In 2024 the US conducted 154 orbital launches, while Europe managed only three, underscoring Europe’s push to establish launch facilities in Sweden and Norway for continental autonomy. Starlink now has over 7,500 satellites in orbit and 5 million users, and operates on 1,000 aircraft, including 54 Qatar Airways Boeing 777s. France and the UK each…
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The Buck Moon on July 10, 2025 will reach peak illumination at 4:37 p.m. UTC and appear as a micromoon due to its distance, coinciding with Earth’s aphelion and a Major Lunar Standstill. President Trump appointed Sean Duffy as interim NASA Administrator in July 2025, replacing Jared Isaacman amid a backdrop of budget cuts that…
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On 5 July 2025 at 09:07 UT, amateur Mario Rana from Hampton, Virginia recorded a two-frame white flare on Saturn’s western limb lasting under 1 second, with PVOL releasing a frame showing a stellate spot just inside the edge. PVOL issued an international all-points bulletin within hours, asking observers to upload raw video stacks for…
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The FY2026 NASA budget proposal would cut overall funding by 24.3%, with science funding slashed by nearly 47%. Congress moved to restore nearly $10 billion for NASA’s human spaceflight programs including Artemis, SLS, Orion, and the Gateway lunar station, while transferring Space Shuttle Discovery to Houston and upgrading the Stennis Space Center. SpaceX accounted for…
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SpaceX’s Starlink 10-28 mission launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 8, 2025, deploying 28 broadband Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit and marking the Falcon 9 booster’s 22nd flight, with the booster landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas about 8 minutes and 14 seconds after liftoff. The 500th Falcon 9…
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China launched the Three-Body Computing Constellation, with each satellite delivering 744 TOPS and the network targeting 1 EOPS for in-orbit AI and real-time data processing. China proposes a Neptune Orbiter for 2033 powered by radioisotope thermoelectric generators to study Neptune, its moon Triton, and deep-space propulsion capabilities. BeiDou-3 has been completed with 30 operational satellites…
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Themis arrives at Esrange Space Center in Sweden, Europe’s first full-scale reusable rocket stage demonstrator by ArianeGroup for ESA’s reusability roadmap, after a 3,000-kilometer journey and hop-tests expected to begin in late 2025 under the EU SALTO project. 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), the third known interstellar object to visit our solar system, is traveling at about…
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On July 5, 2025, the unpiloted Progress 92 spacecraft docked with the ISS Poisk module, delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to Expedition 73 and remaining docked for six months before disposal. NASA’s New Horizons, now 9.1 billion kilometers from Earth, demonstrated the first interstellar navigation test using stellar parallax, achieving about…
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Starlink uses a low Earth orbit constellation with about 7,600 satellites in orbit as of mid-2025 (aiming for 12,000+), delivering 50–250 Mbps downloads with 20–50 ms latency and no hard data caps on standard plans (heavy users may be throttled during congestion). HughesNet operates GEO satellites (EchoStar Jupiter fleet, including Jupiter 3) offering up to…
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NASA’s ATLAS telescope identified the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, currently about 420 million miles from Earth, with closest approach to the Sun on October 30, 2025, and it will pass safely between Mars and Earth as the third confirmed interstellar visitor after 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov. July marks Aphelion Day, when Earth is about 94.5 million miles…
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