SATELLITE SWARMS SET TO PHOTOBOMB MORE THAN 95% OF SOME TELESCOPES’ IMAGES - Even telescopes far above Earth can’t avoid the contamination caused by commercial satellites. Blurry streaks of light created by fast-moving artificial satellites are already known to mar images taken by ground-based observatories. Today, researchers report1 in Nature that space-based telescopes will not escape such interference as fleets of private satellites proliferate. The researchers found that in the next decade, satellite trails could taint roughly 96% of the images taken by some space-based telescopes, and a single image could contain as many as 92 streaks. More (Source: Nature - Dec 4)
SPACE STATION FIRST: ALL DOCKING PORTS FULLY OCCUPIED, 8 SPACECRAFT ON ORBIT - For the first time in International Space Station history, all eight docking ports aboard the orbital outpost are occupied following the reinstallation of Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft to the Earth-facing port of the station’s Unity module. The eight spacecraft attached to the complex are: two SpaceX Dragons, Cygnus XL, JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) HTV-X1, two Roscosmos Soyuz crew spacecraft, and two Progress cargo ships. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 3)
A DYING SATELLITE COULD USE ITS FINAL MOMENTS TO PHOTOGRAPH THE INFAMOUS ASTEROID APOPHIS IN 2029 - An Australian company wants to join efforts to study a rare space event, conducting its own flyby of the asteroid Apophis when it makes its close approach to Earth in 2029. Sydney-based HEO Robotics, a provider of commercial satellite-to-satellite imagery, wants to add to the international missions already planning to get up close to the 1,115-foot-wide (340 meters) asteroid Apophis as it zooms by Earth in April 2029 by buying a satellite near the end of its life up in geostationary orbit and use its remaining fuel. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 3)
ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES KOREAN EO SATELLITE IN VEGA C MISSION - Arianespace launched the KOMPSAT-7 Korean Earth Observation satellite on Monday in a Vega C mission from French Guiana. This was Arianespace’s sixth mission of 2025 overall, and the third Vega C mission of this year. The launch took place from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Dec. 1, taking off at 2:21 p.m. local time. The satellite was deployed to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) 44 minutes after lift-off. More (Source: Via Satellite - Dec 2)
TINY SATELLITE BUILT BY UNH STUDENTS BLASTS OFF TO SPACE - When the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off the day after Thanksgiving, it carried with it years of hard work — and the hopes and dreams — of 26 UNH undergraduate students who built a miniature satellite to study the sun and its effects on space weather. A UNH-led student collaboration with NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission, their small satellite launched on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Nov. 28, 2025 at 10:19 a.m. PST. More (Source: University of New Hampshire - Dec 2)
CHINA LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITE INTO SPACE - China on Sunday launched a new satellite from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in the southern island province of Hainan. The Shijian-28 satellite was launched at 8:20 p.m. (Beijing Time) aboard a modified Long March-7 carrier rocket. It has entered its preset orbit successfully. It was the 611th flight mission of the Long March-series carrier rockets. More (Source: Xinhua - Dec 1)
ITALIAN MISSION ADDS TO GROWING IRIDE SPACE FLEET - The Italian programme IRIDE, which provides public sector services based on data from its fleet of Earth observation constellations, has added eight satellites to its second constellation, Eaglet II. The Eaglet II satellites lifted off on board a Falcon 9 rocket at 19:44 CET (10:44 local time), 28 November, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US. All satellites were placed into orbit about one hour after launch. Acquisition of signal for all satellites was confirmed several hours later by OHB’s Mission Control Centre in Rome. More (Source: European Space Agency - Dec 1)
THE METOP SECOND GENERATION-B1 SATELLITE LAUNCH DRAWS CLOSER - The launch of the MetOp second generation-B1 satellite is scheduled for 2026 as it enters its third round of pre-launch testing. This satellite will be the second entry in the MetOp second generation satellite program, as the first entry, the second-generation A1 satellite, was launched a few months ago. The soon-to-launch MetOp second generation-B1 satellite will work together with the second generation-A1 satellite, which is already in polar orbit. More (Source: Orbital Today - Dec 1)
CHINA PLANS 'ORBITAL GUARDIAN,' A 156-SATELLITE SAFEGUARD FOR SPACE - China is deploying a satellite constellation to enhance its space situational awareness, focusing on debris tracking for collision avoidance. The constellation will be used to track space debris and ensure the safe operation of spacecraft. With global coverage, it is a responsive low Earth orbit monitoring network designed to provide space debris monitoring, collision risk prediction and support for space traffic management, thereby protecting space stations, spacecraft and satellites from space-based threats. More (Source: CGTN - Dec 1)
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