Key Highlights
- China’s latest launch: China successfully launched a test satellite for its satellite-internet constellation on Sept. 16, marking the 595th Long March rocket mission english.news.cn amid intensifying competition in orbit.
- NASA’s internal strife:NASA employees protested deep budget cuts and layoffs space.com, even as agency leaders vowed not to lose the moon race to China theguardian.com. In a controversial move, NASA also barred Chinese nationals from its programs, citing security concerns theguardian.com.
- Rocket launch milestones:SpaceX flew Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL cargo ship on its debut ISS resupply mission, boosting capacity by 33% over previous Cygnus vehicles spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. U.S. regulators separately green-lit SpaceX to double its Falcon 9 launch rate to up to 120 launches per year from Florida spaceflightnow.com.
- Industry deals and tech breakthroughs:Viasat teamed with UAE’s Space42 to announce “Equatys,” a global direct-to-phone satellite venture leveraging 5G and a huge spectrum block viasat.com viasat.com. Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket earned FAA clearance to resume flights after an April failure space.com. And former NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy joined startup Venus Aerospace after its game-changing rocket engine test (a rotating detonation engine flown in May) space.com space.com.
- New discoveries in space: Astronomers confirmed a tiny “quasi-moon” – asteroid 2025 PN_7 – has been co-orbiting Earth for decades thebrighterside.news. Scientists also unveiled a method to predict emerald-green auroras on Mars space.com, and James Webb Telescope data revealed mysterious “black hole stars” – bizarre red dots from the early universe that may be a new class of object sciencedaily.com.
- Space safety & sustainability: Europe’s new twin laser telescopes in Tenerife began tracking hazardous space debris and even nudging junk off collision paths space.com. Meanwhile, researchers warned that the boom in rocket launches (and falling satellites) could delay ozone layer recovery by years, as rocket exhaust and re-entry debris release ozone-depleting chemicals in the upper atmosphere sciencedaily.com.
Launches and Mission Updates
China’s latest launch: On Sept. 16, China launched a test satellite for its planned satellite-internet network, using a Long March 2C rocket with a Yuanzheng-1S upper stage english.news.cn. Liftoff from Jiuquan at 9:06 a.m. Beijing time was successful, inserting the tech demo satellite into orbit to advance China’s broadband megaconstellation plans. This marked the 595th flight of China’s Long March rocket family english.news.cn, underscoring China’s rapid launch cadence. The mission highlights Beijing’s push into satellite internet – an area of growing strategic importance as China races to build its own Starlink-like network.
SpaceX boosts ISS resupply: Over the weekend, SpaceX carried out a notable launch (breaking news by Sept. 15) – flying Northrop Grumman’s brand-new Cygnus XL cargo craft to the International Space Station. The NG-23 mission lifted off on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, debuting the “Cygnus XL” design that can carry 33% more cargo than prior Cygnus vehicles spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. SpaceX’s rocket successfully deployed the Cygnus XL on Sept. 14, and the freighter was set to rendezvous and berth with the ISS by Sept. 17. This mission is part of NASA’s commercial resupply program, and the upgraded Cygnus increases scientific and supply delivery to the station. (Notably, the booster’s first stage landed back at Cape Canaveral, marking SpaceX’s 505th recovery spaceflightnow.com.) The larger Cygnus also requires some operational choreography – NASA noted it may have to temporarily unberth the Cygnus during an upcoming Russian Soyuz docking due to its size spaceflightnow.com.
Other launch milestones: SpaceX’s frenetic launch pace itself made news. Just days earlier, the U.S. FAA and Space Force approved SpaceX to double its Falcon 9 launch rate from Florida – up to 120 launches per year from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral spaceflightnow.com. An environmental review found no significant impact from the increased cadence and a new landing zone, clearing SpaceX’s path to sustain an unprecedented launch tempo spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. This approval reflects the skyrocketing demand for launches (Starlink, commercial and government satellites) and SpaceX’s dominance in the manifest. In addition, around this time SpaceX notched its 300th Starlink mission and had just conducted a successful test flight of its Starship system after multiple failures, signaling progress toward deep-space vehicles (earlier in September) space.com.
China and Russia also kept busy: on Sept. 9, China launched a Long March 7A with a remote-sensing satellite (part of a flurry of Chinese launches this month) x.com. And a Russian Progress cargo ship arrived at the ISS on Sept. 13 with 2.8 tons of supplies space.com, following its launch from Baikonur – showing that despite geopolitical tensions, Russian flights to the ISS continue routinely.
Space Agencies and the New Space Race
NASA’s budget battle: At NASA, internal unrest dominated headlines on Sept. 15. Employees and scientists rallied outside Headquarters in Washington, D.C., in a third “Save NASA” protest against proposed funding cuts space.com. They decried the Trump administration’s plan to slash NASA’s science budget by nearly 50%, which threatens earth science and astrophysics programs space.com. Organized by a group of NASA’s own engineers and backed by the agency’s union, the demonstration featured speakers including a U.S. congressman and science advocates space.com. Protesters warned that deep cuts and layoffs imperil missions and U.S. space leadership. The rally underscores the turmoil as NASA grapples with shifting political priorities – echoing an earlier “Voyager Declaration” letter in which NASA scientists sounded the alarm about threats to research space.com.
Leadership vows and lunar race: Even as NASA faces funding strain, its leadership is doubling down on the Moon race with China. In remarks publicized Sept. 12 (and still reverberating this week), Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy told employees “I’ll be damned if that’s the story we write” – vowing the U.S. will beat China to the lunar south pole space.com. Duffy’s pep talk came after a Senate hearing warned China might land astronauts on the Moon before America space.com. He urged NASA staff to focus relentlessly on Artemis and to “wake up and ask… is what I’m doing helping us get back to the Moon? If not, stop doing it.” space.com His brash tone illustrates Washington’s growing anxiety over China’s advances. (China’s program aims to put “taikonauts” on the Moon by 2030, just a few years after NASA’s target of 2027 for Artemis III theguardian.com.) Top experts, including former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine, have cautioned that China’s steady progress – from a new lunar lander to a thriving space station – could soon challenge U.S. primacy space.com. Duffy insists “America will continue to lead in space” theguardian.com, but his tenure itself reflects turmoil: he is an interim chief (formerly a Trump administration official) installed after leadership shakeups space.com.
NASA bars Chinese participation: In a controversial policy shift underscoring this competition, NASA confirmed it has begun barring Chinese nationals from agency work theguardian.com. As reported by Bloomberg and AFP on Sept. 10, several Chinese researchers and contractors were abruptly locked out of NASA systems in early September theguardian.com. NASA’s press secretary said the agency is “restricting physical and cyber access” for Chinese nationals “to ensure the security of our work” theguardian.com. Previously, Chinese citizens could contribute as visiting scholars or contractors (though not as civil servants). This tightening aligns with broader U.S. government hawkishness: “We’re in a second space race right now,” Duffy said, explicitly linking the ban to the intensifying US–China rivalry in space theguardian.com theguardian.com. The move drew criticism from some scientists who note international collaboration has been key in space research. It also comes as China forges ahead on projects like a Mars sample-return mission targeted for 2028–2031 – even as the U.S. scrambles to fund its own Mars Sample Return (which is now in jeopardy from budget cuts) theguardian.com.
Artemis II science and schedule: Despite political headwinds, NASA is pressing on with Artemis program preparations. On Sept. 15, the agency announced a “trailblazing” biomedical experiment for Artemis II, the upcoming crewed trip around the Moon science.nasa.gov. Dubbed Project AVATAR (“A Virtual Astronaut Tissue Analog Response”), it will send organ-on-a-chip devices with the Artemis II crew to study how deep-space radiation and microgravity affect human cells science.nasa.gov. Tiny chips containing astronauts’ own blood and bone marrow cells will ride alongside the crew for the ~10-day lunar flyaround, acting as “avatars” for human organs exposed to the harsh space environment science.nasa.gov. The goal is to gauge health impacts and tailor medical countermeasures before future Moon and Mars missions. “AVATAR is… visionary,” said Dr. Nicky Fox, NASA’s science chief, revolutionizing how we do science and medicine for multi-planetary exploration science.nasa.gov. Artemis II is currently slated for 2026 (having slipped from 2024) nasa.gov, and its crew are already training. NASA officials and the Artemis 2 astronauts themselves have stressed the mission’s importance as NASA faces budget and workforce cuts: “We have to move the needle,” one astronaut said, emphasizing Artemis’s momentum must continue space.com.
India’s ambitions: In global agency news, India is charting an ambitious expansion of its satellite program. At a National Space Meet, ISRO officials unveiled a roadmap to launch 119 Earth-observation satellites by 2040 – a massive scale-up that will rely heavily on India’s nascent private space sector orbitaltoday.com orbitaltoday.com. With ISRO’s current capacity limited to ~5 satellites per year, former ISRO leaders argue that “ISRO cannot do it alone” and must foster industrial-scale production and commercial launchers orbitaltoday.com orbitaltoday.com. The plan, if realized, would create a £4–6 billion market for Indian aerospace firms orbitaltoday.com. Observers note India’s recent successes (the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing, the Aditya-L1 solar probe) and the government’s push for privatization could position India as a major space player – but only if policy and industry support ramp up quickly to meet the 15-year goal. This underscores a larger trend of new spacefaring nations scaling up efforts, adding to the competitive and collaborative international landscape.
Commercial Space Industry Updates
ISS cargo and megaconstellations: The SpaceX–Northrop Grumman ISS mission exemplifies how commercial partnerships are redefining space operations. By using SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to launch Northrop’s heaviest-ever Cygnus XL freighter, NASA tapped the best of both providers’ tech – a trend likely to grow as the ISS and future stations rely on multiple vendors spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. SpaceX, for its part, continues to dominate global launch activity, servicing not just its own Starlink megaconstellation but also competitors’ needs (e.g. launching Iridium and one-off science missions). In fact, SpaceX just conducted its 100th launch of 2025 in mid-September, a pace that prompted the FAA’s environmental clearance for even more frequent launches spaceflightnow.com. The approval included building a new landing zone to handle the influx of returning boosters spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. SpaceX’s ability to turn around rockets rapidly is essentially reshaping launch cadence expectations – an FAA official noted this supports not only commercial demand but also “national security, science, and exploration” needs spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com. However, it also raises environmental and airspace considerations, which authorities are now scrambling to address via updated assessments and mitigations.
Military space logistics: In a sign of how far commercial rocketry has come, the U.S. Air Force is investing in “rocket cargo” delivery concepts. A newly revealed initiative, Project REGAL, awarded Blue Origin $1.3 million and Anduril Industries $1 million to study point-to-point orbital transport of cargo space.com. Announced in a Sept. 7 report and discussed on Sept. 12, the Air Force Research Lab contracts task Blue Origin (with its forthcoming New Glenn heavy rocket) and Anduril (a defense tech firm) with figuring out how to “deliver DoD cargo anywhere on the planet in <1 hour” via commercial rockets space.com space.com. This vision – rockets as global freight haulers – could enable emergency military resupply or disaster relief by space. It’s notable that SpaceX’s Starship is not the only player; the Pentagon is spreading bets to multiple companies. Blue Origin will examine modifications to its rockets for quick cargo deployment space.com, while Anduril will design a re-entry cargo container for safe delivery from orbit space.com. The program highlights growing Defense interest in commercial space capabilities – and even included renaming the DoD as the “Department of War” in some internal documents, hearkening back to old terminology space.com. While these are small study contracts, they signal that point-to-point suborbital transport is moving from sci-fi to serious R&D, potentially creating a new market for launch providers.
Satellite-to-phone mega-venture: On Sept. 15 at the World Satellite Business Week in Paris, Viasat and Space42 (UAE) announced a headline-grabbing joint venture called “Equatys.” This venture aims to build a global Direct-to-Device (D2D) network – essentially, connecting ordinary smartphones directly via satellites on a 5G standard viasat.com viasat.com. Uniquely, Equatys claims access to the world’s largest coordinated spectrum block for satellite phone service, spanning 100+ MHz across 160+ countries viasat.com. The idea is to unite terrestrial 5G and satellite networks in a seamless web, using a shared “space tower” infrastructure that multiple mobile operators can plug into viasat.com viasat.com. This TowerCo model would lower costs by avoiding duplicate satellite constellations. Viasat’s CEO proclaimed Equatys will enable a “shared multi-orbit network of scale” using standardized 5G New Radio waveforms viasat.com. The project targets commercial service rollout in ~3 years. It comes as big players race in the satellite-to-cellular arena – from SpaceX–T-Mobile’s planned Starlink direct service to Apple’s emergency SOS via Globalstar. Equatys appears to take a cooperative approach, inviting mobile carriers and even governments to share the infrastructure. If it succeeds, billions of existing phones could stay connected outside cell coverage, which would be revolutionary for remote communications. The venture underscores how telecom and space industries are converging, backed by serious investment and international partnerships.
Rocket startup rebounds: In booster news, Firefly Aerospace reached a turning point. The Texas-based startup’s Alpha rocket was cleared by the FAA to fly again as of mid-September space.com. Alpha’s last launch on April 29 ended in a dramatic failure – the first stage broke apart after stage separation, crippling the second stage space.com. After a months-long investigation (concluded Aug. 26), regulators are satisfied with Firefly’s fixes and granted a launch license for upcoming missions space.com. Firefly says it has been preparing new Alpha launches in the interim, and the approval now “clears the way” to resume its schedule space.com. The return-to-flight is crucial for Firefly to stay competitive among small launchers. Notably, Firefly has government and commercial missions lined up, including launching an imaging satellite “Ocula” for Lunasonde and potentially NASA’s Venture Class missions. Firefly’s team framed the April anomaly as a learning experience: “Technical challenges aren’t roadblocks – they’re catalysts,” Firefly’s CEO said space.com. With Alpha poised for a comeback, Firefly joins the ranks of companies (like Rocket Lab) that have bounced back from early failures. It also recently partnered with Northrop Grumman to provide a new first stage for the Antares rocket – showing its growing role in supply chains. Firefly’s rebound highlights the resiliency of new space startups and the oversight role of regulators in ensuring safety as launch rates grow.
Venus Aerospace’s “rocket plane” and Pam Melroy: A notable personnel move in the private sector: Pamela Melroy – one of only two women to command a Space Shuttle and until recently NASA’s Deputy Administrator – has joined the Board of Venus Aerospace, a Houston-based startup space.com space.com. Venus Aerospace is developing a hypersonic “space plane” powered by a rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE). In fact, the company achieved a breakthrough on May 14 by becoming the first in the U.S. to launch a RDRE in flight, proving the novel engine can work off the test stand space.com space.com. That success drew industry-wide attention to Venus’s approach for ultra-fast global travel (and potentially orbital launch applications). Melroy’s appointment, announced Sept. 2 and reported Sept. 16, is seen as a big endorsement. “Once we got introduced to Pam, it was a no-brainer,” Venus CEO Sassie Duggleby told press space.com. Melroy brings decades of aerospace experience (Air Force colonel, DARPA, FAA, and NASA leadership) to the table space.com. She described Venus’s RDRE as “a game changer” that could power a new generation of vehicles space.com. For Venus, having a respected figure like Melroy provides credibility with investors, regulators, and partners as they scale up testing. More broadly, her move signals how top talent from government is flowing into agile space startups, attracted by the chance to pioneer cutting-edge tech (in this case, a Mach 9 passenger plane that could cross the globe in an hour). It’s also an example of synergy between old NASA know-how and NewSpace innovation – a trend likely to grow as Artemis veterans retire and commercial space booms.
Other industry snippets: Rocket Lab announced the opening of a new launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, dedicated to its upcoming Neutron reusable rocket – part of the company’s expansion from small Electron launches to medium-lift missions in the U.S. space.com. In Europe, ESA selected five startup launch companies as winners of its Boost! competition to foster new commercial rockets space.com, highlighting Europe’s effort to spur SpaceX competitors. And Amazon’s Project Kuiper megaconstellation is ramping up: in mid-September Amazon launched additional test satellites – even partnering with competitors (United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V and SpaceX Falcon 9) for different batches space.com space.com. This unusual situation – SpaceX launching a rival’s satellites – underscores the white-hot demand in the launch market right now. Finally, Blue Origin announced it will fly an AI-powered space surveillance payload on the first mission of its new Blue Ring orbital transfer vehicle space.com, signaling Blue Origin’s push beyond suborbital tourism into defense and orbital services. All told, the period of Sept. 15–16 saw a flurry of commercial space news, reflecting a sector that is maturing rapidly through partnerships, new technologies, and increasing government reliance on private companies.
Science and Exploration Discoveries
Mars’ green glow forecasted: Mars may be the Red Planet, but scientists revealed this week how its skies can glow eerie green with auroras – and for the first time, they can predict when it will happen space.com. In findings presented at a planetary science conference (Europlanet/DPS) and published Sept. 15, researchers explained that solar storms trigger Martian aurorae visible in the Martian night sky space.com space.com. NASA’s Perseverance rover made history in 2024 by capturing the first-ever visible-light aurora on Mars – a diffuse emerald light shimmering across the sky space.com. Building on that, a team developed a method to anticipate these auroral events by monitoring the Sun’s activity and Mars’ induced magnetic crustal fields. Unlike Earth, Mars lacks a global magnetic field, so when a solar eruption hits, the entire nightside atmosphere can fluoresce green as charged particles excite oxygen atoms space.com. Knowing when Martian auroras occur isn’t just pretty – it has practical value. Such solar storms also bathe Mars in radiation, so future astronauts will need advance warning to seek shelter. “Being able to predict [Mars] aurorae… works,” one scientist said, noting their successful test predictions space.com space.com. This capability is a big step for Martian weather forecasting. It also underscores how active Mars science is: from rover observations to orbiters, we’re now studying Mars’ atmosphere and space weather in real-time, knowledge that will be crucial for human missions in the coming decades.
Possible life clues in Mars rocks: (In related news still buzzing from earlier in the week, scientists are debating intriguing organic clues found by Perseverance. A study presented Sept. 10 described “fingerprint-like” mineral patterns in Jezero Crater’s rocks that on Earth often result from microbial activity space.com. The Perseverance team stressed these are not confirmed biosignatures – further analysis is needed to see if the minerals’ origin was biological or just geologic space.com. But the finding, in “Neretva Vallis” mudstones, has thickened the plot in the search for ancient life on Mars. It highlights the importance of Mars Sample Return – ironically, the very mission now imperiled by budget cuts theguardian.com. The samples Perseverance is caching might, years from now, finally answer if Mars once hosted life.)
A new “mini-moon” for Earth: Earth has gained a cosmic companion we never knew we had. On Sept. 15, astronomers confirmed the discovery of 2025 PN₇, a tiny asteroid orbiting the Sun in near-lockstep with Earth – making it a quasi-satellite of our planet thebrighterside.news. For about 60 years, this 20-meter-wide rock has been circling the Sun on a path that keeps it near Earth, such that from our perspective it appears to loop around us like a second moon thebrighterside.news thebrighterside.news. Unlike our true Moon (which is gravitationally bound to Earth), 2025 PN₇ is only loosely influenced by Earth’s gravity – it is primarily Sun-orbiting but periodically corkscrews around Earth in a stable resonance. The object was first spotted on Aug. 2, 2025, by the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii thebrighterside.news. Calculations by researchers (including amateurs on a Minor Planet Center forum) revealed its quasi-satellite orbit, prompting follow-up observations and orbital modeling thebrighterside.news thebrighterside.news. The results, published in the Research Notes of the AAS, show 2025 PN₇ has likely been a quasi-moon since around 1964 and will remain so until about 2085 thebrighterside.news. Its orbit is the least stable of Earth’s known quasi-satellites – it’s only ~62 feet across and subject to perturbations thebrighterside.news thebrighterside.news. But for now, it poses no impact risk (it never comes closer than a few million kilometers) thebrighterside.news. The discovery is scientifically exciting: quasi-moons offer natural labs to study gravitational dynamics and could even be targets for future spacecraft missions (since they linger near Earth) thebrighterside.news thebrighterside.news. Earth has a handful of known quasi-satellites (like Kamoʻoalewa, which China plans to sample in 2025), but finding a new one underscores that even our immediate cosmic neighborhood has surprises. It took this long to find PN₇ because it’s extremely faint (magnitude 26) and moves in an unusual path, illustrating the challenges of spotting tiny NEOs thebrighterside.news. This little “mini-moon” is benign, but keeping track of such objects is also valuable for planetary defense – each discovery refines our ability to detect asteroids that loiter near Earth.
Webb’s cosmic surprises – “black hole stars”: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to astonish astronomers. A study published Sept. 12 in Astronomy & Astrophysics and publicized this week suggests that some of the “little red dots” JWST has spotted in deep space might be entirely new cosmic beasts – dubbed “black hole stars” sciencedaily.com. These objects, informally called “universe breakers” by the discovery team, look like tiny reddish galaxies in Webb’s images but don’t match any known class. Data indicate they are extremely massive and bright, yet very compact and red, seen just 500–700 million years after the Big Bang sciencedaily.com. Initially, their brightness and maturity so early in time baffled scientists, challenging galaxy formation models sciencedaily.com. Now, researchers at Penn State and collaborators propose these aren’t galaxies at all but rather “black hole stars” – a hypothesized intermediate stage in supermassive black hole formation sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. In essence, they would be giant primordial stars with black holes at their core: an accreting black hole engulfs gas into a radiant, star-like envelope. The team’s analysis of one extreme object nicknamed “The Cliff” found it had so much atmospheric mass (enough to “break” universe formation rules) that a normal stellar explanation fell short sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. Instead, the spectra suggest a cold, hydrogen-rich “cocoon” surrounding a feeding black hole – effectively a black hole masquerading as a star sciencedaily.com. “It’s an elegant answer,” said astrophysicist Joel Leja. We thought it was a galaxy of myriad stars, but it’s really one gigantic, cold star powered by a black hole sciencedaily.com. These exotic objects could solve a longstanding puzzle: how did today’s supermassive black holes grow so quickly? “Black hole stars” might have jump-started that process in the infant universe sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. The concept had been theoretical, but JWST’s ability to see high-redshift detail provided the first evidence. If confirmed, this would be a new astrophysical phenomenon. Researchers caution more data is needed – but already, Webb has forced scientists to rethink early cosmic evolution. The discovery underscores JWST’s transformative power: in its quest to see the universe’s first galaxies, it may have instead uncovered an entirely new type of object that nobody even predicted would exist.
Exoplanet habitability news: (Also making science news on Sept. 15, astronomers using both Webb and Hubble reported that exoplanet K2-18 b – a sub-Neptune 120 light-years away – might have signs of a hycean (hydrogen-rich) ocean and potential biomarkers. They detected hints of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a gas associated with life, though not yet confirmed space.com. This finding, while tentative, fueled debate about life on ocean worlds beyond our solar system. It exemplifies how space science this week ranged from our cosmic backyard to distant planets.)
Space Safety and Sustainability
Tracking space junk with lasers: As satellite traffic soars, space debris has become a mounting concern – and Europe just deployed a cutting-edge tool to address it. On Sept. 15, ESA highlighted its new double laser observatory in Tenerife, Spain, which is now operational for tracking potentially dangerous orbital debris space.com. The system consists of two telescopes: Izaña 1 and Izaña 2, working in tandem. Izaña 2 fires powerful laser pulses at a piece of space junk passing hundreds of kilometers overhead, while Izaña 1 detects the returning light space.com. By measuring the light travel time and reflection, the system can calculate the debris’ precise orbit and determine if it’s on a collision course with an active satellite space.com. In the near future, engineers plan to increase the laser power enough to actually nudge small debris pieces – essentially using photon pressure to alter their orbits and prevent crashes space.com space.com. This laser-ranging project is part of ESA’s broader Space Safety Program, tackling the growing cloud of old satellites, spent rocket bodies, and fragmentation shrapnel threatening spacecraft. The Tenerife stations, built by German company DiGOS, represent a step up from previous single-station laser trackers by using a synchronized dual setup for greater range and accuracy space.com. Already since 2021, Izaña 1 had been laser-ranging known satellites; with Izaña 2 now online, the capability expands to uncooperative debris. The technology is complex – hitting a fast-moving 10 cm object 700 km away with a laser is like targeting a moving dime from thousands of miles – but it’s seen as essential. Experts say that without active debris removal or avoidance measures, key orbits could become unusable (“Kessler Syndrome”). The successful testing of these debris lasers is a hopeful development toward an eventual system that can “push space junk out of harm’s way” space.com. Alongside other efforts (like private debris-removal missions and better tracking), it shows the world is taking space traffic management seriously as a component of sustainable space operations.
Rocket launches and the ozone layer: A new scientific study delivered a sobering environmental warning: the surge in rocket launches and re-entering satellites may be damaging Earth’s ozone layer and slowing its recovery sciencedaily.com. On Sept. 15, researchers from ETH Zurich released findings that the booming space industry’s emissions – particularly chlorine from solid rocket motors, soot from all rocket engines, and metal particles from spacecraft re-entry – are accumulating in the upper atmosphere sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. These substances linger for years (since there’s no rain or typical air-scrubbing at high altitudes) and can catalytically destroy ozone, much like old CFC chemicals did sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. The study modeled a scenario where launch rates reach ~2,000 per year by 2030 (eight times higher than 2024’s activity) – a level that is not unrealistic given current trends sciencedaily.com. In that case, global ozone concentration would drop by ~0.3%, with up to 4% extra depletion over Antarctica in spring sciencedaily.com. That may sound small, but given the ozone layer is only slowly healing from past damage (it’s still ~2% thinner than pre-industrial levels and not expected to fully recover until ~2066) sciencedaily.com, any further loss is concerning. The implication is that unconstrained rocket growth could delay ozone recovery by years or decades sciencedaily.com. The main culprits are chlorine (from solid-fuel boosters like those used on some orbital and military rockets) which aggressively breaks down ozone, and soot particles which heat the stratosphere and accelerate ozone-destroying reactions sciencedaily.com. Most modern rockets (Falcon 9, etc.) use liquid fuels that emit no chlorine, but many still emit soot. Only ~6% of launches use cryogenic hydrogen fuel (which is clean from an ozone standpoint) sciencedaily.com. Moreover, satellite re-entries add other chemicals: vaporized aluminum, lithium, and nitrogen oxides, which also deplete ozone and form polar clouds sciencedaily.com. These re-entry effects are not yet well accounted for in models sciencedaily.com. The study calls for proactive measures: switching to cleaner propellants (or filters), developing “green” rocket technology, and possibly regulating launch frequency or trajectory to mitigate atmospheric impact sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com. It’s a classic case of environmental stewardship lagging behind technology – similar to aviation’s impact on climate, now space is coming under scrutiny. Encouragingly, the Montreal Protocol succeeded in addressing CFCs; scientists suggest a similar cooperative approach for rockets now, before the problem grows sciencedaily.com. This research elevates space sustainability beyond just orbital debris: it’s not only about not littering space, but also about ensuring our atmosphere remains healthy amid the new space age. Companies like SpaceX and ULA have already started considering low-soot engine designs (e.g. methane fuels). The conversation is just beginning, but this week’s report is a timely alert that space exploration has Earthly consequences – and must be managed responsibly so that protecting our planet goes hand-in-hand with reaching for the stars.
Space traffic management policy: (On a related note, the U.S. FCC announced it is moving forward with new space traffic coordination regulations, including requirements for satellite operators to share position data and deorbit defunct satellites faster akingump.com. And the United Nations reportedly convened experts to discuss global “space traffic rules” in the wake of several near-misses in orbit this year. All stakeholders agree that with thousands of satellites now aloft – and many thousands more coming – improved space traffic management and debris mitigation are urgent priorities. The week’s events, from debris-tracking lasers to policy moves, reflect a growing international focus on keeping space safe and usable for all.)
Each of these stories from Sept. 15–16, 2025, paints part of a picture: a space sector in overdrive, filled with breakthroughs and challenges. Governments and companies are launching more rockets and satellites than ever – racing to the Moon, to Mars, and to connect the world – while simultaneously grappling with the consequences (budget battles, orbital debris, atmospheric effects). Experts from astronauts to scientists are weighing in, whether it’s urging political support for NASA or warning of new phenomena in space and on Earth. The upshot is a truly global space narrative: from Beijing to Washington to Bangalore, from low-Earth orbit to Mars and beyond, the events of these days show spaceflight becoming more integrated into our world’s fabric. As the new space race accelerates, cooperation and competition will both shape headlines. And as discoveries emerge – a mini-moon here, a hint of life or exotic star there – humanity’s understanding of the cosmos continues to deepen. It’s a thrilling time to watch the skies, albeit one that demands careful stewardship to ensure our progress remains sustainable. The news from mid-September 2025 makes one thing clear: the final frontier is busier than ever – and what happens up there is increasingly affecting life down here on Earth.
Sources: Global news services and official releases (Xinhua, Reuters); NASA, ESA, and CNSA updates; Space.com news archive space.com space.com; SpaceFlight Now launch reports spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com; ScienceDaily research summaries sciencedaily.com sciencedaily.com; industry press releases (SES, Viasat) viasat.com ses.com; and expert commentary from SpaceNews, Guardian, and Orbital Today analyses theguardian.com orbitaltoday.com. Each story has been corroborated with credible sources to ensure an accurate and up-to-date roundup.
