Tag: Low Earth Orbit
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Space Epoch Raises $343 Million to Fund Reusable Yuanxingzhe-1 Rocket
Chinese commercial launch company Space Epoch has completed a Series B++ financing round, bringing its total funding raised over the past six months to more than 2.3 billion yuan, or approximately $343 million. The capital will support the first orbital flight of its reusable Yuanxingzhe-1 methane-fueled rocket, first-stage recovery testing and the development of commercial…
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China Launches Satellite Internet LEO Group 26 on Long March 8A (Video)
China launched its 26th group of low-Earth-orbit satellite internet spacecraft aboard a Long March 8A rocket at 9:32 p.m. Beijing time on September 23, 2026. The rocket lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site and successfully placed the satellites into their designated orbit, continuing the country’s accelerated deployment of space-based broadband infrastructure. The…
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Space-Based Optical Communications Move From Flight Demonstrations to Operational Networks
Space-based optical communications are moving from experimental missions toward operational deployment as satellite operators seek higher-capacity alternatives to congested radio-frequency links. An industry assessment published September 20 said space-qualified laser terminals are now supporting data rates of up to 10 gigabits per second in orbital applications, while standardized optical inter-satellite links are becoming part of…
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SpaceX Rolls Super Heavy to Launch Pad for Starship’s First Orbital Flight
SpaceX moved the Super Heavy booster assigned to Starship Flight 14 to the launch pad at Starbase, Texas, on September 21, advancing preparations for the vehicle’s first orbital mission. Targeted for September 28 pending regulatory approval, the flight is expected to complete six Earth orbits and deploy 26 operational Starlink V3 satellites. The booster, identified…
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Katalyst Selected to Build and Launch Orbital Power-Beaming Demonstrator for Pentagon
Katalyst Space has been selected by the Pentagon’s Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund to develop and launch a robotic spacecraft that will assemble a large-format solar power-beaming system in low Earth orbit and transmit energy to Earth. Announced on September 21, the Advanced Scalable Growth Architecture for Robotic Deployment program will pair Katalyst’s NEXUS spacecraft…
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China Launches Four Rockets in 45 Hours as Broadband Constellation Deployment Accelerates
China completed four orbital launches with four different rockets in just over 44 hours between September 15 and 17, 2026, deploying satellites from Jiuquan, an offshore platform east of Shanghai, and the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. The sequence involved two commercially developed launch vehicles and two rockets operated by state-owned groups, highlighting the growing…
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SpaceX Launches 27 Starlink Satellites as Falcon 9 Booster Completes 17th Flight
SpaceX launched 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on September 19, adding another batch of broadband spacecraft to its low Earth orbit constellation. The Falcon 9 mission also marked the 17th flight of first-stage booster B1093, which landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean. The rocket lifted…
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Long March 12 Successfully Launches the 25th Group of Low Earth Orbit Internet Satellites
At 8:32 a.m. Beijing time on September 17, 2026, China launched the 25th group of low Earth orbit satellite internet spacecraft aboard a Long March 12 rocket from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site. The satellites entered their planned orbit, completing the mission successfully. Developed under the leadership of the Eighth Academy of China Aerospace…
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SpaceX Sets Sept. 22 for Starship’s First Orbital Flight and Starlink V3 Deployment
SpaceX is targeting Sept. 22, 2026, for the first orbital flight of its Starship launch system, a roughly 10-hour mission that will deploy 26 Starlink V3 satellites and send the spacecraft around Earth six times before a planned Pacific Ocean splashdown. Flight 14 is scheduled to lift off from Starbase in South Texas during a…
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Gravity-1 Launches Nine Satellites on Fourth Flight, Sets Chinese Sea-Launch Records (Video)
Orienspace’s Gravity-1 Y3 solid-propellant rocket launched eight Qianfan broadband satellites and an EUHT technology-demonstration satellite from the East China Sea on September 16, 2026, completing the vehicle’s fourth successful flight and setting new Chinese records for payload mass and orbital altitude on a single sea-launch mission. The rocket lifted off at 6:00 a.m. Beijing time,…