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What happens between the atmosphere and deep space — satellite constellations, orbital debris and conjunctions, remote sensing, spectrum and licensing, and the policy that lags all of it.
Satellites & Orbit
AI’s appetite for power and water is growing as fast as its role in daily life. In 2024, artificial intelligence data centers accounted for roughly 4% of the U.S.’s electricity consumption. This figure is expected to more than double by 2030. To meet those increasing demands…
China’s Wenchang Space Launch Site reached its milestone 50th launch at the end of July,… The post Amid failure, Wenchang celebrates milestone as China launches AI satellites and prepares for lunar south pole mission appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
To date, close to 30,000 satellites have been launched into Earth's orbit, leading to mounting concerns over the debris created when they collide. In a new analysis posted to the preprint server arXiv, Hugh Lewis of the University of Birmingham shows that satellite…
CSDA’s assessment reports help inform the user community about the quality of commercial Digital Elevation Models (DEMs).
Researchers have found a clever new way to map a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is notoriously difficult to observe. Using orbital data from roughly 1,200 Starlink satellites, they reconstructed changes in atmospheric density about 500 kilometers above Earth. The approach…
SpaceX launched 24 more of its Starlink global internet satellite constellation to orbit from California on Aug. 11, wrapping the second Starlink launch of the day.
The Starlink 17-49 mission was the 73rd mission flying SpaceX’s broadband internet satellites to orbit. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 9:46 p.m. PDT (12:46 a.m. EDT / 0446 UTC).
A bipartisan pair of senators introduced a bill last week aiming to ensure the US military is prepared for conflict with Beijing in orbit.
SpaceX launched 29 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit from Florida's Space Coast today (Aug. 11).
Tracking the debris orbiting at high velocity in space is only going to get harder over time. We have ground-based radar systems, such as the Space Fence, designed to detect pieces down to around 10 cm. But finding objects smaller than that, which can still cause a lot of damage…
Most current space activities operate close to Earth in what is called near–Earth orbit. However, as more satellites and other infrastructure begin to extend beyond that region, maintaining situational awareness of those objects will be crucial.
A retired Space Force general who served as deputy commander of U.S. Space Command is joining the board of lunar rover developer Lunar Outpost.
Operating a million or more data centers in space would mean a massive increase in air pollution from rocket launches and concentrations of toxic ash from reentering satellites.
Astrolight will fly a laser comms terminal onboard ATMOS’ PHOENIX 2 reentry vehicle during a 2027 demo mission.
SAN FRANCISCO — BlackSky announced Aug. 11 a seven-figure, multiyear contract to provide an international customer with persistent space-based monitoring and assured and on-demand satellite tasking. Prior to the award,
A Japanese H3 rocket successfully launched a navigation satellite Aug. 10, more than seven months after a similar launch ended in failure.
The Starlink 10-19 mission was set to be SpaceX’s 72nd flight of its broadband internet satellites this year. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 11:58 a.m. EDT (1558 UTC) on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
Earth observation satellites help us monitor phenomena such as wildfires, drought and heatwaves from space. This page is updated on a regular basis with a selection of ESA’s most recent news-related images showing how the effects of climate change are impacting our world.
A decade ago, a United States carrier strike group departing San Diego could cross the Pacific with only intermittent detection. China might catch a glimpse — a satellite pass here,
The week of Aug. 10 opened with an extraordinary Monday, four launches across three countries… The post Launch Preview: Chinese failure opens busy international launch salvo appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .
After seven months of negotiations, officials from the European Commission, ESA, EUSPA, and SpaceRISE have agreed to move into the implementation phase of IRIS2.
WARSAW, Poland — The Lithuanian space laser communications company Astrolight has signed a memorandum of understanding with ATMOS Space Cargo, to demonstrate in-flight optical communications link between a reentry spacecraft
On 3 July 2026, an invisible signal travelled across Europe. From Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, to Rome, Italy, the signal connected the Galileo Ground Control Centre to a Galileo Second Generation satellite for the first time, marking a major step forward in the programme’s…
Ancient Maltese seafarers had both a complex cosmology and likely at least rudimentary skills in celestial navigation. It's thought that they used stars in the southern constellation of Crux to make their way around the south-central Mediterranean.
Satellite measurements of chlorophyll at the sea surface signal shifts in the ocean’s nutrient supplies in mid-2026.
The company that developed a spacecraft to boost the orbit of a NASA observatory says it is making progress in recovering from its own spacecraft’s problems.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the two weeks August 9-22, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess
Air-breathing electric propulsion could help satellites explore a new frontier, one that lies quite close to our planet.
Liftoff of the Starlink 17-38 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California happened at 9:35 a.m. PDT (12:35 p.m. EDT / 1635 UTC).
The European Commission, ESA and the SpaceRISE consortium have completed a key review of Europe’s IRIS2 secure communications constellation, clearing the programme to move forward with full-scale implementation. The completion of the review was announced on 7 August following…
Erich Hernandez-Baquero will take over military space acquisition; Roger Mason will lead the National Reconnaissance Office
When we lose our visibility, we lose our edge. The military needs more, higher-quality weather data, not less.
Image: These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images over the Danube north of Budapest show how the river’s level has fallen to a record low in Hungary due to a severe drought in central Europe.
Europe’s capital drought may be coming to an end.
Endeavor Optical Networks emerged from stealth to build a constellation of optical communications satellites.
Rocket Lab’s ($RKLB) strategy to own every aspect of the space value chain—from satellite manufacturing to launch—seems to be paying off.
Since the second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite (MTG-I2) began its launch campaign last month, it has undergone rigorous pre-launch inspections that ensure the electronic and mechanical systems are working correctly. How does a team of experts, including scientists…
Europe’s forests are losing more biomass than previously thought, with disturbances such as drought and pests causing increasingly large losses from some of the oldest forests in Europe. This situation has deteriorated markedly since 2018.
The BlueBird 11-13 mission was the third time SpaceX flew satellites to orbit supporting AST SpaceMobile’s direct-to-device constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 3:49 a.m. EDT (0749 UTC).
The first full week of August is shaping up to be another busy period for… The post Launch Preview: Starlink, AST SpaceMobile, and Chinese missions fill launch manifest appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .
When it comes to cool things happening in space, size doesn’t matter.
The European Space Agency's two-satellite HydroGNSS Scout mission has completed commissioning and is now in full scientific operations. Following extensive testing and validation of the satellites, instruments and ground segment, HydroGNSS data are now freely available to users…
Image: This colourful radar image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission features New Orleans and the delta of the Mississippi River, one the largest rivers in North America.
As the Pacific Ocean moves into an El Niño phase, scientists are monitoring changes in sea-surface temperature, but also sea-surface salinity – which is another key indicator of this phenomenon. Measurements from satellites such as the European Space Agency's SMOS mission are…
Image: This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 26 July, shows a zoomed-in view over ESA's Cebreros ground station, which lies within the areas heavily affected by the wildfires in Spain.
Image: These images by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, captured on 26 July, show the area to the west of Bordeaux, France, where wildfires continue to burn countryside, fanned by wind and heatwave conditions.
Cross calibration combines data from 25 satellites
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Australia’s southwestern corner in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.
Proposal involves the launch of a private satellite to test reflecting sunlight onto the Earth’s surface
NASA has selected SpaceX to deliver laser communications capabilities for next year’s Artemis III mission, enabling the agency to provide a front row seat for viewers from the Orion spacecraft as four astronauts test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and test…
Proposed inspector satellite could one day provide a means for verifying the Outer Space Treaty
Revisit the Earth Explorer 12 User Consultation Meeting Held on 7–8 July 2026 in Tallinn, Estonia
A new European Southern Observatory (ESO) study has found that current proposals to launch over 1.7 million satellites into orbit, including extremely bright ones, would have “devastating consequences for astronomy.” According to the study, no more than 100 000 faint satellites…
NASA ·
NOIRLab/NSF/AURA ·
APOD · Marcin Rosadziński ·
The vocabulary below is the actual list this subject is matched on — nothing is hidden and nothing is inferred. Terms on the top line settle it on their own; the second line counts, but needs company.
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