Deux incendies de grande ampleur touchent le sud-ouest de la France depuis mercredi, engloutissant 42 000 hectares en Gironde et 3 600 dans les Landes. Plus de 220 000 personnes ont été évacuées, et des centaines de bâtiments détruits.
SpaceX successfully launched its first third-generation Starlink satellites via Starship V3 but faced a second Super Heavy booster failure during a simulated landing, impacting stock performance amid a downward trend post-IPO.
SpaceX successfully launched Starship on its 13th test flight, deploying 20 Starlink satellites before the spacecraft re-entered and splashed down as planned. The mission advanced testing of the upgraded Starship V3 for future Moon and Mars use.
Depuis le 22 juillet, deux incendies d'ampleur ravagent le sud-ouest de la France, notamment en Gironde et dans les Landes. Plus de 15 100 hectares ont brûlé près d'Arcachon et Biscarosse, entraînant l'évacuation de 44 000 personnes, notamment à Lège-Cap-Ferret.
The Unite union is pressuring the UK government to award a £2.4bn military satellite contract to European manufacturer Airbus, rather than US rival Lockheed Martin, to protect up to 600 jobs in Stevenage and Portsmouth. The decision is seen as a test of Labour's pledge to back British industry.
China has unveiled "Xingshu," a new space-based AI computing network aiming for ~1,000 satellites to process data in orbit, offering on-demand services for sectors like energy and finance, and providing disaster warnings.
Environmental groups and space experts warn that proposed orbital datacenters by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin could cause catastrophic pollution, altering Earth's atmosphere and ozone layer. A petition to the FCC demands a pause on new licenses, citing federal law violations and insufficient environmental impact assessments for millions of planned satellites.
Indian space-tech startup Skyroot successfully test-launched a low-orbit rocket with a 350kg payload, becoming the first Indian private company with orbital launch capability. It plans commercial operations by 2027, aiming for monthly launches and cost competitiveness in the small payload market.
Australia is training its emergency services and military personnel in traditional navigation methods like paper maps and celestial navigation. This initiative addresses the nation's high dependency on vulnerable space infrastructure, including satellites and GPS, which could be disrupted by enemy attacks or solar flares, leading to widespread system failures.
Physicist Laura Grego discusses the impending changes in space usage, from tens of thousands of new satellites altering sky views to the unaddressed military and nuclear vulnerabilities in space, highlighting the need for public awareness and governance.
The Space Development Agency (SDA) is launching its first operational missile warning and data relay satellites, despite facing a planned closure and integration into the Space Force. The agency has encountered schedule delays and technical issues with its initial Tranche 1 satellites but aims for initial warfighting capability by 2027.
The first three Google-backed FireSat satellites launched, aiming to provide enhanced wildfire detection for the US, Australia, and Europe by year-end. This development, supported by Google and the Bezos Earth Fund, offers hope for mitigating worsening wildfires, which are exacerbated by climate change and the energy demands of AI data centers.
Environmental groups, represented by Earthjustice, are petitioning the FCC to conduct a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) before approving applications for orbital datacenters. They cite concerns over cumulative environmental impacts from proposals seeking over a million satellites.
The Fi Ultra is the first pet tracker to use Starlink for satellite connectivity, offering GPS tracking in cellular dead zones. While it provides peace of mind for adventurers, its two-day battery life and $199 price tag (plus $189 annual subscription) are significant drawbacks.
Fi has released the Fi Ultra, a new dog tracker utilizing T-Mobile's T-Satellite and Starlink service for continuous tracking, even beyond cell tower reach. The device offers advanced features but has a shorter battery life compared to older models.
The US Space Force's Victus Haze mission successfully demonstrated a simulated orbital interception between two commercial satellites, showcasing rapid response capabilities for potential future military operations in space.
United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket completed its final launch for Amazon's Project Kuiper constellation, sending 29 satellites into orbit. This marks a significant milestone as the Atlas V nears the end of its nearly 25-year operational life, with only a few flights remaining, primarily for Boeing's Starliner.
Los Angeles startup Orbital applied to the FCC to launch up to 100,000 satellites, each an AI data center, into low Earth orbit. The plan aims to provide 10 gigawatts of computing power, with a demonstration mission next year and first dedicated satellite in 2028.
SpaceX confirmed de-orbiting 260 Starlink satellites between Dec 2025-May 2026, burning them up in Earth's atmosphere. This routine fleet management, part of a rapid replacement cycle for over 10,000 satellites, raises concerns among researchers about potential atmospheric alterations.
NASA has launched a $30 million robotic mission to rescue the aging Swift space telescope, which is falling towards Earth. The unprecedented operation, if successful, could enable other satellites to be given a second life. The robot was launched Friday from the Pacific Ocean.
Amazon's Leo satellite network is poised for initial service launch later this year after deploying over 390 satellites. The company aims to compete with SpaceX's Starlink, facing challenges from rocket capacity shortages and launch vehicle delays.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched 29 Amazon Leo satellites from Florida on July 2. Amazon confirmed successful deployment and contact, with satellites now being raised to operational altitude to enable satellite broadband service.
Une étude de l'Observatoire européen austral alerte sur les conséquences dévastatrices des méga-constellations de satellites pour l'astronomie, proposant une limite de 100 000 engins pour préserver l'observation du ciel nocturne.
New research from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) warns that the planned launch of 1.7 million satellites could have devastating consequences for astronomy, making the night sky up to four times brighter and obscuring celestial views. The study calls for a limit of 100,000 satellites to preserve astronomical observation.
