Southern Launch + Varda Space sign contract for a further 20 spacecraft returns to the Koonibba Test Range – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-10-16 00:00
Southern Launch and Varda Space Industries have signed a landmark agreement to facilitate 20 additional spacecraft returns at the Koonibba Test Range through to 2028. The 20 new missions will see Varda’s in-space manufacturing capsules return to Earth with payloads that have made novel pharmaceuticals in orbit or conducted experiments in microgravity. The new contract builds on the success of the W-Series missions, including the historic W-2 mission.
Gilat Satellite Networks’ $42 million order for SkyEdge IV platform from an unnamed satellite operator – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-10-16 00:00
An unnamed satellite operator has established a $42 million contract with Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. For it’s multi-orbit SkyEdge IV platform. The popularity of SkyEdge IV reflects its many applications, including In-Flight Connectivity, maritime mobility, enterprise broadband, and cellular backhaul.
Orbotic Systems recently won a NASA Phase II award for an advanced active space debris removal system – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-10-16 00:00
Orbotic Systems Inc. Awarded a NASA SBIR Phase II contract to develop the company’s autonomous space debris removal technology. The RIDDANCE system uses a net-and-tether architecture, combined with passive reentry technology. The active net-based system is designed to detumble, capture, and guide small and medium sized objects safely back into Earth’s atmosphere.
UPDATE GO! at Thursday’s launch of Starlink Group 10-52 from the Cape on a dark morning + more upcoming launches – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-10-16 00:00
On Thursday, October 16 at 5:27 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 28 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This was the third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which has now launched three Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Just Read The Instructions droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.