ULA ATLAS 5 LAUNCH PUTS AMAZON’S 180TH BROADBAND SATELLITE IN LOW EARTH ORBIT - United Launch Alliance aced its final launch of 2025, a predawn flight of an Atlas 5 rocket carrying 27 satellites for Amazon’s recently re-branded Leo broadband internet service. The on time liftoff from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 3:28 a.m. EST (0828 UTC), as the RD-180 engine on the booster roared to lift alongside five solid rocket boosters. The rocket flew on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad. The mission, referred to by ULA as Amazon Leo 4 and dubbed Leo Atlas 4 (LA-04) by Amazon, was ULA’s fourth launch for the venture, previously known as Project Kuiper.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 17)

SURPRISE! 2 PRIVATE SPACECRAFT RENDEZVOUS IN ORBIT ON NEWLY REVEALED 'REMORA' MISSION - Two commercial spacecraft pulled off a surprise rendezvous in Earth orbit recently, showcasing skills that could pave the way for satellite servicing missions down the road. The milestone came on a mission called Remora, a newly revealed collaboration between the companies Starfish Space and Impulse Space. One of Impulse Space's dishwasher-sized Mira orbital transfer vehicles used Starfish software to get within a mere 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) of another Mira, in a key demonstration of autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) tech.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 16)

ROCKETLAB SENDS JAPANESE COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE INTO ORBIT - Rocket Lab has successfully launched an Electron technology demonstration satellite for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. The Saturday mission was the 77th Electron launch, and deployed JAXA's Rapid Innovation Payload Demonstration Satellite 4, known as RAISE 4, into a low-Earth orbit, 325 miles above the ground, about 55 minutes after liftoff.    More
(Source: UPI - Dec 15)

THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE SATELLITES CURRENTLY IN ORBIT - Satellites are perhaps the most wondrous piece of technology mankind has invented. The idea of creating an artificial device and launching it into space to orbit our planet is simply amazing. It is also rather expensive. Much of that cost is due to the logistics of the rocket launch itself. It takes a lot of energy to escape Earth's gravitational pull, which translates into thousands of tons of expensive fuel per launch. The spacecraft itself is also usually lost, though recent advancements are trying to change that. Then there is the massive cost of creating the satellite itself, which is packed with delicate instruments and must survive in outer space without any possibility of routine maintenance or repairs.   More
(Source: BGR - Dec 15)

ULA POSTPONES ATLAS V ROCKET LAUNCH FOR AMAZON LEO TO TUESDAY, CITING WINDS - Facing a gusty, windy weather forecast, United Launch Alliance officials have postponed their date to launch an Atlas V rocket from Monday, Dec. 15, to Tuesday, Dec. 16, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. ULA is now targeting 3:28 a.m. Tuesday for liftoff. The 29-minute launch window will last until 3:57 a.m., and the Atlas V will carry 27 Amazon Leo internet satellites into low-Earth orbit.   More
(Source: Florida Today - Dec 15)

FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES BEFORE MAKING 550TH SPACEX LANDING - Almost 10 years to the day since it successfully landed its first rocket stage, SpaceX today (Dec. 14) recovered its 550th Falcon 9 booster. The touchdown came after the rocket's first stage had lofted 27 Starlink satellites into space, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday at 12:49 a.m. EST (0549 GMT or 9:49 p.m. PST local time on Dec. 13).   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 15)

FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF 29 STARLINK SATELLITE FROM THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IS ON HOLD - SpaceX has put on hold its plan to launch a Falcon 9 rocket Monday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. A new launch date has not been announced. The Starlink 6-99 mission will add another 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to its broadband internet constellation in low Earth orbit. The company has launched more than 3,000 of its Starlink satellites so far in 2025.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 15)

SPACECRAFT FROM CHINESE LAUNCH NEARLY SLAMMED INTO STARLINK SATELLITE, SPACEX SAYS - One of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites just dodged a bullet in orbit. That bullet was one of the nine spacecraft that launched atop a Chinese Kinetica 1 rocket on Tuesday (Dec. 9) from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. It zoomed dangerously close to a Starlink satellite, according to SpaceX, which was none too pleased with the close shave.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 14)

STUDY: CURRENT, FUTURE MEGACONSTELLATIONS RISK SPACE-BASED ASTRONOMY - One of the biggest impacts to the low Earth orbit environment in the near-term and long-term future are satellite megaconstellations, according to a new study, published in the journal Nature. Companies, like Amazon, OneWeb and SpaceX, along with governments, like China and the United States are keen on the idea of controlling hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of satellites that serve a connected purpose. The paper published on Dec. 3 comes from three researchers at NASA Ames Research Center in California.    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 13)

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