China's PLA Daily warns of an accelerating arms race in low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, citing US developments like SpaceX contracts. The newspaper highlights the growing strategic and militarized value of space, particularly for satellite networks and orbital competition.
SpaceX's Starship V3 completed its first test flight with mostly positive results, including a successful splashdown in the Indian Ocean and intact heat shield. However, engine failures on both the booster and ship, and a missed engine relight test, indicate further development is needed.
NASA's Artemis III mission, now set for low-Earth orbit in 2027, will test Orion spacecraft capabilities with SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 landers, delaying lunar landing preparations amid concerns over lander maturity.
US Space Command hosts classified wargames, Apollo Insight, with commercial companies to simulate space threats, including a nuclear detonation in orbit, amid concerns over Russia's potential deployment of WMDs in space.
A South Korean Earth-observation satellite launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California entered low-Earth orbit on Sunday after separating from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The CAS500-2 satellite, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries for disaster monitoring and agricultural observation, was among 45 payloads on the mission. The satellite, originally scheduled for a 2022 launch on a Russian Soyuz rocket, was delayed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
