South Korea launches its first SAR spy satellite

South Korea’s military space program achieved a significant milestone on Apr. 8 with the successful launch of its second reconnaissance satellite. Lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the satellite has entered its designated orbit and established communication with a ground station.


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Contracts for Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture awarded

The Space Development Agency (SDA), an arm of the U.S. Space Force, announced it has awarded contracts totaling approximately $2.5 billion to three companies for the construction and operation of 54 satellites designed to track hypersonic missiles in all phases of flight. These satellites will form the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer of the agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a layered network of hundreds of satellites intended to enhance missile warning and defense capabilities.


Photo By: Space Development Agency
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U.S. naval detachment boosts French hypersonic research with successful rocket launch

Boosting hypersonic research capabilities took center stage as the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) detachment, based in White Sands, New Mexico, successfully launched a new three-stage rocket configuration during a joint mission with the French military in Biscarrosse, France.

A Terrier-Oriole-Oriole sounding rocket points skyward on a launch rail in Biscarrosse, France, in June. The three-stage rocket was the third launch vehicle that Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division’s White Sands Detachment provided for the French military in a project that began in 2020. (Photo courtesy of the France General Directorate of Armaments/Released)

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China’s Shenlong spaceplane raises questions about co-orbital ASAT capabilities

In an article for the Space Review, Carlos Alatorre delves into China’s recent advancements in space capabilities, particularly focusing on its deployment of a reusable autonomous spaceplane named Shenlong. The article raises critical questions about China’s potential to establish co-orbital antisatellite (ASAT) platforms and whether there is evidence of China’s intention to do so.

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