SpaceX sends USSF-37 mission X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle soaring from the Cape on Thursday – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 00:00
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 on Thursday, August 21 at 11:50 p.m. ET launched the USSF-36 mission to orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will be the sixth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-69, CRS-32, GPS III-7, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
TI semiconductors enable advanced Earth-observation capabilities of ISRO’s first-of-its-kind NISAR mission – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 00:00
TI semiconductors are enabling the radar imaging and scientific exploration payloads for the NASA-Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) synthetic aperture radar (NISAR) satellite. NISAR is equipped with TI’s radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant products that enable designers to maximize power density, precision and performance.
Forrester’s Digest: UK Space Agency absorbed by British government – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 00:00
The UK Space Agency is being scrapped by April next year. It will be incorporated into the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology. The move has been described as both good news, and bad, for the UK space sector. The UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate said, “I strongly welcome this improved approach to achieving the government’s space ambitions”
Alaska Airlines launches new era of connectivity with Starlink, the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 00:00
Alaska will begin providing Starlink Wi-Fi to its fleet starting in 2026, with all aircraft — regional, narrowbody and widebody — connected by 2027. Alaska will be the first U.S. Airline operating long-haul flights from Seattle offering consistent, uninterrupted Wi-Fi service.
Australia and New Zealand expand SouthPAN program with Viasat through AUD252 million award for additional satellite services – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 00:00
Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT) has received an AUD252 million award from Geoscience Australia and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand. This expands on a previous SouthPAN award for the company and the estimated net incremental value for Viasat from this agreement is AUD214 million. SouthPAN is a collaborative satellite-based augmentation system developed jointly by Australia and New Zealand.
NASA’s Artemis II Lunar Science Operations to Inform Future Missions
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 12:51
Artemis II mission will advance the agency’s goal to land astronauts at the Moon’s south polar region. Crew will conduct science investigations that will inform future deep space missions. From this distance, the Moon will appear to be the size of a basketball held at arm’s length.
Close-Up Views of NASA’s DART Impact to Inform Planetary Defense
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-21 10:28
Italian satellite took the only on-site observations of the world’s first demonstration of an asteroid deflection. An estimated 35.3 million pounds (16 million kilograms) of dust and rocks spewed from the asteroid as a result of the crash. The impact of the debris on Dimorphos’ trajectory was dramatic: shortly after the collision, the DART team determined that the flying rubble gave Dimorphos a shove.
Russia launches Bion-M No.2 research satellite
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-20 17:14
Russia launched the Bion-M No.2 satellite at 17:13 UTC on Wednesday, Aug. 20. The biomedical satellite is a continuation of a Soviet and later Russian scientific program, which started with the launch of Bion 1 back in 1973. It will spend 30 days in space, in an orbit averaging between 370 and 380 km above the Earth at an inclination of 96.62°.