Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched a brand new Falcon 9 booster on a mission from California to deploy another batch of satellites for the company’s Starlink internet service. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, occurred for 12:48 a.m. PST (3:48 a.m. EST / 0848 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX launches a new Falcon 9 rocket from California (Launch ocurrs at the 29:03 mark).
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
Ars Technica reports, “During the pre-dawn hours in South Texas on Friday morning, SpaceX’s next-generation Starship first stage suffered some sort of major damage during pre-launch testing. The company had only rolled the massive rocket out of the factory a day earlier, noting the beginning of its test campaign said on the social media site X: “The first operations will test the booster’s redesigned propellant systems and its structural strength.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA is working with BryceTech to produce the AIAA 2026 Forecast of Emerging Aerospace Technologies, a strategic assessment of the innovations that will define the aerospace landscape over the next two decades. This forecast will explore technologies driving future competitiveness, national capability, and societal impact. As a member of the AIAA community, your expert perspective will provide valuable insights into these technology trends. Please take a moment to fill out the emerging technology trends survey by Friday, 21 November.
Aviation Week reports, “Less than a decade ago, the country’s primary spaceport was working on modernizing processes and equipment to support 48 rocket launches a year—more than double the annual flight rate at the time. This week, the Eastern Range hosts its 100th orbital launch of the year, with another 20-30 remaining on the 2025 flight manifest.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Spaceflight Now reports the mission was the second of three planned spacecraft that Viasat plans to operate in geostationary orbit. United Launch Alliance launched from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station “at 10:04 p.m. EST (0304 UTC), the opening of a 44-minute-long window. The rocket headed due east upon leaving Florida’s Space Coast.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
ULA Atlas 5 launches ViaSat-3 F2 communications satellite. (Launch occurs at the 59:66 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
FROM THE INSTITUTE
AIAA technical committees (TCs) and integration and outreach committees (IOCs) have selected the best professional and student technical papers presented at recent AIAA forums. With a standard award criteria and selection process from the respective committees, the following technical papers were selected as the “best,” and thereby were presented with a Certificate of Merit. The papers can be found online at the AIAA Aerospace Research Central (arc.aiaa.org), marked as “Best Paper.”
Full Story (Aerospace America)
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab launched its sixth mission for the Japanese Earth-imaging company iQPS this afternoon (Nov. 5) from its seaside pad in New Zealand. An Electron rocket carrying the QPS-SAR-14 satellite, nicknamed Yachihoko-I, lifted off from Rocket Lab’s New Zealand site today at 2:51 p.m. EST (1951 GMT; 8:51 a.m. on Nov. 6. local New Zealand time).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Rocket Lab launches Japanese Earth-observation satellite. (Launch occurs at the 00:10 mark)
VideoFromSpace; YouTube
SPACE reports Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky completed a 6 hour and 54-minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station “on Tuesday (Oct. 28) to continue and expand on the work they began during an extravehicular activity (EVA) on Oct. 16.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its 550th Falcon 9 mission since the rocket’s debut in 2010. The launch from California added 28 more broadband internet satellites to the company’s Starlink constellation.” The Starlink 11-5 mission was the 95th flight in 2025 supporting the low Earth orbit internet constellation. “Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 7:16 a.m. PDT (10:16 a.m. EDT / 1416 UTC).”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches on the 11-5 mission (Launch occurs at 30:28 mark).
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Three winners will be honored for enthusiasm and dedication to STEM education
Washington and Reston, Va. (October 20, 2025) – Challenger Center and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced they are accepting nominations for the 2026 Trailblazing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Educator Award. The annual award celebrates K-12 teachers going above and beyond to inspire the next generation of explorers and innovators. Nominations can be submitted online through December 15, 2025.
Three winners will be selected from the nominations and announced in early 2026. Each winner and their respective school or organization will be awarded $5,000. They will also receive free access to Challenger Center’s STEM education programs and have the opportunity to attend a space launch experience and/or a VIP tour of an aerospace facility.
“Educators play a vital role in sparking curiosity and helping students see themselves as future scientists, engineers, and explorers,” said Mike Kincaid, President and Executive Director, Challenger Center. “We are proud to again partner with AIAA to recognize the teachers who tend to that spark every day.”
“We share a commitment with Challenger Center to support educators who inspire and empower today’s students. They are developing the next generation STEM workforce that will make the next breakthroughs in aerospace,” said Clay Mowry, CEO, AIAA. “Their impact reaches far beyond the classroom – it reaches the stars.”
The award recognizes teachers who connect classroom lessons to the country’s current and future plans of STEM exploration and innovation, introduce students to STEM careers, and activate students’ imagination about space exploration. Past awardees have represented schools from across the United States and have gone on to achieve remarkable milestones—including participating in a Zero-G flight, being selected to serve on the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group, and even traveling to space as a commercial astronaut.
About Challenger Center
As a leader in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, Challenger Center provides hundreds of thousands of students annually with experiential education programs that engage students in hands-on learning opportunities. These programs, delivered in Challenger Learning Centers and classrooms, strengthen knowledge in STEM subjects and inspire students to pursue careers in these important fields. Challenger Center was created by the Challenger families to honor the crew of shuttle flight STS-51-L. For more information about Challenger Center, please visit https://www.challenger.org/ or connect on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
About AIAA Foundation
The AIAA Foundation inspires and supports the next generation of aerospace professionals. From classroom to career, the AIAA Foundation enables innovative K-12 and university programming, including STEM classroom grants, scholarships, conferences, and hands-on competitions. Founded in 1996, the AIAA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt educational organization connected to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org or follow AIAA on LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter, and Facebook.