Top Stories

Space Force’s MUOS Follow-On Will Fly Boeing’s 702MP Bus

The U.S. Space Force has selected Boeing’s 702MP spacecraft platform for its next generation of Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites. The 702MP has prior flight heritage on both commercial broadband and military wideband missions, making it a known quantity for UHF narrowband comms in this role.

MUOS provides secure narrowband communications for U.S. and allied warfighters worldwide. The existing constellation operates in geosynchronous orbit — you can track the current MUOS satellites directly in KeepTrack using their NORAD catalog entries. The follow-on contract adds near-term continuity to a capability the DoD depends on for beyond-line-of-sight comms.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Rocket Lab Delivers Synspective’s 10th SAR Satellite

Rocket Lab launched the 10th StriX-series radar-imaging satellite for Japan’s Synspective on June 26. The Electron mission had been pushed back to accommodate a responsive space launch for another customer.

Synspective’s StriX constellation uses synthetic aperture radar, meaning it can collect imagery through clouds and at night. With 10 satellites now on orbit, the company is building toward revisit rates useful for maritime monitoring and disaster response. Track the newest addition once its NORAD ID is assigned via KeepTrack.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

SpaceX Starship Ship 40 Completes Single-Engine Static Fire

SpaceX rolled Ship 40 out to Boca Chica’s Starbase for engine testing and completed a single-engine static fire. The test stopped at one engine rather than progressing through a full multi-engine sequence. Work on Booster 20 and the second launch pad (Pad 2) is also advancing in parallel.

This is the next vehicle in the Version 3 Starship lineage, with the first V3 flight having occurred roughly a month ago. A single-engine fire at this stage typically confirms basic propulsion health before full-stack testing proceeds.

Read the full story: NASASpaceFlight

FOSSA Systems Raises $10.5M With Spanish Government-Backed Investor

Spanish IoT startup FOSSA Systems closed approximately $10.5 million in a funding round that included a technology investment vehicle backed by Spain’s government. The company is building a low-cost CubeSat constellation for sovereign satellite connectivity.

FOSSA has positioned itself as a European alternative for IoT and narrowband communications, keeping data routing outside U.S. or Chinese infrastructure. Government backing at this stage suggests Spain is treating the program as a strategic industrial asset, not just a commercial bet.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Pentagon Shaping Next Cyber Strategy Around AI Integration

The DoD is refining its forthcoming cyber strategy with AI as a central element, according to coverage from TechNet Cyber 2026. The effort focuses on how AI tools get embedded into offensive and defensive cyber operations and how that changes force structure requirements.

For the space community, this has direct relevance: satellite command links, ground station networks, and space domain awareness systems are all potential cyber targets. How the Pentagon hardens those interfaces is part of what this strategy is expected to address.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Andy Burnham as UK Prime Minister Carries Defense Implications

Andy Burnham is expected to broadly continue Keir Starmer’s defense posture but with key differences in approach, according to Breaking Defense analysis. The specifics of where Burnham diverges — particularly on defense spending commitments and NATO obligations — will matter for allied planning.

For space specifically, the UK’s involvement in programs like Skynet, the Five Eyes space domain awareness network, and bilateral agreements with the U.S. Space Force means any shift in UK defense policy carries real orbital implications.

Read the full story: Breaking Defense

Satellite of the Day

Ekspress-AM44

Ekspress-AM44 is a Russian communications satellite operated by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center (KHRR). Launched on December 29, 2009, aboard a Proton-M/Briz-M rocket from Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome), this satellite is part of Russia’s Ekspress series—a workhorse fleet providing telecommunications services across Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia. With a launch mass of nearly 12 metric tons, Ekspress-AM44 is a substantial spacecraft designed for long-term service in geostationary orbit.

The satellite’s torus-shaped design is characteristic of modern high-capacity communications platforms, optimized to carry multiple transponders for voice, data, and video transmission. Operating in a geostationary orbit inclined at 45.85 degrees, Ekspress-AM44 serves as a critical backbone for Russian telecommunications infrastructure and represents the kind of strategic space asset that underpins civilian and government communications networks across the region.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track Ekspress-AM44

Upcoming Space Launches

June 28

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-40
  • From Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites launched to low Earth orbit. Booster B1088 on its 17th flight will land 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, Space Launch Complex 40 (02:25 UTC) SpaceX will launch the SXM-11 geostationary satellite for SiriusXM. Built by Lanteris Space Systems on its 1300-class platform, SXM-11 will provide satellite radio coverage. Booster B1085, on its 17th flight, will land 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, ADD Offshore Launch Platform (05:00 UTC) A demonstration test flight of South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development solid-fuel small launch vehicle to low Earth orbit. Launch Preview

June 30

• 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. Electron is a small-lift vehicle powered by nine Rutherford electric-pump-fed engines, capable of delivering up to 300 kg to low Earth orbit.

• Northrop Grumman Space Systems Pegasus XL: Swift Boost Mission

  • From Air Launch to Orbit, Kwajalein Atoll (07:30 UTC) Northrop Grumman’s Stargazer carrier aircraft will release a Pegasus XL rocket at approximately 40,000 feet carrying the Link spacecraft, built by Katalyst Space Systems. Link will rendezvous with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and reboost it to a safe operating orbit, extending the telescope’s operational life. A joint mission between Katalyst Space and NASA. 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-fuel commercial orbital rocket developed by a subsidiary of CASC.

• European Space Agency Themis Demonstrator: T1H-1

  • From Esrange Space Center, Launch Complex 3B (TBD) First low-altitude hop test of the Themis reusable rocket demonstrator, targeting an altitude of up to 100 meters. Themis is ESA’s flagship prototype for vertical-landing rocket recovery and reuse, powered by the methane-fuelled Prometheus engine.

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (x9)

  • From Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (TBD) SpaceX will launch nine HIBLEO-4 replenishment satellites for Globalstar into low Earth orbit. This is the first of two launches constituting the HIBLEO-4 fleet refresh. Booster B1090, on its 12th flight, will target a landing on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. Watch Live Launch Preview

• Deep Blue Aerospace Nebula-1: Demo Flight

  • From Haiyang Oriental Spaceport, Land Launch Pad 1 (TBD) First test launch of Deep Blue Aerospace’s Nebula-1 reusable rocket on a suborbital flight profile. Launch Preview

July 1

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 4C: Unknown Payload
  • From Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, Launch Area 94 (SLS-2 / 603), People’s Republic of China (23:38 UTC) Details to be determined.

July 2

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-46

  • From Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (02:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1088 on its 17th flight will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

• United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551: Amazon Leo (LA-08)

  • From Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 41 (04:24 UTC) United Launch Alliance will launch 29 Amazon Leo (Project Kuiper) broadband internet satellites to low Earth orbit. This is the ninth and final Atlas V rocket contracted by Amazon for its Kuiper constellation, which aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity to underserved and remote areas worldwide. Watch Live

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8A: Unknown Payload

  • From Wenchang Space Launch Site, Commercial LC-1, People’s Republic of China (12:00 UTC) Details to be determined. The Long March 8A is an enhanced variant of the Long March 8 capable of delivering up to 9,800 kg to low Earth orbit, featuring an upgraded liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen second stage with YF-75H engines.

July 3

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 10-50
  • From Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Space Launch Complex 40 (11:20 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1088 on its 17th flight will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You. Watch Live

July 6

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5: Starlink Group 17-48
  • From Vandenberg Space Force Base, Space Launch Complex 4E (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to low Earth orbit. Booster B1088 on its 17th flight will land on drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

Schedule Changes

• New Addition — Long March 4C | Unknown Payload: A China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 4C mission has been added with a status of Go for Launch, scheduled for July 1, 2026 at 23:38 UTC from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
• New Addition — Long March 8A | Unknown Payload: A China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 8A mission has been added with a status of To Be Confirmed, scheduled for July 2, 2026 at 12:00 UTC from Wenchang Space Launch Site.
• Rocket Lab Electron | Ten Owl Of Ten (StriX Launch 10): This mission has been removed from the upcoming launch calendar after its status was updated to Launch Successful.

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