Orbital OSINT 35

Space and telecoms this week (21–28 Aug 2025) were dominated by SpaceX : Starship Flight 10 hit all major objectives, while Falcon 9 lofted Luxembourg’s NAOS plus rideshares and more Starlinks ; Blue Origin queued NS-35. On orbit and policy beats, York Space Systems delivered 21 satellites for the Space Force’s first LEO comms network, Viasat reshuffled leadership and won a SouthPAN award, IBM/NASA rolled out a geospatial AI model, and FAA comments signaled broad support for space-based ADS-B.

Market notes included Sumitomo backing Kongsberg NanoAvionics, Tampnet’s Petrobras deal, and imagery firms warning about X-band spectrum at the next WRC. Astronomy/stargazing pieces highlighted a black moon, a Mars–crescent Moon pairing, and striking ISS imagery.

Defense and media moved too: Germany is buying 90 Litening 5 pods for Eurofighters, ASELSAN opened a major tech base, analyses covered weather-driven air-power advantages and network-centric lessons from the Pakistan–India clashes, with updates on Russia–China patrols and Ukraine strikes plus U.S. tech shipments to a Ukrainian UAV maker.

Broadcasting/streaming saw Brazil adopt ATSC 3.0, DAZN pick up US college sports rights across Europe/MENA, Dutch public TV ad sales slide with linear decline, and FAST channel growth led by news and horror. Space industry briefs rounded out with Astroscale revenue/life-extension delays, SES mPOWER Gen-2 IFC progress, and assorted launch cadence and payload hardware milestones.

SatelliteToday (Via Satellite)

York Space Systems Delivers 21 Satellites for First Deployment of U.S. Military Network
25 August 2025
York Space Systems delivered 21 satellites to support the U.S. Space Force’s first LEO communications network deployment. (Via Satellite)

Fleet Space Signs a 20-Year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Rio Tinto
25 August 2025
Fleet Space and Rio Tinto inked a two-decade pact to apply satellite-enabled sensing for mining operations. (Via Satellite)

Hisdesat Selects MDA Space to Build Third SPAINSAT NG Satellite
25 August 2025
Spain’s Hisdesat chose MDA Space to manufacture a third SPAINSAT Next Generation satellite. (Via Satellite)

Ben Palmer to Lead Viasat’s Commercial Business, Jamal Daher to Head U.S. Government Systems
25 August 2025
Viasat appointed Ben Palmer to lead commercial operations and Jamal Daher to head U.S. Government Systems in a leadership reshuffle. (Via Satellite)

FAA Public Comments Show Broad Support for Space-Based ADS-B
25 August 2025
FAA comment filings indicated wide industry backing for enabling space-based ADS-B surveillance in U.S. airspace. (Via Satellite)

Veteran Ventures Capital Closes New Aerospace & Defense Fund at $75 Million
25 August 2025
Veteran Ventures Capital closed its latest fund at $75M to back aerospace and defense startups. (Via Satellite)

Tampnet Wins 5-Year Deal with Petrobras for Managed ISP Services
25 August 2025
Tampnet secured a five-year contract to provide managed connectivity services to Petrobras. (Via Satellite)

U.S. Space Force Proposes Sole-Source Broadband Contract
25 August 2025
A draft notice outlines the Space Force’s intent to award a sole-source LEO broadband services contract. (Via Satellite)

IBM and NASA Launch Geospatial Foundation Model on watsonx.ai
22 August 2025
IBM and NASA released an open geospatial AI model on watsonx.ai to speed climate and Earth-science analysis. (Via Satellite)

Sumitomo Invests in Kongsberg NanoAvionics as Part of $32M Raise
22 August 2025
Sumitomo joined a $32M investment round in Kongsberg NanoAvionics to scale satellite manufacturing. (Via Satellite)

Report: Google Pixel 10 to Offer Satellite Messaging in All U.S. Workhorse Carrier Bands
22 August 2025
A report suggests Google’s Pixel 10 will support satellite messaging across major U.S. carrier bands. (Via Satellite)

SXM-10 Marks the Second New Geostationary Satellite of 2025
21 August 2025
SXM-10’s arrival in orbit becomes 2025’s second new GEO satellite, expanding SiriusXM’s fleet. (Via Satellite)

Viasat Receives $163M Award for SouthPAN Open Services
21 August 2025
Viasat won a $163M contract to support SouthPAN’s open satellite-based augmentation services. (Via Satellite)

Runway Girl Network

SES ‘on track’ for seamless inflight connectivity with mPOWER Gen 2
23 August 2025
SES detailed progress toward seamless IFC using second-generation O3b mPOWER, with service milestones ahead. (Runway Girl)

DefenseTalks (Global Defense Insight)

Germany Procures 90 Litening 5 Targeting Pods for Eurofighter Typhoon Fleet
28 August 2025
Germany approved buying 90 Litening 5 pods to boost Eurofighter precision strike and reconnaissance. (Global Defense Insight)

ASELSAN Launches Türkiye’s Largest Defense Industry Investment with Oğulbey Technology Base
27 August 2025
ASELSAN unveiled a $1.5B Oğulbey Technology Base and opened 14 new facilities, expanding Steel Dome capabilities. (Global Defense Insight)

What You Need to Know About Türkiye’s Steel Dome
27 August 2025
Overview of Türkiye’s multilayer Steel Dome air and missile defense architecture and strategic aims. (Global Defense Insight)

Weather Operations: Next Strategic Shift in Air Power?
25 August 2025
Analysis of how integrating real-time weather intelligence gives air forces operational advantages. (Global Defense Insight)

US Firm Silvus Technologies Supplies Ukrainian Drone Maker with 41 Shipments
25 August 2025
Silvus provided secure MIMO radios and components across 41 shipments to Ukraine’s Skyeton for Raybird UAVs. (Global Defense Insight)

Russia and China Complete Joint Naval Patrol in Pacific Ocean
25 August 2025
Russia’s Pacific Fleet and China’s PLAN wrapped a 6,000-nm patrol featuring ASW drills and long-range ops. (Global Defense Insight)

Networks Over Numbers: The 2025 Pakistan–India Air War
25 August 2025
An opinion analysis argues network-centric operations outweighed platform counts during the May 2025 air clashes. (Global Defense Insight)

Russia Launches Biggest Drone and Missile Strike on Ukraine in 2025
21 August 2025
Ukraine endured one of the war’s largest barrages, with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles launched. (Global Defense Insight)

Space.com

SpaceX’s giant Starship Mars rocket nails critical 10th test flight
27 August 2025
Starship Flight 10 lifted off from Texas and met key objectives including booster splashdown and controlled spacecraft descent. (Space)

What’s next for SpaceX’s Starship after Flight 10 success
28 August 2025
Following Flight 10, SpaceX plans further iterations while transitioning toward the next Starship vehicle. (Space)

Starship met ‘every major objective’ on epic Flight 10, SpaceX says
28 August 2025
SpaceX reported Flight 10 ticked all major milestones, providing data for future reusable rocket development. (Space)

SpaceX launches Earth-observation satellite for Luxembourg and 7 others
27 August 2025
A Falcon 9 launched Luxembourg’s NAOS EO satellite and seven rideshare payloads from Vandenberg. (Space)

Don’t miss Mars close to the slender crescent moon at sunset tonight
26 August 2025
Mars appeared near the young crescent Moon shortly after sunset on Aug. 26. (Space)

ISS astronaut captures Egypt’s glittering Nile River at night (Space photo of the day)
26 August 2025
A nighttime ISS image showcased the Nile’s illuminated path from central Egypt to Cairo. (Space)

Radio dish on the move (Space photo of the day)
25 August 2025
A rare look at relocating a massive radio dish highlights remote handling of heavy observatory hardware. (Space)

New moon of August 2025 brings a rare black moon and a close Mars encounter
22 August 2025
The month’s second new moon (“black moon”) darkened skies on Aug. 23 ahead of a Moon–Mars meet-up. (Space)

What time is SpaceX’s Starship Flight 10 launch?
24 August 2025
A guide to Flight 10’s planned Aug. 26 launch window and viewing details. (Space)

SatNews

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink smallsats of Group 10-56 from Florida — 400th droneship landing
27 August 2025
A Falcon 9 sent 28 Starlinks to LEO and marked SpaceX’s 400th droneship landing. (news.satnews.com)

SpaceX to launch 28 Starlink smallsats Group 10-11 from the Cape on Thursday
27 August 2025
SpaceX targeted another Florida Starlink launch for Group 10-11. (news.satnews.com)

AST SpaceMobile insists FM-1 satellite will ship in August
27 August 2025
AST SpaceMobile said its first Block-2 satellite would ship in August amid launcher considerations. (news.satnews.com)

Rocket Lab to launch secretive JAKE 4 HASTE mission soon
27 August 2025
Rocket Lab’s suborbital HASTE mission for a “super secret” customer remained on hold pending mission needs. (news.satnews.com)

SpaceX Starship 10 test run proves successful, ending with Indian Ocean splashdown
26 August 2025
Starship’s tenth test met major objectives before a controlled ocean splashdown. (news.satnews.com)

SpaceX launches NAOS EO spacecraft for Luxembourg + rideshares
26 August 2025
Falcon 9 launched Luxembourg’s NAOS and several secondary payloads from Vandenberg. (news.satnews.com)

Elbit Systems’ JUPITER space camera launched aboard NAOS satellite
27 August 2025
Elbit’s JUPITER camera flew with NAOS to provide advanced imaging capabilities. (news.satnews.com)

New Shepard’s 35th mission targets liftoff on Tuesday, August 26
25 August 2025
Blue Origin slated uncrewed NS-35 to carry more than 40 research payloads. (news.satnews.com)

SpaceNews
SpaceX launches Luxembourg imaging satellite, seven rideshare payloads
26 August 2025
Falcon 9 launched Luxembourg’s NAOS imaging satellite with additional rideshare payloads from Vandenberg. (SpaceNews)

York Space delivers 21 satellites for first deployment of U.S. military network
25 August 2025
York delivered 21 satellites ahead of the Space Force’s initial LEO communications fielding. (SpaceNews)

1,800 Global Leaders Converge in Paris for the Most Powerful Week in Space
22 August 2025
Preview of a mid-September Paris gathering bringing together leaders across the space economy. (SpaceNews)

SpaceX launches eighth mission of the X-37B military spaceplane (Space Force)
22 August 2025
A Falcon 9 carried the Space Force’s reusable X-37B spaceplane on its eighth mission. (SpaceNews)

Advanced Television

Third time’s a charm for Starship
27 August 2025
SpaceX’s Starship Flight 10 achieved a near-flawless test with booster splashdown and controlled descent. (Advanced Television)

AST SpaceMobile insists FM-1 satellite will ship in August
27 August 2025
AST SpaceMobile said its first Block-2 satellite was ready to ship amid possible launcher changes. (Advanced Television)

Further delays for AST’s FM1 satellite
22 August 2025
ISRO indicated FM-1’s launch might slip toward year-end despite earlier expectations. (Advanced Television)

SpaceWatch.Global

NASA Moves Heliosphere Mapping Spacecraft for Fueling
21 August 2025
IMAP was moved for fueling at Astrotech as NASA targets a no-earlier-than September launch. (SpaceWatch.GLOBAL)

Rocket Lab Sets Launch Window for 70th Electron Mission
21 August 2025
Rocket Lab planned its 70th Electron launch within days of its previous mission. (SpaceWatch.GLOBAL)

Space Intel Report

ESA plans Sept. 4 meeting with industry to promote autonomy in lunar and Mars exploration
27 August 2025
ESA’s exploration directorate scheduled a Sept. 4 industry session to boost European autonomy and diversify partnerships. (Space Intel Report)

Astroscale: FY 2025 revenue down 14%; life-extension mission delayed; turnaround expected this year
26 August 2025
Astroscale reported lower annual revenue and a wider loss, while targeting a recovery later in 2025. (Space Intel Report)

11 geospatial imaging companies say X-band spectrum is under threat at next WRC
25 August 2025
A coalition of imagery companies warned that X-band allocations face risks ahead of the next ITU WRC. (Space Intel Report)

Broadband TV News

As linear viewership declines, Dutch pubcasters sell less advertising
27 August 2025
Dutch public broadcaster sales house Ster reported a steep H1 2025 revenue drop amid shifting viewing. (Broadband TV News)

News and Horror lead the charge in FAST channel growth, says Gracenote
27 August 2025
Gracenote’s Q3 update shows FAST channels up 14% since Q1 and 76% since 2023, led by news and horror. (Broadband TV News)

Fabric at IBC 2025: The latest Dutch streaming trends
26 August 2025
Fabric previewed Dutch streaming market trends ahead of IBC 2025. (Broadband TV News)

Space and Defense (spaceanddefense.io)

Smart Combat Mission Planning and real-time decision making
28 August 2025
A feature on mission-planning technology and decision-support tools for defense and space operations. (Space and Defense)

Cargo Launch on 33rd SpaceX Resupply Mission to Station
25 August 2025
Overview of the CRS-33 cargo launch plans and payloads bound for the ISS. (Space and Defense)

New Astronaut Class to debut
21 August 2025
NASA is set to unveil its 2025 astronaut candidate class following a highly competitive selection round. (Space and Defense)