’s topline directly shapes Space Force modernization budgets, including programs like SCAR, MUOS follow-ons, and next-generation missile warning satellites. Final passage and Senate reconciliation will determine what actually gets funded.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

White House Requests $87.6B Supplemental, $67B Directed to Defense

The White House has sent Congress an $87.6 billion supplemental spending request, with $67 billion allocated to defense. The request includes $21 billion specifically to replenish munitions expended in the Iran conflict, with remaining funds spread across other defense priorities.

Supplemental requests of this scale historically include space and satellite communications components, particularly for resilient military comms and ISR. Whether Space Force programs draw from this pot will depend on congressional markup.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Pentagon Must Contract $152B in Reconciliation Funds by October 1

Program offices across the Pentagon are under pressure to get $152 billion in reconciliation funding obligated under contract before the October 1 deadline, or risk losing the money. One defense official told Breaking Defense that offices are balancing speed against the need for fair pricing and adequate oversight.

Rushed contracting at this scale raises audit and fraud risk. Space programs competing for a share of this funding — including ground systems, launch procurement, and satellite production — may see contract awards accelerate significantly before the fiscal year closes.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

ZYK Micro-gravity Satellite (58586)

Operated by ZYK, a Chinese space organization, this micro-gravity research satellite launched on December 17, 2023, aboard the Shuang Quxian 1 vehicle from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSC). Designed as a compact box-shaped platform with deployable solar panels and weighing 150 kg, the satellite was dedicated to conducting micro-gravity experiments in orbit—a critical capability for materials science, physics research, and industrial applications that benefit from the absence of gravitational effects.

The satellite’s near-polar sun-synchronous orbit at 97.4° inclination made it ideal for consistent solar power generation and stable thermal conditions necessary for sensitive micro-gravity work. However, the satellite has since decayed and is no longer operational, completing its mission in Earth orbit before naturally re-entering the atmosphere.

Learn more about this satellite: View ZYK Micro-gravity Satellite

Upcoming Space Launches

June 27

• Northrop Grumman Space Systems Pegasus XL:
  • Swift Boost Mission from Air Launch to Orbit, Kwajalein Atoll (09:00–14:28 UTC) Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer aircraft will carry the Pegasus XL to approximately 40,000 feet before releasing it, delivering the Katalyst Space Systems-built Link spacecraft to rendezvous with the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and boost it to a safe operating orbit. This mission is supported by NASA. Launch Preview

June 28

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-40 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA — Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00–18:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1081 will fly for the 25th time, landing on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

June 29

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Sirius SXM-11 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA — Space Launch Complex 40 (02:25–06:21 UTC) A Falcon 9 will deliver the SXM-11 geostationary satellite for SiriusXM to a geostationary transfer orbit. Built by Lanteris Space Systems (formerly Maxar Space Systems), a subsidiary of Intuitive Machines, on its 1300-class platform. Booster B1085 will fly for the 17th time, landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

• Agency for Defense Development South Korean ADD Solid-Fuel SLV:

  • Demo Flight from Sea Launch Platform (05:00–09:00 UTC) A demonstration test flight of South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development solid-fuel small launch vehicle, targeting low Earth orbit. Launch Preview

June 30

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • Ten Owl Of Ten (StriX Launch 10) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (To Be Determined) The tenth launch of Synspective’s StriX synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite constellation, carried on Rocket Lab’s Electron small-lift launch vehicle to sun-synchronous orbit. Launch Preview

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • The Grain Goddess Provides (iQPS Launch 7) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (To Be Determined) Seventh launch for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS, delivering a synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite to low Earth orbit aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron vehicle.

• China Rocket Co. Ltd. Smart Dragon 3:

  • Unknown Payload from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport (To Be Determined) Details of this mission are yet to be determined. Smart Dragon-3 is a solid-fuel commercial orbital rocket developed by a subsidiary of the state-owned CASC group.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x 9) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA — Space Launch Complex 40 (To Be Determined) A Falcon 9 will launch nine Globalstar HIBLEO-4 replenishment satellites to low Earth orbit — the first of two planned launches for this fleet refresh. Booster B1090 will fly for the 12th time, targeting a landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean. Watch Live Launch Preview

• European Space Agency Themis Demonstrator:

  • T1H-1 from Esrange Space Center, Launch Complex 3B (To Be Determined) First low-altitude hop test of the European Space Agency’s Themis reusable rocket demonstrator, targeting a peak altitude of up to 100 metres. Themis is powered by the reusable, methane-fuelled Prometheus engine and is developed with ArianeGroup as prime contractor, demonstrating European low-cost rocket recovery and reuse technologies.

• Deep Blue Aerospace Nebula-1:

  • Demo Flight from Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, Land Launch Pad 1 (To Be Determined) First test launch of Deep Blue Aerospace’s Nebula-1 reusable rocket, flying a suborbital flight profile.

Schedule Changes

• New Launch Added: Deep Blue Aerospace’s Nebula-1 | Demo Flight has been added to the manifest, currently scheduled for no earlier than June 30, 2026. This will be the first test flight of the Nebula-1 reusable rocket on a suborbital profile.
• Status Update: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 carrying Starlink Group 17-45 has been removed from the upcoming calendar following a successful launch.

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