Top Stories
ESA Awards RFA €2.7 Million for SaxaVord Launch Infrastructure
The European Space Agency has granted Rocket Factory Augsburg an additional €2.7 million in co-funding through the UK Space Agency’s Boost! programme for the development of testing facilities at SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. This funding will support hot-fire tests of Helix 1.0 engines and fully integrated RFA ONE second stages. RFA aims for the first vertical orbital launch from UK soil and the contract extends to cover additional unspecified infrastructure at the spaceport.
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SpaceX Stacks Starship Flight 14 for First Orbital Attempt
SpaceX completed the assembly of Ship 41 atop Super Heavy booster B21 at Starbase, setting the stage for Starship Flight 14. The 124-meter rocket is scheduled to launch as early as September 28 at 7:15 a.m. CDT, pending FAA approval. This mission represents Starship’s first full orbital flight profile, with preparations including a possible wet dress rehearsal before the launch window opens.
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ESA’s Industry Space Days Draws Record 3,100 Attendees
ESA held an Industry Space Days event at ESTEC in the Netherlands, attracting a record 3,100 participants from across Europe’s space sector. The event included over 100 presentations and nearly 10,000 pre-scheduled meetings among about 1,500 companies. A new Technology tent allowed companies to showcase completed ESA projects, underscoring increasing commercial activity as ESA approaches its 2027 budget planning.
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Arctic Sea Ice Hits 2026 Annual Minimum
NASA reported that Arctic sea ice has reached its 2026 annual minimum extent, continuing a long-term decline tracked since 1979 by Earth-observing satellites. The data collected, including from ICESat-2 and microwave instruments, is critical for understanding polar ice coverage.
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Shannon Lucid’s Record-Setting Mir Mission Remembered
NASA reflected on Shannon Lucid’s remarkable 188-day mission aboard Russia’s Mir space station in 1996, the longest by an American woman at the time. Lucid’s mission involved various scientific experiments and her experiences continue to inform long-duration spaceflight planning as NASA prepares for missions beyond low Earth orbit.
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Satellite of the Day
STARLINK-32533
Starlink-32533, a SpaceX V2 Mini satellite, was launched in October 2024 and orbits at 469 km with over 10,700 revolutions in the 53.2-degree inclination.
Read the full feature or track STARLINK-32533 live.
By the Numbers
- Active satellites tracked: 16,025
- Cataloged debris objects: 14,951
- New objects cataloged yesterday: 0
- Orbital launches this year: 230 (223 successful)
- Next launch: Electron | Owlright, Owlright, Owlright (StriX Launch 13) in approx. 39 hours (Sep 26, 00:15 UTC)
Catalog Watch
Space-Track reported 0 new objects cataloged recently, with 28,847 updated element sets.
Reentry Watch
- LINK (69792) – Predicted decay Sep 24, 17:53 UTC, window ±8 h (track live)
- STARLINK-1278 (45408) – Predicted decay Sep 24, 21:13 UTC, window ±9 h (track live)
- STARLINK-3069 (49176) – Predicted decay Sep 25, 05:51 UTC, window ±9 h (track live)
- STARLINK-30182 (57412) – Predicted decay Sep 26, 00:55 UTC, window ±13 h (track live)
- STARLINK-4446 (53505) – Predicted decay Sep 26, 07:31 UTC, window ±14 h (track live)
Upcoming Space Launches
Schedule Changes
- Slipped: Long March 8A | SatNet LEO Group 26 moved from Sep 23, 13:30 UTC to Sep 23, 13:32 UTC.
- Status change: Long March 8A | SatNet LEO Group 26 is now “Launch Successful”.
Next 48 Hours
- Rocket Lab Electron – Owlright, Owlright, Owlright (StriX Launch 13) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (Sep 26, 00:15 UTC). This mission aims to deploy a synthetic aperture radar satellite for the Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
See every upcoming mission on the live schedule.
Note: Launch dates and times are subject to change due to technical or weather conditions.
