Near-real-time space data is increasingly important for applications such as defense, crisis management, and environmental monitoring.

Airbus Defence and Space has an agreement with Skynopy to leverage Skynopy’s software-defined ground station technology to decrease latency for the Pléiades Neo Earth observation constellation.

Skynopy’s stated ultimate goal is to offer real-time, high-throughput connectivity to satellite operators globally.

Skynopy will integrate its ground station services into Airbus Defence and Space operations with the goal of reducing the time from image capture to upload to Airbus’ OneAtlas platform.

Skynopy plans to grow its ground station network to more than 100 sites in the coming years.

Tianlong-3 is a partially reusable two-stage launch vehicle developed by Space Pioneer.

Tianlong-3 can deliver up to 17,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit.

Space Pioneer conducted a successful 35-second static fire of Tianlong-3’s first-stage TH-12 engines in September 2025 that verified coordinated operation producing 840 tons of thrust.

Space Pioneer plans to support launches of Tianlong-3 from two planned launch pads at Jiuquan.

A second Tianlong-3 vehicle was undergoing intensive final assembly at Space Pioneer’s Zhangjiagang manufacturing facility in Jiangsu province in late 2025.

The September 2025 static fire was a required repeat of a previous failed not-so-static fire with various fixes incorporated.

Tianlong-3 stands 72 meters tall when prepared to launch, is 3.8 meters in diameter, and uses a 4.2-meter-wide fairing.

November 2025 images of the Tianlong-3 at Jiuquan show the vehicle lacks landing legs, grid fins, and apparent mounting points, indicating the first stage will be expended.

Tianlong-3 has completed pre-launch testing and is ready to perform its debut mission.

The first Tianlong-3 mission includes a planned thirty-six-satellite deployment test.

Assembling a single Tianlong-3 rocket at the Zhangjiagang facility takes approximately two months.

Since November 2025 Tianlong-3 has undergone pre-launch preparations at Space Pioneer’s facilities within the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

A fully fueled Tianlong-3 vehicle weighs 590,000 kilograms.

The Zhangjiagang facility can produce up to fifty Tianlong-3 launch vehicles per year to support China’s mega-constellation deployments.

Space Pioneer’s Zhangjiagang manufacturing facility can handle the final assembly of up to nine rockets simultaneously.

An event about WASIIM in Kuala Lumpur was attended by over 50 stakeholders including government agencies.

LC60 AI has partnerships with Sarawak Info Systems and ECU.

WASIIM highlights the need for better satellite data due to erratic seasonal changes.

Venkat Pillay is CEO and Co-Founder of LC60 AI.

The Water and Soil Intelligence Initiative Malaysia (WASIIM) focuses on water and soil intelligence in Malaysia.

Spire Global supports the Water and Soil Intelligence Initiative Malaysia (WASIIM).

WASIIM provides high-resolution weather forecasts.

LC60 AI is developing its own satellite constellation.

The purpose of the Kuala Lumpur event was to showcase the value of satellite data to stakeholders.

LC60 AI will use a ground station in Pahang, Malaysia to enhance data downlink capabilities.

LC60 AI has two satellites currently in the build process.

WASIIM provides daily soil moisture readings.

LC60 AI maintains a website at https://www.lc60.ai/.

The GAO recommended that the Department of Defense create a reliable life-cycle cost estimate for the Tracking Layer and noted that limited cost data were collected for Tranches 1 and 2.

Combatant commanders reported having insufficient insight into how the Space Development Agency defines requirements or whether planned capabilities will meet operational needs for missile warning and tracking.

The Space Development Agency and its partners have not fully demonstrated generation of timely, three-dimensional tracks on the ground, a baseline requirement for countering hypersonic glide vehicles.

The Tracking Layer is intended to provide global "stereo" coverage for missile defense and to replace legacy systems like SBIRS with a more resilient, proliferated mesh network by the end of the decade.

The Space Development Agency's biennial "tranche" acquisition strategy has led to unplanned work as contractors modify commercial spacecraft for specialized military missions.

Dr. Gurpartap "GP" Sandhoo assumed leadership of the Space Development Agency in September 2025.

The Tracking Layer procurement aims to deploy hundreds of satellites in low Earth orbit.

The GAO found that the Space Development Agency is overestimating the technology readiness of critical elements within its Tracking Layer constellation.

The Government Accountability Office released a report titled "Missile Warning Satellites: Space Development Agency Should Be More Realistic and Transparent About Risks to Capability Delivery" (GAO-26-107085) on January 28, 2026.

The GAO recommended that the Secretary of the Air Force ensure the Space Development Agency follows a more collaborative process with warfighter participants to define and prioritize requirements.

The Space Development Agency reported early milestones for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), but the GAO concluded those reports do not reflect underlying schedule risks.

The GAO warned that overestimating technology readiness could jeopardize the Space Development Agency's ability to field hypersonic missile defense capabilities on schedule.

Dr. Gurpartap "GP" Sandhoo is the Acting Director and official head of the Space Development Agency as of January 28, 2026.

The Space Development Agency has awarded contracts every two years regardless of previous satellite performance.

The GAO recommended that the Space Development Agency move toward an architecture-level schedule to better understand how delays in individual tranches affect overall delivery.

Lockheed Martin is controlling SV09 from its Launch & Checkout Operations Center in Denver, Colorado until the Space Force accepts the satellite into its operational network.

Space Systems Command System Delta 80 managed the National Security Space Launch mission for this launch.