SpaceX’s Starship explodes during static fire test – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
SpaceX’s next Starship vehicle was destroyed in an explosion on Wednesday as it was being readied for a static fire test. Ship 36 was torn apart exploding in a huge fireball as liquid methane and liquid oxygen were being loaded for a planned test firing of the vehicle’s six Raptor rocket engines.
UPDATE: SpaceX, Axiom Space and NASA are standing down again from launching Axiom Space Mission on Sunday – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
SpaceX standing down from launching Axiom Space’s Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) on Sunday, June 22 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the first flight for the Dragon spacecraft supporting this mission. This will be the second flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched a Starlink mission.
AAC Clyde Space wins strategic order for first phase of ESA-backed satellite swarm mission – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
AAC Clyde Space has won an order worth 0.12 million euros (approx. SEK 1.3 million) from University College Dublin for a mission study in the first phase of the development program COMCUBE-S. The study will assess the technical feasibility of the proposed mission and marks an initial step in a structured process that may lead to a CubeSat Swarm In-orbit Demonstration mission.
Northrop Grumman expanding use of NVIDIA AI tech to advance space solutions – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
Northrop Grumman Corporation is expanding its use of NVIDIA technology. The company will develop end-to-end AI robotics technology to enable operations in new and highly complex environments. Northrop Grumman will apply agentic AI throughout all phases of spacecraft operations to automatically generate and execute spacecraft commands.
GHGSat: Satellites reveal methane as an unintended consequence of palm oil production and points toward solutions – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
GHGSat has launched the world’s first satellite capable of directly attributing methane emissions to individual industrial facilities. Palm oil production produces a large amount of wastewater, known as POME (palm oil mill effluent), which is typically stored in open ponds. As the organic waste in the ponds, such as pulp and shells from the palm fruits, decomposes, it produces methane in a process much like decomposing trash in a landfill.
India’s Vi and AST SpaceMobile partner to provide satellite connectivity in India – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
Vi (Vodafone Idea), India’s telecom service provider, and AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTS) announce a strategic partnership. Together they will expand mobile connectivity across India’s unconnected regions. AST SpaceMobile placed the first voice and video calls from space using standard mobile phone.
Forrester’s Digest: SES raises €1bn towards Intelsat purchase – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-06-19 00:00
SES has raised two €500 million bonds. SES also says, once the two companies are united, it will redeem up to $3 billion of existing Intelsat debt which has an interest of 6.5 per cent. The offer, handled by the above banks, was 5.5-times oversubscribed.