2025 09 News

18 Sep 2025

• U.S., UK Space Commands execute first joint satellite maneuvers
• Hubble Network raises $70 million to accelerate 60-satellite Bluetooth constellation
• Educating customers may be half the battle for nascent hyperspectral sector
• Blue Origin retires New Shepard capsule after payload flight
• New military satcom services program to focus on ‘maneuverable’ small GEO satellites
• Stratospheric pseudo-satellites nearing commercial role in hybrid space networks
• Cygnus arrives at ISS after thruster glitch
• Defense and security agencies propel demand for Earth-observation data
• Astra plans mid-2026 first launch of Rocket 4
• Arianespace examines options to increase Ariane 6 launch rate
• Northrop Grumman successfully resupplies ISS after overcoming software glitch
• Trump’s Golden Dome will cost 10 to 100 times more than the Manhattan Project

17 Sep 2025

• Space Force accelerates reorganization of acquisition units
• Small GEO strategies diverge around vertical integration
• Maxar and Ecopia roll out AI-powered Earth mapping system
• Does Europe need a spaceplane?
• ReOrbit raises 45 million euros to increase spacecraft production
• Axiom and Spacebilt to establish ISS data center node

16 Sep 2025

• Project Kuiper plots broadband services in five countries by end of March
• Impulse Space and Anduril to demonstrate autonomous spacecraft maneuvers in GEO
• Axiom and Spacebilt to establish ISS data center node
• GHGSat announces $34 million in equity and debt financing
• SpaceX planning first tests of new direct-to-device spectrum next year
• Viasat and Space42 to pool satellite spectrum for direct-to-device services
• BlackSky wins second NGA ‘Luno’ contract to track global changes with satellites and AI
• SES moves to iterative MEO deployment with K2 Space partnership
• Laser communications supplier Mynaric signals recovery after production setbacks
• Astro Digital to plug into Star Catcher solar-energy grid
• A new report finds China’s space program will soon equal that of the US

15 Sep 2025

• Telesat pitches Lightspeed as stopgap to Europe’s IRIS²
• York Space hits milestone with largest satellite delivery yet
• Swissto12 clears PDR for debut small GEO D2D satellite
• Launch companies double down on increasing flight rates despite setbacks
• EchoStar eyes satcom expansion after ‘forced pivot’ from spectrum sales
• Military spending and direct-to-device competition are reshaping the space economy
• Falcon 9 launches upgraded Cygnus cargo spacecraft to ISS
• NASA closing its original repository for Columbia artifacts to tours

14 Sep 2025

• Vast backs new NASA commercial space station strategy
• NASA reestablishes contact with one of two TRACERS satellites

13 Sep 2025

• NASA reestablishes contact with one of two TRACERS satellites
• Golden Dome’s cost: anywhere from billions to trillions, depending on design
• 60 years after Gemini, newly processed images reveal incredible details

12 Sep 2025

• Apex reaches billion-dollar valuation with Series D funding round
• Cailabs raises $67 million to scale up production of optical ground stations
• Firefly pitches rockets, satellites for Golden Dome
• Rocket Report: Russia’s rocket engine predicament; 300th launch to the ISS

11 Sep 2025

• Firefly pitches rockets, satellites for Golden Dome
• Sophia and Armada link terrestrial and orbital edge processors
• House appropriators offer support to threatened NASA missions
• Eutelsat partners with Skynopy to explore opening OneWeb ground stations to Earth observation
• NASA found intriguing rocks on Mars, so where does that leave Mars Sample Return?

10 Sep 2025

• NASA highlights potential evidence of past life in Martian rock
• Boeing turns to 3D printing to speed production of satellite solar arrays
• Rendezvous Robotics raises funding to develop technology for self-assembling space structures
• Japan’s IHI expands constellation plans with SatVu thermal imaging partnership
• Musk confident Starship will start launching 100 tons to orbit next year

09 Sep 2025

• Maxar to supply 3D terrain data for U.S. Army mixed-reality system
• FCC closes EchoStar probes as spectrum sales reshape D2D race
• Airbus CEO ‘very committed’ to combination of European space businesses
• China launches mystery Yaogan-45 spysat, expands Geesatcom constellation
• Office of Space Commerce loses 40% of budget in rescission
• China proposes flyby mission to asteroid Apophis during 2029 Earth encounter
• BlackSky and Iceye join group creating Earth’s digital twin
• Europe ramps up direct-to-device push amid SpaceX’s multibillion-dollar expansion
• After early struggles, NASA’s ambitious mission to Titan is “on track” for launch
• SpaceX’s lesson from last Starship flight? “We need to seal the tiles.”

08 Sep 2025

• BlackSky and Iceye join group creating Earth’s digital twin
• Commercial firms team up to demonstrate hypersonic vehicle tracking capabilities
• Europe ramps up direct-to-device push amid SpaceX’s $19 billion service boost
• Tournear leaves Space Development Agency for new role at Auburn University
• EchoStar sells spectrum to SpaceX, cancels MDA satellite contract
• Congress and Trump may compromise on the SLS rocket by axing its costly upper stage
• On a day of rebranding at the Pentagon, this name change slipped under the radar

07 Sep 2025

• Blue Origin, Anduril win military ‘rocket cargo’ study contracts
• China launches new set of Yaogan-40 satellites into polar orbit

06 Sep 2025

• Pentagon announces senior U.S. Space Force leadership changes
• NASA releases details on revised next phase of commercial space station development

05 Sep 2025

• Orbital Sidekick hyperspectral imagery sheds light on damage caused to Iranian nuclear facility
• China launches experimental Shiyan-29 to GEO, commercial Ceres-1 carries 3 satellites
• GHGSat to provide methane monitoring for ExxonMobil
• Duffy pushes back against testimony that NASA is falling behind China in lunar exploration
• NASA’s acting chief “angry” about talk that China will beat US back to the Moon
• Rocket Report: Neutron’s pad opens for business; SpaceX gets Falcon 9 green light

04 Sep 2025

• Orbital Paradigm readies first reentry mission
• Space Force graduates first class of officers trained for ‘great power competition’
• Project Kuiper scores first airline win as JetBlue picks LEO over GEO
• Honoring the Best in Space: 2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards Nominations Open
• NASA names exploration official as associate administrator
• Space Force to use small satellites for geostationary communications
• AscendArc lands South Korea’s KT Sat as anchor small GEO customer
• Lull in Falcon Heavy missions opens window for SpaceX to build new landing pads

03 Sep 2025

• Senate hearing raises doubts about NASA’s ability to get astronauts to the moon before China
• Telesat to offer blocks of satellite bandwidth to DoD for Golden Dome
• Spacedock to demonstrate modular payload interface with Oligo and Melagen
• European customer leases SI Imaging Services’ SpaceEye-T
• Former NASA chief says United States likely to lose second lunar space race

02 Sep 2025

• Trump directs U.S. Space Command move to Huntsville, reversing Biden decision
• True Anomaly hires former York Space executive as chief operating officer
• NASA advances lunar nuclear plan with commercial focus
• European customer leases SI Imaging Services’ SpaceEye-T
• Scaling smallsats: A conversation with Muon Space President Gregory Smirin
• Fuel supply is a bottleneck for Starship—here’s how SpaceX will get around it
• Ted Cruz reminds us why NASA’s rocket is called the “Senate Launch System”

01 Sep 2025

• Scaling smallsats: A conversation with Muon Space President Gregory Smirin
• Space Force wants to weave AI into everyday operations