Space Race Heats Up: Russia’s 21-Satellite Launch, Amazon’s $140 M Bet, and a New Artemis Ally
Vostochny, Russia – Russia kicked off the day with a blockbuster launch, as a Soyuz-2.1b rocket carried 21 satellites into orbit in a single mission space.com. Liftoff from Siberia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome at 1:54 a.m. ET delivered two Ionosfera-M space weather satellites alongside an Iranian communications satellite, “Nahid-2,” and 18 smaller rideshare payloads space.com. The twin Ionosfera probes will monitor Earth’s ionosphere and magnetosphere to study how solar activity impacts radio communications and satellite systems space.com. The quartet of Ionosfera satellites will now provide three-dimensional coverage of near-Earth space, tracking solar wind effects that can disrupt civilian and military technology space.com space.com.
