By Jeff Foust
In today's edition: Japan launches a new space station cargo spacecraft, Kymeta wins a U.S. Army contract for antennas, a SpaceX weekend launch doubleheader and more.
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Top Stories
The first in a new generation of Japanese cargo spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station after a launch Saturday evening. An H3 rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan at 8 p.m. Eastern and placed the HTV-X1 spacecraft into orbit. The vehicle is the first in the HTV-X series of spacecraft, an upgrade from the HTV spacecraft that delivered cargo to the ISS from 2009 to 2020. The HTV-X features about 50% greater cargo capacity and the ability to perform additional missions after departing the ISS. HTV-X1 is scheduled to arrive at the ISS around midday Wednesday. [SpaceNews]
Iridium says it has developed a chip that uses signals from its satellites to provide protection to GPS services. The company announced Monday that it has started inviting partners to test a thumbnail-sized chip that can be embedded directly into products, from mobile devices to major infrastructure systems such as power grids, enabling them to use positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) signals from its 66 low Earth orbit satellites. The company cited several recent incidents underlining a growing need to do more to protect GPS and other satellite navigation services from jamming and spoofing. The chip helps reinforce one of the L-band operator's core strengths as SpaceX's Starlink encroaches on other parts of its business. [SpaceNews]
Kymeta won a contract to provide flat-panel antennas to the U.S. Army. The contract covers 138 Osprey u8 flat-panel terminals and spares to the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division for a pilot program to improve ground connectivity. Kymeta did not disclose the value of the contract but said it is one of the biggest military orders yet for the Osprey terminal. Kymeta says that if the pilot is successful, the Army could move forward and equip all 10 of its active-duty divisions with new hardware. Kymeta is also working on a newer version that supports Ka- and Ku-band communications, rather than the current model that handles only Ku-band. [SpaceNews]
An Australian company has provided insights into a mysterious Chinese technology test satellite. HEO took images of the Xinjishu Yanzheng-7 (XJY-7) satellite, launched in late 2020 and described by Chinese officials only as a remote sensing technology test satellite. The imagery shows XJY-7 has a synthetic aperture radar antenna and fixed solar arrays that required the entire spacecraft to rotate to maintain power. HEO uses commercial remote sensing satellites to take images of other spacecraft in low Earth orbit, with plans to expand to geostationary orbit. XJY-7 reentered earlier this month. [SpaceNews]
The launch of Astrobotic's Griffin-1 lunar lander has slipped to the middle of next year. The company said Friday it is now targeting a launch window that opens next July for the spacecraft, after previously planning a launch late this year. Astrobotic did not disclose a reason for the delay but noted the Griffin-1 lander is still being assembled with environmental testing ahead. Griffin-1 was originally going to carry NASA's VIPER lunar rover, but NASA removed the rover from the mission last year. Griffin-1 will instead carry Astrolab's FLIP rover as well as Astrobotic's own small CubeRover-1 and several secondary payloads. [SpaceNews]
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Other News
SpaceX conducted two Starlink launches over the weekend. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 10:20 a.m. Eastern Saturday, putting 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. The launch was the 135th orbital mission of 2025 for SpaceX, breaking the record the company set for orbital launches in 2024. Another Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11 a.m. Eastern Sunday, placing another 28 Starlink satellites into orbit. That launch took place five years to the day after the company signed the first paying customer for Starlink. SpaceX now has more than seven million Starlink subscribers. [Spaceflight Now]
China launched an imaging satellite Saturday night. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 11:55 p.m. Eastern and put the Gaofen-14 02 satellite into its planned sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft is designed to provide high-precision stereo imagery, potentially for civil and military uses. [SpaceNews]
Roscosmos says it may start launching the first satellites for a communications constellation before the end of the year. Dmitry Bakanov, the head of Roscosmos, said last week that launches of the constellation for an unnamed Russian company will begin in December or January. The system, the size of which he did not disclose, would provide communications services comparable to "foreign analogues." [TASS]
European labor unions are lukewarm about the proposed space joint venture of Airbus, Leonardo and Thales. Unions representing some of the 25,000 employees who would be part of the joint venture, codenamed "Project Bromo," raised concerns about it, including "medium-term" impacts on employment and potential plant closures. Other unions were more positive about the plans, saying the joint venture could strengthen the European space industry. The companies announced last week they had reached an agreement on the joint venture but noted it will require antitrust and other regulatory reviews that won't be completed until 2027. [European Spaceflight]
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The Week Ahead
Monday: Monday-Wednesday: Tuesday: Tuesday-Wednesday: Vienna: The European Space Policy Institute holds its autumn conference with the theme "Europe as a Space Power – Directionality & Priorities of Strategic Action." London: The Defence in Space 2025 conference discusses various military space topics. Tuesday-Thursday: San Juan, P.R.: The Caribbean Space Summit 2025 will explore commercial space activities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. Mountain View, Calif./Online: Silicon Valley Space Week includes the Satellite Innovation conference Tuesday and Wednesday, and MilSat Symposium Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday-Friday: Wednesday: Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 8:52 a.m. Eastern. Online: Boeing will release its third quarter financial results and hold an earnings call around 10:30 a.m. Eastern. International Space Station: Scheduled arrival of the Japanese HTV-X1 cargo spacecraft, with capture of the spacecraft by the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm around 11:50 a.m. Eastern. Thursday: Friday: Sunday: Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 on the Bandwagon-4 rideshare mission at 1 a.m. Eastern. Sriharikota, India: Scheduled launch of an LVM-3 rocket carrying the CMS-03 military communications satellite at 6:30 a.m. Eastern.
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