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Space News 21 June 2025 - 23 June 2025

Laser vs. Radar: Shocking Secrets of Earth’s Shrinking Ice Revealed from Space

Laser vs. Radar: Shocking Secrets of Earth’s Shrinking Ice Revealed from Space

ICESat-2 (NASA) launched September 15, 2018 on a Delta II rocket and carries the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS), a photon-counting laser that operates from a ~481 km near-polar orbit (92°) with ground tracks repeating every 91 days to map ice sheets, sea-ice freeboard, glacier height, and forest canopy. CryoSat-2 (ESA) launched April 8, 2010 on a Dnepr rocket, in a ~717 km, 92° inclined drifting orbit not sun-synchronous and reaching up to 88° latitude to measure ice thickness on land and sea. ICESat-2 fires about 10,000 laser pulses per second (532 nm green) with six beams, producing an
23 June 2025
Global Space Launch Roundup (June 2025): SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Honda, CNSA and More

Global Space Launch Roundup (June 2025): SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Honda, CNSA and More

In June 2025, Texas approved a provision granting Starbase authority to close State Highway 4 and Boca Chica Beach during launches, transferring that power from county authorities to SpaceX-aligned Starbase officials. The FAA raised SpaceX’s Starbase launch-permit cap from 5 to 25 launches per year. On June 16, 2025, a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg (VSFB) carried 26 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to orbit and landed its booster on the Pacific drone ship. On June 18, 2025, a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral (CCSFS) lofted 28 Starlink v2 Minis on a rare northeast trajectory, with the booster downrange landing in the
23 June 2025
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Mauritius Online: How a Paradise Island is Beaming Broadband (Even from Space)

Mauritius Online: How a Paradise Island is Beaming Broadband (Even from Space)

As of early 2025, about 1.01 million Mauritians used the internet, representing roughly 79.5% of the population. By 2024 Mauritius had over 2.2 million internet subscriptions, about 178 per 100 inhabitants, indicating many people hold multiple connections. Mauritius completed 100% fiber‑to‑the‑home coverage in 2017, with 100% of households passed by fiber and fixed broadband speeds around 55 Mbps on average. The island is connected by five major undersea cables—SAFE, LION/LION2, METISS, MARS, and T3—with capacities including ~800 Gbps on SAFE, ~1.28 Tbps on LION, 24 Tbps on METISS, 8 Tbps on MARS, and 18 Tbps (upgradable to 54 Tbps) on
22 June 2025
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Space‑Laser Shockwave: Inside China’s 2‑Watt Orbital Beam That Claims to Outgun Starlink and Reshape the Security Balance in Space

Space‑Laser Shockwave: Inside China’s 2‑Watt Orbital Beam That Claims to Outgun Starlink and Reshape the Security Balance in Space

In June 2025, Wu Jian of Peking University of Posts & Telecom and Liu Chao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences directed a 2-watt laser from 36,000 km in geostationary orbit to a ground station, achieving 1 Gbps. The test claimed the 1 Gbps downlink is five times faster than Starlink downlinks, per the South China Morning Post. The AO-MDR scheme combines adaptive optics and mode-diversity, routing eight spatial modes through a 1.8 m telescope and real-time selecting the three cleanest channels. Usable signal quality rose from 72% to 91% despite atmospheric turbulence thanks to AO-MDR. Starlink consumer downlinks typically
22 June 2025
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Mind‑Blowing Satellite Images Reveal Fordow’s Cavernous Crater: Inside the High‑Resolution Photo Forensics that Exposed the Collapse of Iran’s Underground Nuclear Fortress

Shock From Space: Commercial Satellite Photos Reveal How U.S. Bunker‑Busters Crushed Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Mountain

On 22 June at 02:14 a.m. local time, B-2 bombers released at least a dozen 30,000-lb GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs targeting Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. By noon on 22 June, Planet Labs Skysat imagery showed a pale-grey haze over Fordow and two dark impact scars at the vehicle and personnel tunnel portals. Fordow lies 80–90 meters beneath the Kuh-e Daryacheh ridge and housed up to 2,976 IR-1 and IR-6 centrifuges enriching uranium to 60%. Analysts say Israel long sought U.S. MOP capability to neutralize Fordow because the site is too deep for conventional drilling. Image signatures include grey tunnel
22 June 2025
100 Game-Changing Space & Satellite Companies Shaping Our Future in Orbit

100 Game-Changing Space & Satellite Companies Shaping Our Future in Orbit

The global space economy was valued at around $630 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. SpaceX revolutionized orbital launch with reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and operates the Starlink broadband satellite constellation. OneWeb has deployed a Low Earth Orbit broadband constellation of about 648 small satellites for global connectivity. Intuitive Machines is developing the Nova-C lunar lander to deliver payloads to the Moon under NASA’s CLPS program. Astrobotic is developing the Peregrine and Griffin lunar landers to carry payloads under NASA’s CLPS program. Axiom Space is building the first commercial modules for
22 June 2025
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100 Space Startups Shaping the New Space Economy Worldwide

100 Space Startups Shaping the New Space Economy Worldwide

SpaceX (USA, founded 2002 by Elon Musk) achieved the first private orbital rocket launch in 2008, performed the first booster landing in 2015, and launched the Starlink mega-constellation. Blue Origin (USA, founded 2000 by Jeff Bezos) completed the first vertical landing of a New Shepard booster in 2015, flew the first crewed suborbital flight in July 2021, and conducted the first orbital New Glenn launch in January 2025. Rocket Lab (New Zealand/USA, founded 2006 by Peter Beck) achieved orbit with its Electron rocket in January 2018, establishing itself as a leading small-launch provider with over 30 Electron missions. Astra (USA,
21 June 2025
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Rocketing Satellite Stocks: Global Space Industry Performance & Bold 2025 Forecasts

Rocketing Satellite Stocks: Global Space Industry Performance & Bold 2025 Forecasts

In 2024, Rocket Lab surged over 360%, Intuitive Machines jumped 720%, and Redwire climbed 436% amid a wave of small-cap space-stock rallies. By early 2025, many space stocks retraced 40–60% from their 2024 highs as investors reassessed profitability and valuations. Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ: RKLB) reported Q1 2025 revenue of $122.6 million, up 32% year over year, with a backlog of $1.07 billion, five Electron launches in the quarter, and Neutron selected for a $5.6 billion U.S. Space Force launch program, while 2025 revenue guidance remains about 30% higher. Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) saw its stock fall about 50% in
21 June 2025
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10,000 Satellites and 5 Million Users: Inside the Satellite Internet Revolution of 2025

10,000 Satellites and 5 Million Users: Inside the Satellite Internet Revolution of 2025

Starlink has launched over 8,000 satellites since 2019 and serves more than 5 million users across 125+ countries as of 2025. Amazon’s Project Kuiper launched its first 27 satellites in April 2025 on an Atlas V, aiming for a 3,236-satellite constellation with Ka-band and user terminals around $400. The EU’s IRIS² plan is a €10.6 billion multi-orbit network targeting about 300 satellites by 2030. China began launching the first of 13,000 Guowang satellites, with 64 craft launched by the end of 2024. OneWeb has about 650 satellites and merged with European operator Eutelsat in September 2023 to form a GEO-LEO
21 June 2025
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Space Force’s Secret 480-Satellite MILNET: Inside SpaceX’s New Military “Starlink” Revolution

Space Force’s Secret 480-Satellite MILNET: Inside SpaceX’s New Military “Starlink” Revolution

MILNET is a secret Space Force project that will be a government-owned, contractor-operated LEO satcom constellation of about 480 satellites, announced in June 2025. On June 18, 2025, Breaking Defense revealed that Space Force is funding MILNET in partnership with SpaceX, with SpaceX building and flying the satellites while Space Force Delta 8 oversees operations and the NRO manages the program. MILNET will use SpaceX’s Starshield platform, delivering enhanced encryption and security, with Starshield ground terminals derived from Starlink hardware able to interoperate with Starlink via laser cross-links. The network is designed as a hybrid mesh that will fuse DoD
21 June 2025
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Zombie Satellite! Defunct NASA Orbiter Emits Blazing Radio Burst After 60 Years

Zombie Satellite Awakens: Defunct 1960s NASA Orbiter Blasts Earth with Mysterious Radio Pulse

Relay 2 was a NASA experimental communications satellite built by RCA, launched January 21, 1964, atop a Delta B rocket from Cape Canaveral, designed to relay television signals and study Earth’s radiation belts. Ground support for Relay 2 ended by September 1965, and its transmitters began failing, with the first transponder dying on November 20, 1966. The second transponder failed on June 9, 1967, leaving Relay 2 officially defunct and transmitting for less than three years. Relay 2 weighed about 78 kg (172 lb) at launch and orbited in an elliptical medium Earth orbit roughly 1,870 km by 7,600 km.
21 June 2025
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France Tightens Grip on Space: Inside the €1.35 Billion Eutelsat Power Play

France Tightens Grip on Space: Inside the €1.35 Billion Eutelsat Power Play

In June 2025 the French government announced a €1.35 billion capital injection into Eutelsat, via the Agence des participations de l’État, with €717 million to be injected and Bpifrance’s 13.6% stake absorbed, lifting France’s holding to 29.99%. France becomes Eutelsat’s largest shareholder as a result of the stake transfer, solidifying the 29.99% holding. The move is designed to create a European satellite champion to counter Starlink and to secure sovereign access to space infrastructure amid geopolitical tensions. Eutelsat was founded in 1977, pioneered Europe’s direct-to-home TV in the 1990s, merged with OneWeb in July 2022, and the deal closed on
21 June 2025
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Stock Market Today

Rio Tinto stock jumps as Glencore mega-merger is shelved; what to watch next week

Rio Tinto stock jumps as Glencore mega-merger is shelved; what to watch next week

7 February 2026
Rio Tinto’s U.S. shares closed up 2.5% at $93.37 Friday after the company ruled out a merger with Glencore, triggering a six-month “no-bid” lockout under UK takeover rules. Both companies cited disagreements over valuation. Attention now turns to Rio’s Feb. 19 results and iron ore prices, which fell below $100 a tonne amid weak Chinese demand.
iFAST share price drops 3% as markets shut; earnings next week in focus

iFAST share price drops 3% as markets shut; earnings next week in focus

7 February 2026
iFAST shares fell 3.2% to S$9.64 in heavy trading Friday, closing near the day’s low as investors awaited FY2025 results due Feb. 12. The stock is about 13% below its 52-week high. iFAST recently agreed to buy a 30% stake in Financial Alliance for S$19.6 million, pending regulatory approval. Assets under administration stood at S$30.62 billion as of Sept. 30.
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