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Satellites News 12 June 2025 - 21 June 2025

Zombie Satellite! Defunct NASA Orbiter Emits Blazing Radio Burst After 60 Years

Zombie Satellite! Defunct NASA Orbiter Emits Blazing Radio Burst After 60 Years

Relay-2 launched January 21, 1964 from Cape Canaveral as part of NASA’s Relay program to relay television and telemetry signals and study the Van Allen belts. Relay-2 operated 1964–1967, with the first transponder failing on November 20, 1966 and the second on June 9, 1967, after which it was retired. After deactivation, Relay-2 drifted in a medium Earth orbit of roughly 1,870 by 7,600 km. On June 13, 2024, ASKAP detected a radio burst lasting less than 30 nanoseconds, peaking at roughly 300,000–350,000 Jy, spanning 695–1,032 MHz. The event was traced to Relay-2 in near-Earth space using ASKAP’s near-field timing,
21 June 2025
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Pentagon’s Space Internet Nightmare: Why the Unified Satellite Network Keeps Stalling

Pentagon’s Space Internet Nightmare: Why the Unified Satellite Network Keeps Stalling

The Pentagon aims to field a software-defined, multi-layer Enterprise SATCOM network that seamlessly routes data across DoD, allied, and commercial satellites in LEO, MEO, and GEO to support Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). In 2020 the Space Force and DoD CIO committed to the shift, with the SDA launching the National Defense Space Architecture (NDSA), later renamed the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), to field hundreds of small satellites as a mesh-layer backbone. Interoperable Hybrid Terminals would allow a single device to talk to any authorized satellite by software, with the Air Force aiming to field its first multi-network
21 June 2025
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Eyes in the Sky: How Earth Observation Is Revolutionizing Disaster Management

Eyes in the Sky: How Earth Observation Is Revolutionizing Disaster Management

Sentinel-1 radar imaged the aftermath of Cyclone Idai in Mozambique in 2019 and revealed approximately 2,165 km² of flooding around the coastal city of Beira. Idai’s satellite flood maps pinpointed about 400,000 people stranded and helped allocate rescue resources. NOAA’s GOES weather satellites monitored Hurricane Dorian in 2019 as it approached the Bahamas, providing real-time imagery for track and intensity forecasts. The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption led to satellites tracking its ash plume across Europe, prompting unprecedented airspace closures. In July 2019, NASA’s FIRMS distributed over 780,000 near real-time fire alerts worldwide. The NASA–ISRO NISAR mission, launching in 2024, will scan
21 June 2025
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Solar Tempests & Orbital Guardians: The Secret Life of Space-Weather Satellites

Solar Tempests & Orbital Guardians: The Secret Life of Space-Weather Satellites

1859: British astronomer Richard Carrington observed a powerful solar flare, and within a day telegraph systems worldwide went haywire while auroras appeared near the equator—the Carrington Event, the largest geomagnetic storm on record. During the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year, Explorer-1 became the first U.S. satellite to discover the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth. SOHO, launched in 1995, sits at the Sun–Earth L1 point and uses the LASCO coronagraph to image CMEs, providing continuous data for 1–3 day storm forecasts and imaging the Sun for over 25 years. ACE (launched 1997) and DSCOVR (launched 2015) operate upstream solar-wind monitors at
20 June 2025
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Inside Israel’s Space Power: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Strength of the Israel Space Agency

Inside Israel’s Space Power: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Strength of the Israel Space Agency

On September 19, 1988, Ofek-1 became Israel’s first indigenous satellite, making Israel the eighth nation to orbit its own spacecraft. The Israel Space Agency (ISA) was established in 1983 under physicist Yuval Ne’eman to oversee Israel’s civilian space activities. The Shavit launch vehicle is a 20-meter-tall, three-stage solid-fuel rocket that can loft about 380 kg to a low Earth orbit when launching westward from Palmachim. The VENμS environmental satellite, launched in 2017 and operated through 2023, is a ~265 kg microsatellite built by Israel Aerospace Industries with France’s CNES to monitor vegetation and environmental parameters. AMOS-1, Israel’s first commercial telecom
20 June 2025
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Inside China’s Space Empire: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Power of CNSA

Inside China’s Space Empire: Satellites, Services, and the Secret Power of CNSA

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) was established in 1993 as China’s civil space authority. By the end of 2024, China operated more than 1,060 active satellites in orbit, a count that has grown more than six-fold since 2015. Chang’e-4 achieved the first landing on the Moon’s far side in 2019. Micius (Mozi), launched in 2016, became the world’s first quantum communications satellite enabling space-based quantum key distribution. BeiDou reached full global coverage with the final BDS-3 satellite launched in June 2020. The Guowang LEO megaconstellation targets about 13,000 satellites, with three batches launched by April 2025 and an initial
20 June 2025
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Iranian Satellites and Space Agency: Capabilities, Missions, and Strategic Vision

Iranian Satellites and Space Agency: Capabilities, Missions, and Strategic Vision

February 2009: Iran becomes the ninth country to launch an indigenous satellite with its own rocket, sending Omid into orbit on the Safir launcher. Khayyam (2022) is a 600 kg Earth-observation satellite with 1-meter resolution, built with Russian collaboration and launched by a Russian Soyuz to a ~500 km orbit. Noor-1, Iran’s first military satellite, was launched in April 2020 on the Qased rocket into a ~425 km orbit and weighed about 25 kg. Noor-2 (2022) followed Noor-1, about 27 kg, placed in a ~500 km LEO using the Qased launcher and remains in orbit. Noor-3 (2023) is the third
20 June 2025
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Space Showdown: How Military Satellites Are Shaping the Ukraine‑Russia War

Space Showdown: How Military Satellites Are Shaping the Ukraine‑Russia War

SpaceX deployed 5,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine within days of the 2022 invasion, rising to about 15,000 active terminals by June 2022, with Ukraine at one point accounting for roughly 58% of global Starlink traffic. Russia attempted to jam Starlink signals on the battlefield, SpaceX rolled a software update to bypass the jamming, and by 2023–2024 reports noted illicit Starlink terminals in Russian hands that had to be disabled. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a cyberattack against Viasat’s KA-SAT network that crippled thousands of Ukrainian modems and disrupted satellite links across Europe. In August 2022, Ukraine crowdfunded $20 million
20 June 2025
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Top 100 Most Important Operational Satellites in 2025

Top 100 Most Important Operational Satellites in 2025

Starlink Constellation (2019–present) by SpaceX comprises about 4,500 microsatellites in ~550 km LEO with Ku/Ka-band user links and laser crosslinks, enabling global internet including disaster response. James Webb Space Telescope (2021) features a 6.5 m segmented mirror and instruments NIRCam, NIRSpec, and MIRI, delivering the deepest infrared images of the universe including SMACS 0723 and exoplanet atmospheres. Gaia (2013) operates at the Sun–Earth L2 point to map ~2 billion stars with micro-arcsecond precision, with DR3 released in 2022 transforming stellar and galactic astronomy. Parker Solar Probe (2018) became the closest spacecraft to the Sun and the fastest human-made object, with
20 June 2025
Satellite Definition: Ultimate Guide from Sputnik to SpaceX and Beyond

Satellite Definition: Ultimate Guide from Sputnik to SpaceX and Beyond

Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, was the world’s first artificial satellite. Sputnik 2, launched in 1957, carried Laika the dog into orbit, the first living creature in space. Explorer 1, launched January 31, 1958, discovered Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts, proving satellites could do serious science. TIROS-1, launched in 1960, was the first weather satellite, demonstrating that orbiting cameras could observe cloud patterns and improve forecasting. Telstar 1, launched in July 1962, became the first active communications satellite and relayed the first live television signals across the Atlantic. Geostationary orbit at about 35,786 km above the equator allows
20 June 2025
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Sky Spies: The Ultimate Guide to Weather Satellites Tracking Storms, Saving Lives, and Monitoring Climate

Sky Spies: The Ultimate Guide to Weather Satellites Tracking Storms, Saving Lives, and Monitoring Climate

TIROS-1, launched by NASA on April 1, 1960, weighed about 120 kg and transmitted over 19,000 cloud images in 78 days, proving the concept of space-based weather observation. GOES-16 (GOES-East), launched in 2016 as part of the GOES-R series, delivers 0.5 km resolution imagery across 16 spectral bands and can scan as often as 30 seconds, and it carries the Geostationary Lightning Mapper. Meteosat-1, launched in 1977, was Europe’s first geostationary meteorological satellite at 0° longitude and introduced a water vapor channel for moisture tracking. Japan’s Himawari-8 (2014) and Himawari-9 (2016) operate at 140°E, providing high-resolution full-disk imagery every 10
19 June 2025
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Spies in the Sky: The Ultimate Guide to Spy Satellites and Their Secrets

Spies in the Sky: The Ultimate Guide to Spy Satellites and Their Secrets

The CORONA (Discoverer) program operated from 1959 to 1972 as the United States’ first photo-reconnaissance satellite program, with Discoverer XIV achieving the first mid-air film recovery in August 1960. KH-11 KENNEN (CRYSTAL), first launched in 1976, introduced electro-optical digital imaging with about 15 cm per-pixel resolution, and a 2019 declassified image from USA-224 reportedly achieved around 10 cm resolution. Lacrosse/Onyx, the US SAR reconnaissance program begun in 1988, used large radar antennas for all-weather imaging and was succeeded by the smaller Topaz (FIA Radar) satellites in the 2010s. The USSR’s Zenit series began in 1961 with over 500 launches using
19 June 2025
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13,000-Year-Old Alien Satellite? Unraveling the Black Knight Conspiracy Theory

13,000-Year-Old Alien Satellite? Unraveling the Black Knight Conspiracy Theory

The Black Knight legend links Nikola Tesla’s 1899 reports of periodic radio signals from Colorado Springs to the idea of an ancient satellite in Earth orbit. In 1927 Jørgen Hals observed long-delayed echoes, and in 1973 Duncan Lunan claimed a star map pointing to Epsilon Boötes suggesting a 13,000-year-old alien probe, later retracting parts of the interpretation. In 1954 Donald Keyhoe asserted the Air Force had detected two unknown satellites, a claim with little evidence and likely a publicity stunt. In February 1960 the U.S. military detected an unidentified dark object in polar orbit, later identified as Discoverer 8 debris
19 June 2025
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Sky Wars: The Satellite Arms Race—Government and Military Satcom Procurement Trends 2025–2035

Sky Wars: The Satellite Arms Race—Government and Military Satcom Procurement Trends 2025–2035

Global government and military Satcom spending is projected to grow about 7–10% annually, rising from roughly $50 billion in 2024 to $64 billion by 2030. The Ukraine conflict underscored Satcom’s importance, with Starlink keeping forces online for combat and coalition operations. Militaries are shifting to enterprise Satcom architectures that blend military and commercial satellites across LEO, MEO, and GEO into a single resilient network. Australia canceled its $5 billion Lockheed Martin GEO program (JP9102) in 2024 to pursue a distributed multi-orbit solution for greater survivability. The U.S. Space Force’s Proliferated LEO (PLEO) contract expanded from a $900 million ceiling to
18 June 2025
Mind-Blowing: Nearly 15,000 Satellites Are Whizzing Around Earth Right Now—Find Out Why It Matters

Mind-Blowing: Nearly 15,000 Satellites Are Whizzing Around Earth Right Now—Find Out Why It Matters

As of March 2025, approximately 14,900 total satellites were in orbit, with about 11,000–12,000 active and 3,000–4,000 inactive or defunct. SpaceX’s Starlink has about 7,000–7,500 active satellites in orbit as of 2025, accounting for over 60% of all operational satellites and a goal of 42,000 total. OneWeb deployed 648 satellites with roughly 652 operational by late 2024, helping the UK become the third-largest operator with around 700 registered satellites. Amazon’s Project Kuiper plans a constellation of about 3,200 satellites, with test satellites launched in 2023–24 and large-scale deployment expected to begin in 2024. China is planning megaconstellations named Guowang or
18 June 2025
Zimbabwe’s Internet Revolution: From Lagging Signals to Sky-High Satellites

Zimbabwe’s Internet Revolution: From Lagging Signals to Sky-High Satellites

In 2000 Zimbabwe’s internet penetration was about 0.3%, rising to around 15% by 2011. The first ISPs were Data Control & Systems in 1994 and MWEB in 1995, with ZISPA counting nearly 30 ISPs by the 2000s. By early 2023 there were over 14 million active SIMs, roughly 85% of Zimbabwe’s population. Median mobile download speed in 2023 was 10.9 Mbps. Starlink received a license in May 2024 and went live in Zimbabwe by September 2024, with starter kits priced around $350 (sometimes $170) and unlimited data at $30/month. Econet launched Zimbabwe’s first 5G sites in 2022, with NetOne announcing
16 June 2025
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Laser Wars in Orbit: The 2024-2030 Boom in Optical Inter-Satellite Links

Laser Wars in Orbit: The 2024-2030 Boom in Optical Inter-Satellite Links

In 2024 the global Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISL) market was about US$402 million and is projected to reach US$2.0 billion by 2030, a fivefold increase with roughly 30% CAGR. Major LEO mega-constellations such as SpaceX’s Starlink, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and the planned OneWeb Phase 2 are integrating optical inter-satellite links from the outset to boost capacity and reduce latency. The U.S. Space Development Agency standardizes an optical terminal interface at about 2.5 Gbps and is seeding multiple vendors to build compatible units, jump‑starting a domestic OISL supply chain. China’s Laser Starcom achieved a world-record 400 Gbps laser inter-satellite link test
15 June 2025
Satellite-Related Tenders in Ukraine – Overview and Key Examples (14.06.2025)

Satellite-Related Tenders in Ukraine – Overview and Key Examples (14.06.2025)

The largest satellite-related tender is the State Space Agency of Ukraine’s Development of the state GNSS station network, valued at UAH 167,130,500 (~$4.5 million), announced on 6 June 2025 and open for bidding in mid-June 2025. The GNSS project aims to build a nationwide GNSS station network to improve coordinate-time and navigation services for civilian, surveying, and military use. In January 2023 Poltavateploenergo tendered for Starlink satellite communications equipment, comprising 44 Starlink terminal kits with a total value of UAH 2,200,000. In 2023 the Kremenchuk City Executive Committee procured Starlink equipment for about UAH 166,000. In 2024 Kyiv National Police
14 June 2025
Satellite-Related Tenders in Ukraine – Overview and Analysis (2016–2025)

Satellite-Related Tenders in Ukraine – Overview and Analysis (2016–2025)

Military Unit K1412 (Lviv) issued a Oct 2024 tender for Skywer MR2 multi-channel signal receiver systems, with two lots of 12 and 8 units (20 total) totaling 29.6 million UAH (~$720,000) and awarded 24 Oct 2024 to ATIKA-IT LLC, plus a 2025 mini-tender for 3 more units (~5.03 million UAH). Foreign Intelligence Service SZR purchased 9 Skywer MR2 satellite signal intercept stations in 2024 for 12.3 million UAH (~$295,000), with a tender announced 30 Apr 2024 and contract completed 11 Jun 2024. SZR conducted a classified procurement for 4 high-end signal receivers (Prиймач сигналів) at 10,824,000 UAH (~$260,000) in late
14 June 2025
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Satellites, Sensors, and the Next $4 Billion Boom: Inside the 2025–2031 IoT Space Race

Satellites, Sensors, and the Next $4 Billion Boom: Inside the 2025–2031 IoT Space Race

By 2030, satellite-connected IoT devices are projected to exceed 26 million and the market is expected to reach about $4 billion. The 3GPP Release-17 NTN standards were finalized in 2022, enabling a single IoT module to operate on both cellular and satellite networks. By 2027, 5G NR-NTN standards under 3GPP Releases 18 and 19 will standardize high-speed satellite IoT links. Low-Earth orbit constellations reduce latency to under 50 ms round-trip, versus geostationary satellites at around 600 ms. Launch costs have fallen due to reusable rockets and rideshare launches, enabling IoT nanosatellite constellations. In 2020 there were about 3.6 million satellite
12 June 2025
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Stock Market Today

Coca-Cola stock price ends near $79 — frozen products exit sets up KO earnings week

Coca-Cola stock price ends near $79 — frozen products exit sets up KO earnings week

7 February 2026
Coca-Cola will discontinue its frozen products, including the Minute Maid frozen line, in the U.S. and Canada in Q1 2026. Shares closed Friday up 0.66% at $79.03 ahead of Tuesday’s quarterly results. CEO James Quincey sold 337,824 shares on Feb. 3 for about $26 million under a pre-arranged plan. Options pricing suggests a possible 3% move after earnings.
Cisco stock jumps 3% into earnings week as tech shakeout keeps CSCO in focus

Cisco stock jumps 3% into earnings week as tech shakeout keeps CSCO in focus

7 February 2026
Cisco shares closed up 3% at $84.82 Friday after a volatile week for tech stocks. The company will report quarterly results Feb. 11, with analysts expecting EPS of $1.02 on $15.12 billion revenue. U.S. jobs and inflation data, delayed by the federal shutdown, are also due next week. About 23.9 million Cisco shares traded Friday.
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