Lifeboat Foundation

In 2025 and 2026, the company also plans to launch up to 60 next-generation BlueBird satellites with an even larger communications array. The satellites will enable AST SpaceMobile to offer “full continuous service” for potentially hundreds of millions of cellphone customers.

However, satellite industry analyst Tim Farrar notes that AST SpaceMobile still needs FCC approval before it can launch and operate more BlueBird satellites. In August, the US regulator tabled the company’s request to deploy 243 more satellites.

WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics subsidiary is eyeing a 2026 launch for its next-generation satellite servicing vehicle, the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV). Equipped with robotic arms developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the MRV aims to extend the lifespan of satellites in geostationary orbit more than 22,500 miles above Earth.

NRL announced Nov. 14 that the pair of robotic arms completed crucial thermal vacuum testing and are now at Northrop’s satellite integration facility in Dulles, Virginia. The arms were developed under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract.

“This robotic payload promises to transform satellite operations in geostationary orbit, reduce costs for satellite operators, and enable capabilities well beyond what we have today,” said NRL’s director of research Bruce Danly.

SpaceX sent another group of Starlink satellites to orbit aboard a Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40 this morning. Liftoff was at 8:21 AM.

Around 8.5 minutes later, Falcon 9 booster B1076 touched down offshore on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which had been pre-positioned off the coast of The Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean. The drone ship will return to Port Canaveral and B1076 will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X for inspection and, presumably, preparation for its next flight.

A recent study links satellite and brain imaging data to identify how environmental factors can impact mental health, cognition and brain development in young people.

The research, published in the journal Nature Mental Health, is part of a collaboration involving a team of university researchers from around the world led by experts in the tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS Center) based at Georgia State University and New Light Technologies.

The study, titled “Urban-Satellite Estimates in the ABCD Study: Linking Neuroimaging and Mental Health to Satellite Imagery Measurements of Macro Environmental Factors,” represents an advance in understanding how specific environmental conditions may impact the brains of young people.

The twin spacecraft of NASA’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission were recently completed, in preparation for launch in 2025.

SpaceX will launch Apple partner Globalstar’s new MSS satellites as part of the iPhone’s satellite connectivity features.

This afternoon, SpaceX plans to launch its latest Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40. Then on Monday, the company hopes to launch the Koreasat 6A telecommunications satellite from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A. Another Starlink mission is then set for launch Tuesday evening.

When is the next Florida rocket launch?Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule from Florida

Today’s launch window for the SpaceX Starlink 6–69 mission opens now at 6:56 p.m. EST. SpaceX states they now only have until 8:22 p.m. to launch.

Scientists are using laser-based tracking and gravity data to improve how we monitor both satellites and space debris. By blending these methods, they can now predict orbits more precisely and gather insights on Earth’s gravity and water masses.

How are the Earth’s gravitational field and the paths of satellites and space debris connected? Earth’s gravitational field shapes the orbits of satellites and debris, and shifts in these orbits can reveal changes in the gravitational field, which also offers insights into water mass distribution on Earth.

In the COVER project, researchers at TU Graz’s Institute of Geodesy have enhanced gravity field calculations by combining satellite gravity measurements with satellite laser ranging (SLR). This approach not only improves gravity field models but also refines tracking and predictions for objects in orbit. These advancements are now available in the Gravity Recovery Object-Oriented Programming System (GROOPS) software—an open-source tool the Institute provides on GitHub.

Related: Radiation-hardened space electronics enter the multi-core era

The approach mitigates risk and enables easy adoption. The RAD510 computer board will launch in industry-standard 3U form factor and use software compatible with the BAE Systems RAD750 and RAD5545 computer boards.

The RAD510 embedded computing board is for the challenging environment of radiation and extreme temperatures of space. It is built on the BAE Systems RAD750 computer board that has enabled more than 100 satellites.