Defense Daily reports, “The U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command has awarded Boeing [BA] a $2 billion contract for the next two Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites. Fielded in 2019, four MUOS geosynchronous satellites–built by incumbent Lockheed Martin [LMT]–provide military forces ultra high frequency (UHF) voice and data communications.”
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Tag: Satellites
SpaceX Conducts Latest National Security Launch for NRO
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its third mission this year supporting the National Reconnaissance Office’s constellation of intelligence-gathering satellites.The mission, dubbed NROL-179, launched an undisclosed number of satellites into orbit as part of what the NRO calls its proliferated architecture constellation.”
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Video
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California with satellites for NRO (Launch occurs at the 29:46 mark).
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
SpaceX Conducts 45th Starlink Mission of 2026
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base Tuesday night to send a batch of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit … Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 7:46 p.m. PDT (10:46 p.m. EDT / 0246 UTC). The rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.”
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Video
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg. (Launch occurs at the 30:00 mark)
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
SpaceX Launches New Wave of NRO Reconnaissance Satellites
Spaceflight Now reports, “The National Reconnaissance Office flew its 13th mission supporting an intelligence-gathering constellation it calls the “proliferated architecture” on Monday night. As with the first dozen missions, this batch of satellites (of an undisclosed quantity) flew to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, dubbed NROL-172, launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff happened at 7:13:50 p.m. PDT (10:13:50 p.m. EDT / 0213:50 UTC), nearly four hours after the opening of the window.”
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Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches NROL-172 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. (Launch occurs at 30:26 mark)
Spaceflight Now: YouTube
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NASA Solicits Industry Proposals for Next-Generation Relay Service
Space News reports, “NASA plans to seek proposals for commercial communications services that can be backward compatible with the agency’s aging fleet of relay satellites. NASA issued April 10 a draft solicitation for Project NEXUS, a part of the broader Commercial Services Project.”
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Rocket Lab Sends First Open Cosmos Satellites Into Polar Orbit
Space News reports, “A Rocket Lab Electron launched the first satellites for a new constellation being developed by Open Cosmos that will use spectrum previously assigned to Rivada Space Networks. The Electron lifted off from Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 5:52 a.m. Eastern Jan. 22. It deployed two satellites into a circular polar orbit at an altitude of about 1,050 kilometers one hour and nine minutes after liftoff.”
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Video
RocketLab Electron Launch from New Zealand (Launch takes place at the 23:07 mark)
The Launch Pad | YouTube
SpaceX Performs 550th Falcon 9 Launch
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).”
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Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 launches on the 11-5 mission (Launch occurs at 30:28 mark).
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Two Powerful Communications Satellites, Lands First Stage Booster
SPACE reports, “A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two powerful communications satellites on July 22, then aced its landing on a ship at sea. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT), carrying SES’ O3b mPOWER 9 and 10 satellites toward medium Earth orbit (MEO), about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) above our planet.”
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US Space Force Selects Rocket Lab and Stoke Space to Compete for Future National Security Launches
SPACE reports, “Private launch companies Rocket Lab and Stoke Space have been selected to compete for future U.S. national security space launches. The two launch companies were awarded ‘National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 Lane 1 contracts’ by the U.S. Space Force on March 27, broadening the military branch’s launch options and strengthening access to space.”
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Rocket Lab Successfully Launches BlackSky Gen-3 Satellite
Spaceflight Now reports, “Update 7:16 p.m. EST (0016 UTC): Rocket Lab confirms a successful payload deployment. Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its second Electron rocket of the month and its 60th to date. The flight carried with it the first of BlackSky’s Gen-3 Earth imaging and analytics gathering satellites. Liftoff of the mission, dubbed ‘Fasten Your Space Belts,’ from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand happened at 12:17 p.m. NZDT on Feb. 19 (6:17 p.m. EST, 2317 UCT on Feb. 18).”
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