Satellites News 13 July 2025

Don’t Miss SpaceX’s Dazzling Starlink “Satellite Train” – Here’s How to Watch It

As of August 2025, there are over 8,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, with about 8,075 currently functioning and accounting for roughly 65% of all active satellites. Starlink satellites orbit at roughly 550 km (340 miles) altitude and are launched in batches of 50+ on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, with each satellite weighing 260–800 kg depending on version. They are visible because they reflect sunlight, best seen in the hour after sunset or before sunrise when the sun is 10–30 degrees below the horizon, appearing as a moving train of lights. Early satellites were extremely bright, leading SpaceX to test DarkSat

16 August 2025

Space Race Heats Up: Vulcan’s Milestone Launch, Ariane 6 Success, and Mega-Constellations Surge (Aug 13-14, 2025)

Vulcan Centaur debuted on its first national security mission, USSF-106, launching from Cape Canaveral on August 12, 2025 at 8:56 p.m. EDT and is powered by two BE-4 engines while carrying the NTS-3 satellite. The USSF-106 mission deployed the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 (NTS-3) and marks the Defense Department’s shift to flying critical military satellites on domestic rockets powered by U.S.-made engines. Ariane 6 mission VA264 delivered MetOp-SG A1 to a 800 km polar sun-synchronous orbit after a 2:37 a.m. CEST launch from Kourou on August 13. MetOp-SG A1 is Europe’s next-generation polar-orbiting weather satellite, built by Airbus for ESA/EUMETSAT and

14 August 2025

Exploration · NASDAQ:AMZN · Satellites · Science · Space · Technology

See Your House from Space? Inside the World of Live Satellite Maps and Weather from Orbit

Google Earth was downloaded over one billion times in its first six years. Google Earth’s Time Machine covers 1984 to 2022 in a 4D interactive map built from millions of satellite photos. The Landsat program began in 1972 and offers a 50+ year global land-surface data record, with Landsat 8 and 9 providing 30-meter resolution imagery. Sentinel-2A and 2B image the entire Earth’s land every 5 days at 10-meter resolution (20 meters for some infrared bands). Maxar’s WorldView-3 and WorldView-4 offer 30-centimeter imagery, and the upcoming WorldView Legion aims for up to 15 revisits per day at 30 cm. Planet

28 July 2025

Maps · Satellites · Space · Technology · Weather

Lasers vs Radio: Inside the Laser Satellite Communication Revolution (2025)

NASA’s TBIRD CubeSat achieved a 200 Gbps laser downlink in 2023, transmitting 4.8 terabytes in under five minutes. SpaceX’s Starlink had over 4,000 satellites in orbit by early 2024, with inter-satellite laser links moving about 42 petabytes per day (roughly 5.6 terabits per second). Amazon’s Project Kuiper demonstrated 100 Gbps inter-satellite laser links in late 2023 over distances of about 1,000 km, with production satellites planned to launch in 2025 and each carrying multiple laser terminals. Europe’s European Data Relay System (SpaceDataHighway) uses Tesat laser terminals on two GEO satellites, delivering up to 1.8 Gbps links and as much as

28 July 2025

Communication · Innovation · Lasers · Satellites · Technology

Starlink Outage, New Launches and Space Alliances – Major Space Developments (July 25–26, 2025)

On July 25, 2025, Russia’s Roscosmos launched a Soyuz-2.1b from Vostochny with two Ionosfera-M satellites into polar orbit as part of the Ionozond program, and deployed 18 secondary payloads (17 Russian CubeSats and Iran’s Nahid-2). Europe’s Vega-C rocket lifted off from Kourou on July 25, 2025, delivering MicroCarb and four CO3D satellites into orbit, with MicroCarb mapping global CO₂ sources and sinks to within 1 ppm accuracy and CO3D producing ~50 cm land-surface resolution. SpaceX launched 28 Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 booster (tail number B1078) from Cape Canaveral on July 26, 2025, marking the booster’s 22nd mission and

26 July 2025

Alliances · NASDAQ:AMZN · News · Satellites · Space · Technology

Internet Access in Gabon 2025: Fiber, Mobile Networks, and the Satellite Revolution

Gabon’s internet usage reaches about 72% of the population in January 2025, with roughly 1.84 million internet users out of a ~2.57 million population. Over 91% of Gabon’s population is urban, yet about 1,253 villages lacked any mobile coverage as of early 2024, with 200 additional villages planned for Phase 2 in 2024. Moov Africa Gabon Telecom and Airtel Gabon dominate the mobile market in 2025, each with roughly half the subscribers, offering 2G/3G/4G nationwide and no commercial 5G yet. CanalBox FTTH from Group Vivendi Africa (GVA) launched in 2017, with Libreville fiber passing over 130,000 homes and businesses and

25 July 2025

Fiber · Gabon · Internet · Mobile Networks · Satellites

Space Race Heats Up: Russia’s 21-Satellite Launch, Amazon’s $140 M Bet, and a New Artemis Ally

On July 25 at 1:54 a.m. ET, a Soyuz-2.1b from Russia’s Vostochny Cosmodrome lofted 21 satellites into orbit, including two Ionosfera-M space weather satellites, Iran’s Nahid-2, and 18 rideshares. The four Ionosfera-M satellites will provide three-dimensional near-Earth space coverage to study solar wind effects on radio communications and satellites, with the first two launched in late 2024. Amazon announced a $139.5 million investment to accelerate Project Kuiper, including a new 100,000-square-foot payload processing facility at Kennedy Space Center that opened in April. Senegal joined the Artemis Accords on July 24, becoming the 56th signatory to commit to peaceful, transparent space

25 July 2025

Amazon · Artemis · NASDAQ:AMZN · Russia · Satellites · Space

No Signal? No Problem – T-Mobile’s Starlink Satellite Service Launches to End Dead Zones

T-Mobile’s satellite service, T-Satellite, is now live nationwide and out of beta, making it the first major U.S. carrier to offer direct satellite coverage for ordinary smartphones. The service piggybacks SpaceX’s Starlink satellites and requires no extra antenna or app, automatically connecting when the phone can see the sky. T-Satellite relies on a constellation of over 650 Starlink satellites and initially supports SMS and location sharing, with MMS partially supported and iPhone MMS to follow. Intro pricing is $10 per month for a limited time, rising to $15 later, with top-tier plans such as Experience Beyond at $100/month and Go5G

23 July 2025

Internet · Mobile · NASDAQ:AAPL · NASDAQ:GOOGL · NASDAQ:META · NASDAQ:TMUS · Satellites · T-Mobile · Technology

Galactic Gold Rush: Global Satellite & Space Industry Soars Toward $1 Trillion

In 2024 the global space economy was valued at roughly $550–600 billion, with projections to approach $1 trillion within 10–15 years. North America, led by the U.S., accounted for about 60% of world space spending in 2024, with American firms building 83% of all commercial satellites launched that year and earning 69% of global satellite manufacturing revenue, while capturing about 65% of commercial launch revenues. 2024 set a record with 259 orbital launches and 2,695 satellites deployed, driven largely by SpaceX’s activity. Global satellite manufacturing revenues in 2024 reached about $20 billion, up 17% from 2023, with the U.S. responsible

16 July 2025

Future Trends · Global Economy · NASDAQ:AMZN · NASDAQ:SPCE · Satellites · Space · Space Industry · Technology

From Battlefields to Space: How Ukraine’s Satellite Program Skyrocketed in 2024-2025

In March 2025 Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense created a Space Policy Directorate to coordinate military space efforts. The crowdfunded ICEYE SAR satellite nicknamed the “People’s Satellite” remained Ukraine’s only satellite under national control, since 2022. Deputy Defense Minister Kateryna Chernohorenko outlined a 2030 roadmap to deploy Ukrainian defense satellites and an air-launch early-warning system. In June 2025 the European Space Agency council reinforced collaboration with Ukraine’s SSAU, providing technical assistance on Earth observation, space weather, and exploration. In April 2025 the EU Commission and Ukraine signed an agreement enabling participation in the EU Space Programme with access to Copernicus data

16 July 2025

Defense · NASDAQ:PL · Satellites · Space · Technology · Ukraine

Space Race Heats Up: Secret Satellite Launches, Mega‑Mergers & Cosmic Breakthroughs (July 14–15, 2025 Roundup)

Commercial Space & Satellite Industry Updates Government & Space Agency Highlights Military & National Security Space Developments Space Science & Exploration Breakthroughs Space Policy & International Developments Sources: Spaceflight Now spaceflightnow.com spaceflightnow.com nasaspaceflight.com nasaspaceflight.com nasaspaceflight.com; Reuters reuters.com reuters.com reuters.com; SpaceNews spacenews.com spacepolicyonline.com spacepolicyonline.com; NASASpaceflight nasaspaceflight.com nasaspaceflight.com; Reuters/AP reuters.com apnews.com; NASA/ESA releases science.nasa.gov sciencedaily.com.

15 July 2025

Breakthroughs · Satellites · Space · Tech Mergers · Technology News

Satellite Surprises and Space Shake-Ups: Weekend Roundup (July 12–13, 2025)

SpaceX conducted a secret Falcon 9 launch from Florida on July 13, 2025 carrying Israel’s Dror-1 communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit, a $200 million “smartphone in space” project that will provide Israeli communications for 15 years, with the first stage landing on a droneship for the rocket’s 13th successful reuse. China rolled out Long March-7 Y10 and Tianzhou-9 to the Wenchang launch pad on July 12, 2025 to deliver about 6.5 tons of supplies to Tiangong for the Shenzhou-20 mission, including two upgraded spacesuits and a backup Long March-7 within three months. Rocket Lab launched its HASTE suborbital rocket

13 July 2025

NASDAQ:RKLB · NYSE:CHA · Satellites · Science News · Space · Technology · Weekend Roundup

Satellites News 13 July 2025 - 16 August 2025