SpainSat NG II was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket in October 2025.

Airbus secured the contract to build the first two SpainSat NG satellites in May 2019.

On 16 January, Hisdesat determined that the space particle that struck SpainSat NG II was estimated to have been only millimetres in size, to have weighed a few grams, and that its very high velocity and the impact location caused non-recoverable damage.

Hisdesat operates SpainSat NG II on behalf of the Spanish Armed Forces.

A replacement for SpainSat NG II may not be delivered and launched until around 2030 based on the original programme timeline.

SpainSat NG II was struck by a space particle and suffered non-recoverable damage.

SpainSat NG I was launched in January 2025.

The original SpainSat was launched aboard an Ariane 5 in 2006 and is almost 20 years into its originally planned 15-year design life.

Hisdesat assessed that SpainSat NG II’s highly eccentric orbit does not pose any risk or interference to existing or future space missions.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group Co Ltd completed a pre-flight first-stage static fire of the partially reusable Long March 12B on January 16th at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center launch pad.

The Long March 12B static fire comprehensively simulated the entire pre-launch process with operations nearly reaching liftoff and produced data to support preparations for the vehicle’s first flight.

The Long March 12B will be China’s first reusable rocket to use rocket-grade kerosene rather than liquid methane.

The Long March 12B is designed to carry up to 20,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit or 15,000 kilograms into a 500-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit within a 5.2-meter-diameter payload fairing.

Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 launch vehicle was delivered to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in November 2025 and has shown no progress toward launch since that delivery.

No dates have been announced for the Long March 12B’s first flight.

The Long March 12B second stage uses a vacuum-optimized YF-102V engine that generates around 85.1 tons of thrust.

When flown, the Long March 12B will become China’s third reusable launch solution following LandSpace’s Zhuque-3 and the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology’s Long March 12A in December 2025.

The Long March 12B’s development aimed to achieve equal or greater capability than the expendable Long March 12.

Space Pioneer’s Tianlong-3 had previously been expected to fly in December 2025.

Rumors suggest the Long March 12B may fly before the 2026 Spring Festival starting February 15th.

The Long March 12B first stage is powered by nine YF-102R engines that each generate 85.1 tons of thrust, producing a combined thrust of 765.9 tons.

The Long March 12B’s second stage and the YF-102V engine were tested in March 2025 to verify throttle control, multiple engine startups and shutdowns, and the stage design with propellants loaded.

An alternative objective for the Long March 12B booster is to verify a smooth reentry and in-flight engine startup without a soft landing, due in part to the first Long March 12A’s poor condition after atmospheric reentry when it landed about five kilometers away from the intended landing site.

The Long March 12B booster may be intended to perform a soft touchdown on a landing site around 300 kilometers away in Minqin County, Gansu province if landing legs are installed.

Four grid fins are installed on the Long March 12B first-stage booster for guiding unpowered descent, while four landing legs are not installed despite landing-leg attach points being present.

The Long March 12B is 72 meters tall and has first and second stages that are both 4.37 meters in diameter.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Commercial Launch Vehicle Group developed the Long March 12B in partnership with the Shanghai Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.

For the Long March 12B static fire, the vehicle was loaded with rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen via the launch pad’s transporter-erector.

The direct field acoustic test was conducted on the fully integrated Blue Moon MK1 lander.

The acoustic test used a ring of 34‑ft speaker towers arranged in a circular configuration to generate a near‑diffuse acoustic field.

Blue Moon MK1 is part of Blue Origin’s lunar program focused on developing transport and support capabilities for missions on the lunar surface.

The acoustic test was designed to simulate the acoustic environment that Blue Moon MK1 will experience during a New Glenn launch.

Dave Limp posted on X on January 15, 2026, about the completion of direct field acoustic testing on the Blue Moon MK1 lander.

On January 15, 2026, direct field acoustic testing of the Blue Moon MK1 lunar lander was completed.

The direct field acoustic test represents a flight‑qualification milestone for the Blue Moon MK1 program.

The acoustic field generated during the test was calibrated to match the New Glenn launch acoustic profile.

Completion of the direct field acoustic tests advances Blue Moon MK1 toward subsequent verification and system integration phases.

The winning contractor for the SAR program is scheduled to launch their first units as early as December 2026.

The competing firms designed their satellites to meet sub-150 kg mass and 50 cm resolution requirements for the SAR program.

The program aims to shorten the revisit rate for monitoring the Korean Peninsula to 20–30 minutes.

KAI’s design uses a high-reliability space-grade CPU while incorporating commercial-off-the-shelf automotive parts for other non-critical systems to reduce unit costs.

Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan inspected Hanwha Group’s Jeju Space Center in connection with the company’s private-led space development focus.

The 40-satellite SAR constellation contract is valued at 1.2 trillion won (about $850 million).

Hanwha Systems leveraged heritage from a 1-meter resolution SAR satellite it launched in 2023 for its 40-satellite constellation proposal.

Hanwha Systems has developed technology it can use to achieve 25 cm SAR resolution.

The final deployments of the 40-satellite constellation are slated to fly aboard South Korea’s Nuri (KSLV-II) launch vehicle.

The selected contractor for the SAR program will be responsible for the full production run of 40 satellite units.

Competitors must self-fund development of their satellite buses and payloads to near-completion prior to selection for the SAR program.

South Korea’s existing 425 Project reconnaissance satellites currently revisit targets every two hours.

Environmental testing for KAI’s prototype is scheduled to begin in February at KAI’s Sacheon facility.