Top Stories

Starship Flight 13 lands both stages, deploys working Starlink V3 satellites

SpaceX launched Starship’s 13th suborbital test flight July 24 from Starbase, Texas. The upper stage deployed functioning Starlink V3 satellites for the first time - a first for the program after 12 prior flights of mass simulators or non-functional payloads. Both the Super Heavy booster and the ship stage completed controlled descents.

The ship splashed down in the Indian Ocean in what SpaceX and outside observers called the softest touchdown yet for the vehicle. Flight 13 also fixed issues that surfaced on Flight 12, including problems with stage separation and heat-shield performance. Track the new Starlink V3 constellation additions as NORAD assigns catalog numbers over the coming days.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Musk: SpaceX will try to catch Starship on Flight 14

Elon Musk said SpaceX will attempt to catch the Starship upper stage with the launch tower’s mechanical arms on Flight 14, contingent on a clean review of Flight 13’s mission data. SpaceX has caught the Super Heavy booster with tower arms multiple times but has never attempted a catch of the ship itself.

A successful catch would move Starship closer to full reusability on both stages, cutting turnaround time between flights. No date has been set for Flight 14.

Read the full story: Teslarati

Falcon 9 delivers 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 8:51 a.m. PDT (1551 UTC), placing 24 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch adds to the roughly 8,000-satellite Starlink constellation currently in low Earth orbit.

West Coast Starlink missions typically target polar or sun-synchronous shells, filling coverage gaps at higher latitudes. Track newly deployed satellites as they raise to operational altitude over the next several days.

Read the full story: Spaceflight Now

NASA and ESA ground stations survive Spain wildfires

Wildfires burning across Spain came close to key ground infrastructure operated by NASA and the European Space Agency, but both agencies confirmed their facilities avoided serious damage. These stations support deep space communications and satellite tracking for missions across both agencies.

No details yet on how close the fires came to antenna hardware or whether any temporary outages affected active missions. Expect follow-up statements from NASA and ESA on operational status.

Read the full story: SpaceNews

Starship’s Indian Ocean splashdown called the smoothest yet

Video from Flight 13 shows the Starship upper stage executing what SpaceX engineers described as its softest ocean splashdown to date, following the successful Starlink V3 deployment. The landing burn and flip maneuver showed improved control compared to Flight 12’s harder impact.

This is the first flight where SpaceX combined a working payload deployment with a clean splashdown, giving engineers a fuller data set to validate the ship’s reentry and landing profile ahead of eventual tower catch attempts.

Read the full story: Space.com

Satellite of the Day

ORBCOMM FM29

ORBCOMM FM29, also known as Orbcomm J1, is an experimental communication satellite launched on June 19, 2008, from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska. This compact spacecraft - measuring just 1.3 meters in length and weighing 91 kilograms - was designed to demonstrate Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) communication capabilities, a prescient mission given how central those technologies have become to modern connectivity. Manufactured by OHB and POLK on a Sterkh Bus platform, FM29 also carries an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver for maritime traffic monitoring, allowing it to track vessel movements from orbit.

Operated by Orbcomm Inc. (ORBC), this satellite represents the experimental wing of what became a major global IoT constellation. With its modest solar arrays and battery power system, FM29 operates in a near-polar orbit and continues to contribute valuable data for machine-to-machine applications and shipping lane surveillance. Its longevity in orbit - over 15 years and counting - testifies to solid engineering and the enduring demand for low-earth-orbit IoT services that later expanded dramatically with Orbcomm’s operational constellation.

Track this satellite in real-time: Track ORBCOMM FM29

Upcoming Space Launches

July 29

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • Starlink Group 17-52 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (02:00 UTC) A batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites will be deployed to low Earth orbit. The first-stage booster, tail number B1100, will be making its eighth flight and is expected to land on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean. Watch Live

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

  • Unknown Payload from Wenchang Space Launch Site, People’s Republic of China (11:42 UTC) Details TBD. Launch Preview

July 30

• China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Long March 6A:

  • Unknown Payload from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People’s Republic of China (00:52 UTC) Details for this mission remain undisclosed. The Long March 6A, developed by CASC and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, is China’s first rocket to utilize solid rocket boosters, combining two YF-100 engines with four strap-on boosters. Launch Preview

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:

  • NROL-95 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, FL, USA (06:37 UTC) A classified payload will be launched for the National Reconnaissance Office aboard a reusable Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket, part of a broader government/top-secret mission series awarded to SpaceX. Watch Live

July 31

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • LOXSAT 1 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (Time TBD) A demonstration satellite carrying a complete cryogenic oxygen fluid management system, developed by Eta Space under NASA’s Tipping Point program. The mission will collect in-space cryogenic fluid data for nine months to support future commercial fuel depot technology.

• Rocket Lab Electron:

  • StriX Launch 11 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (Time TBD) A synthetic aperture radar Earth-imaging satellite for Japanese company Synspective, supporting Earth science observation objectives.

• Rocket Lab Electron:

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

• Agency for Defense Development Mir:

  • Demo Flight from Sea Launch, ADD Offshore Launch Platform (Time TBD) A South Korean military-developed small satellite launch vehicle designed for “quick response” missions will conduct a test flight demonstrating orbital insertion capability. Launch Preview

August 1

• SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5:
  • Starlink Group 17-53 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, CA, USA (14:00 UTC) A batch of 24 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation, SpaceX’s space-based internet communication system. Watch Live

Schedule Changes

• Added: Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-53, scheduled for August 1, 2026 at 14:00 UTC.
• Updated: Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 17-51 status changed from “Go for Launch” to “Launch Successful” and has been removed from the upcoming launch calendar.

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