SpaceX launches 24 smallsats of Starlink Group 17-5 on Monday from sunny California – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-18 00:00
On Monday, August 18 at 9:26 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 24 Starlink smallsats to low-Earth orbit to join the Starlink constellation from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This was the 100th Falcon 9 flight of 2025. It was SpaceX’s 103rd mission overall for the year, including three suborbital test flights of Starship, the rocket that will eventually transport humans to the Moon and Mars. The 24 smallsats will join the Starlink constellatiion to provide internet to the world.
Xtar’s new Chief Executive Officer has served more than 40 years in uniformed and industry capacities – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-18 00:00
Patrick H. Rayermann has been appointed as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rayermann is a well-known and highly-regarded satellite communications professional with over 40 years of uniformed and industry experience supporting the Department of Defense. XTAR, LLC is the world’s only U.S. Company that commercializes the satellite-based capabilities of a key NATO Ally — the Kingdom of Spain.
The Mission: Blue Origin’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-18 00:00
The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) is ready to support NASA’s Mars mission in 2028. MTO is designed to establish a high-speed communications relay network for continuous coverage between Earth and Mars. The platform can carry over 1,000 kg of payload to Mars orbit, depending on specific mission requirements.
Agile Space Industries to provide propulsion for The Exploration Company’s Nyx mission to the ISS – SatNews
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-18 00:00
Agile Space Industries has been contacted by The Exploration Company (TEC) to deliver flight thrusters for Nyx. Nyx is a European modular space capsule that will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) targeting 2028. Agile will supply its DS250 thrusters, a 250-Newton, bipropellant rocket thruster optimized for high-reliability in-space maneuvering.
Launch Roundup: SpaceX, Chinese, and Russian missions make up busy week
Original Publication Date: 2025-08-17 22:38
Two Chinese rockets, a pair of Russian missions, a trio of Falcon 9 launches, a New Shepard, an Electron, and the long-awaited tenth flight of Starship are scheduled to fly this week. SpaceX is flying one Starlink mission, a national security mission featuring the X-37B, and a Cargo Dragon flight to the International Space Station. In Russia, a Soyuz rocket is to fly a modernized version of the Vostok capsule that flew crewed missions in the 1960s from Baikonur.