"SpaceX Hits 400th Landing, NASA Rallies Volunteers & Webb Snaps New Cosmic Wonders - Top Space News Aug 27-28, 2025"

• SpaceX Record: On Aug 27 SpaceX launched 28 Starlink V2 satellites on a Falcon 9, whose first stage booster (B1095) landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions – marking SpaceX’s 400th successful sea landing of a Falcon booster space.com space.com.
• Starship Milestone: On Aug 26 SpaceX flew its 10th Super Heavy–Starship test mission. The starship upper stage deployed eight dummy satellites (via a “Pez” dispenser) and endured hypersonic reentry testing new hexagonal heat-shield tiles reuters.com reuters.com. SpaceX reported that “every major objective was met,” providing data for next-generation designs space.com.
• Agency Updates: NASA invited the aerospace community worldwide to help track Orion on Artemis II, calling this a “commercial-first approach” that will “strengthen the infrastructure needed to support Artemis missions and our long-term Moon-to-Mars objectives” nasa.gov. ESA’s JUICE Jupiter probe had a brief communications blackout in July; mission ops manager Angela Dietz praised her team for recovering contact, calling the effort “a textbook example of teamwork under pressure” esa.int esa.int as Juice prepares for a Venus flyby on Aug. 31. Japan’s JAXA committed an H3 rocket to launch ESA’s planned RAMSES mission to asteroid Apophis (2029) and will supply sensors; JAXA VP Masaki Fujimoto said Japan “must increasingly support RAMSES to study Apophis… on behalf of humanity worldwide” reuters.com. India’s ISRO performed its first full air-drop test of the Gaganyaan crew module parachutes on Aug. 24, successfully slowing a ~4.8-ton test capsule to about 8 m/s for splashdown isro.gov.in isro.gov.in.
• New Discoveries: NASA and ESA scientists unveiled striking new Webb Space Telescope images of the Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302). These revealed, for the first time, its central star – an extremely hot ~220,000 K object – embedded in dust, along with nearly 200 spectral lines including unexpected carbon-rich molecules (PAHs) in an oxygen-rich environment esawebb.org esawebb.org. In other astronomy news, NASA reported Webb’s observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (the first in 2025) to study its composition science.nasa.gov, and ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured the first-ever image of an exoplanet (named WISPIT 2b) actively carving a gap in its protoplanetary disk – a direct glimpse of planet formation in action apod.nasa.gov.
• Commercial and Regulatory: Amazon announced Vietnam will host Project Kuiper’s broadband constellation; the company pledged to invest $570 million by 2030 on local ground stations and manufacturing, and has applied for a 5-year LEO service license reuters.com. SpaceX’s Starlink has likewise been approved for Vietnam reuters.com. Meanwhile, broadcasters are lobbying the FCC in the U.S. to preserve strict limits on interference between new NGSO constellations (like Starlink) and traditional geostationary satellites newscaststudio.com newscaststudio.com. And in Washington D.C., NASA and Roscosmos leaders met in late July to reaffirm cooperation: after decades of partnership on the ISS and Artemis, they “discussed further work on the ISS, cooperation on lunar programs [and] joint exploration of deep space” reuters.com.
• Space Medicine: A French-led space medicine study (Aug. 27 press release) found that only mechanical chest-compression devices achieved guideline-recommended depth for CPR in microgravity; test subject Nathan Reynette noted “Use of a particular type of automatic chest compression device was the only method that gave the depth… recommended by international resuscitation guidelines” eurekalert.org, suggesting NASA and partners may need to update emergency protocols for astronauts.

SpaceX Launches & Reusability Milestones

On Aug. 27 SpaceX’s Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, and its first-stage booster (B1095) successfully returned to SpaceX’s droneship in the Atlantic. Spaceflight reports confirm this landing marks the company’s 400th ocean recovery of a Falcon first stage space.com space.com. The booster had flown once before (May 20, 2025 Starlink launch) and achieved a nearly perfect touchdown. SpaceX emphasized the significance of this reuse: in a live update, a SpaceX executive said the team must “keep challenging ourselves to achieve higher launch rates, greater lift capability, and higher levels of rapid reusability,” so that “when [competitors] do [arrive], they are still far behind in our rearview mirror” spaceflightnow.com.

Just one day earlier (Aug. 26), SpaceX pushed its massive Super Heavy–Starship rocket to new heights. The Starship launched from Boca Chica, Texas at ~7:30 p.m. EDT and deployed eight dummy Starlink satellites (via its “Pez”-style dispenser) into orbit — the first time Starship has ejected payloads reuters.com reuters.com. As the enormous vehicle plummeted back, it also tested its new hexagonal heat-shield tiles at supersonic speeds. SpaceX later announced in a post-flight update that “every major objective was met,” providing critical data to inform designs of the next-generation Starship and Super Heavy space.com. The Super Heavy booster performed a controlled splashdown burn in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Starship upper stage made a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean after 66.5 minutes. (Though the vehicle broke apart upon impact, this occurred after all planned test points were achieved.) These successes “turn the page on a streak of previous testing failures,” Reuters notes reuters.com, and demonstrate Starship is finally meeting its development goals.

Space Agency Missions & Science Programs

NASA/Artemis: NASA announced on Aug. 27 a call for volunteers — including amateur astronomers and commercial tracking firms — to passively track the Orion spacecraft during its upcoming Artemis II lunar mission. By gathering more ground-based tracking data, NASA aims to rely on “tracking capabilities outside the government” in a “commercial-first approach,” strengthening infrastructure for future Moon and Mars missions nasa.gov. Deputy Administrator Kevin Coggins explained: “By offering this opportunity to the broader aerospace community… this data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach” nasa.gov. This builds on the Artemis I model, where volunteer stations worldwide helped track Orion. Meanwhile on the ISS, astronauts continued routine tasks and research (including JAXA’s use of a “thigh cuff” device to mitigate fluid shift effects).

ESA/JAXA: The European Space Agency reported that its JUICE spacecraft (bound for Jupiter’s icy moons) suffered a temporary comms blackout in mid-July due to a subtle software bug, but ESA’s team “acted fast” to restore link. Angular Dietz, JUICE Spacecraft Operations Manager, warned “losing contact with a spacecraft is one of the most serious scenarios we can face” esa.int. After nearly 20 hours of blind commanding, engineers reactivated the transmitter, found the spacecraft nominal, and traced the issue to a 16-month timer overflow in the antenna system. Dietz later praised the recovery effort: “This was a textbook example of teamwork under pressure” esa.int. With communications restored, JUICE is now on track for its planned Venus flyby on Aug. 31, which will gravity-assist it to Jupiter. (Notably, JUICE will use its high-gain antenna as a heat shield during the flyby, so its science instruments must stay off and no images of Venus will be taken.)

In Japan, JAXA announced new partnerships: it will provide an H3 rocket to launch ESA’s proposed RAMSES mission to observe asteroid Apophis during its 2029 Earth flyby. JAXA Vice President Fujimoto stated that because NASA’s own Apophis mission (OSIRIS-APEX) is uncertain under U.S. budget cuts, “JAXA must increasingly support RAMSES to study Apophis… on behalf of humanity worldwide.” reuters.com. JAXA also plans to contribute infrared sensors and solar panels, and to possibly ride-share its DESTINY+ spacecraft on the same launch in 2028. These announcements underline growing Japan-Europe collaboration in planetary defense and space exploration.

ISRO/India: On Aug. 24 ISRO completed its first integrated air-drop test (IADT-01) for the upcoming Gaganyaan crew module. In this test, a 4.8-ton dummy spacecraft was dropped from ~3 km using an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter, deploying its full four-stage parachute system. ISRO reports that the main parachutes successfully decelerated the module to about 8 m/s for splashdown isro.gov.in isro.gov.in. The test validated the sequence of mortars and chutes (apex cover, drogue, pilot, and main chutes) used to slow Gaganyaan for safe ocean landing. The mission operations community is now planning additional drop tests under varying conditions. This achievement is a critical step toward India’s first crewed orbital flight.

Space Medicine: Space biomedical researchers in France (CNES) tested CPR techniques for astronaut emergencies. In microgravity simulations, hand-stand compressions could not achieve guideline depths, but a mechanical piston-driven chest-compression device met international standards. The study’s lead, Nathan Reynette, noted “Use of a particular type of automatic chest compression device was the only method that gave the depth… recommended by international resuscitation guidelines” eurekalert.org. This suggests space agencies may need to equip spacecraft with such devices to improve survival chances of an astronaut cardiac arrest.

Commercial Space News and Policy

Satellite Broadband: Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology announced on Aug. 27 that Amazon’s Project Kuiper has been invited to deploy satellite internet services in Vietnam. Amazon has set up a local subsidiary and will invest about $570 million by 2030 to build at least six ground stations and terminal manufacturing in the Bac Ninh region reuters.com. The government is reviewing Kuiper’s application for a five-year rollout to serve homes, businesses and even government clients in remote areas. Vietnamese regulators have simultaneously approved SpaceX’s Starlink for a similar five-year program reuters.com. This means Vietnam will soon host competing LEO broadband constellations, as the country seeks to connect its underserved regions.

Other Industry: Commercial launch and satellite companies are also in motion. AST SpaceMobile (a Texas-based startup building space-based cell towers) said its first “BlueBird” satellite (FM-1, ~6,500 kg) is complete and will ship in August. Originally slated to launch on ISRO’s GSLV launcher this year, AST is now reportedly open to flying it on a SpaceX rocket in late 2025 or early 2026 to expedite deployment news.satnews.com. The company plans to launch multiple BlueBird satellites every 1–2 months through 2026 to provide worldwide mobile connectivity.

Meanwhile, SpaceX and others continue to push reusability. SpaceX VP Jon Edwards reminded the industry not to rest on its laurels: “It’s easy to become complacent in this situation… we must keep challenging ourselves to achieve higher launch rates, greater lift capability, and higher levels of rapid reusability,” he said. “Eventually our competitors will show up, but when they do, we must ensure they are still far behind in our rearview mirror.” spaceflightnow.com. (Comparable efforts are underway at Blue Origin, ULA, Rocket Lab, and startups to recover boosters and lower costs.)

New Astronomical Observations

Space telescopes continued to deliver surprises. On Aug. 27 ESA and NASA released dramatic Webb images of the planetary nebula NGC 6302 (the “Butterfly Nebula”). The infrared data penetrated the dense dust to reveal the nebula’s central star, which is exceedingly hot (≈220,000 K), and lit up its inner dust torus. ESA notes the spectra show crystalline minerals like quartz and evidence of carbon-chain molecules (PAHs) in the nebula’s oxygen-rich environment – “the first-ever evidence of PAHs forming in an oxygen-rich planetary nebula” esawebb.org. One researcher said with a 220,000 K star “this is one of the hottest known central stars in a planetary nebula in our galaxy.” esawebb.org. These results will help refine models of late-stage stellar evolution.

On the planet-hunting front, ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured the first image of an exoplanet actively carving a gap in its birth disk. The target, WISPIT 2b orbiting a Sun-like star, is surrounded by a ringed protoplanetary disk. As the system’s official explanation notes, this is “the first-ever observation of an exoplanet actively carving a gap within a disk,” providing a glimpse of planetary formation in real time apod.nasa.gov. And NASA reported that Webb joined other observatories in studying the newly discovered interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS (discovered July 2025). Webb’s NIRSpec collected spectra on Aug. 6 to help determine the comet’s size and composition as it moves through the solar system science.nasa.gov.

International Cooperation and Policy

Space remains a venue of global collaboration (and negotiation). In late July, NASA and Roscosmos held a rare high-level meeting in Florida, underlining that both agencies “discussed further work on the ISS, cooperation on lunar programs, joint exploration of deep space” reuters.com despite geopolitical tensions elsewhere. Such talks reaffirm commitments under the Artemis Accords and ISS partnerships. Meanwhile, U.S. regulators are reviewing ways to handle spectrum for mega-constellations: on Aug. 27 broadcasters like the NAB filed comments pushing the FCC to keep strict interference limits between geostationary TV satellites and non-geostationary constellations (NGSOs) such as Starlink newscaststudio.com newscaststudio.com, fearing disruptions if rules are relaxed. This debate over spectrum sharing continues as billions of dollars of investment hinge on predictable regulations.

Sources: Authoritative space agency releases, Reuters, SpaceflightNow, Space.com and related media space.com space.com esa.int reuters.com nasa.gov reuters.com eurekalert.org. Direct quotes are from NASA, ESA, ISRO and industry experts as noted.