Space News Explosion: Solar Sails, Interstellar Visitors, and the Race to Dominate the Final Frontier / Updated: 2025, July 12th, 00:00 CET
The SWIFT satellite constellation uses advanced solar sails to deliver earlier, more accurate space weather warnings. In December 2024, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe yielded the closest-ever images of the Sun’s corona and CMEs, vastly improving space weather predictions. SpaceX’s Starlink now has nearly 6,000 satellites in orbit and has regulatory approval to operate in India. Firefly Aerospace aims for an IPO around $2 billion, leveraging its Alpha rocket, Blue Ghost lunar lander, and Northrop Grumman partnerships. The Crew-11 mission will launch on July 31, sending four astronauts—two from NASA, one from JAXA, and one from Roscosmos—to the ISS aboard Crew