Satellites 2026-023B through 2026-023J (NORAD 67675–67682) have apogee heights of about 511–514 km and perigee heights of about 484–487 km.

COSMOS 2600 (NORAD 67674, 2026-023A) has an apogee height of 329 km, a perigee height of 326 km, and an orbital eccentricity of 0.0002431.

Brian O’Toole is the CEO of BlackSky.

The expansion deals reflect a customer shift toward adopting advanced space-based dynamic monitoring capabilities to support time-sensitive tactical ISR operational needs.

BlackSky is expanding internationally in response to increased demand for agile, responsive space-based intelligence capabilities.

Gen-3 imagery enables automated detection, identification, and classification of aircraft, vehicles, vessels, and other objects of tactical interest at machine speed.

A new international defense customer awarded multiple Gen-3 Assured services contracts totaling seven figures to BlackSky following the Assured early access period.

BlackSky’s dynamic monitoring platform provides multiple daily revisits, on-demand tasking, and very high-resolution imagery data integrated securely into existing intelligence workflows.

Dedicated access to BlackSky’s Gen-3 leverages a fully automated, end-to-end commercial architecture to deliver real-time situational awareness at mission speed and scale.

BlackSky positions Gen-3 Assured to deliver persistent monitoring, tasking flexibility, and rapid response for modern defense and intelligence organizations.

BlackSky’s Gen-3 Assured provides customers guaranteed, priority access to Gen-3 capacity over their operational areas of interest.

Artemis II will launch NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft and a crew of four astronauts on a mission into deep space.

Artemis II is scheduled to launch no earlier than March 6.

NASA selected 34 global volunteers to track the Orion spacecraft during the crewed Artemis II mission’s journey around the Moon.

Ten volunteers successfully tracked the Orion spacecraft during Artemis I in 2022.

NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network, coordinated by the agency’s SCaN program, will provide primary communications and tracking services for Orion’s launch, journey around the Moon, and return to Earth.

Volunteers will submit their tracking data to NASA for analysis to help the agency assess the broader aerospace community’s tracking capabilities and identify ways to augment future Moon and Mars mission support.

The Near Space Network is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Artemis I volunteer tracking campaign produced data and lessons learned, including implementation, formatting, and data quality variations relevant to the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems.

SCaN develops technologies and capabilities intended to support NASA missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

No funds will be exchanged as part of the collaborative tracking effort for Artemis II.

Selected volunteers will use their equipment to passively track radio waves transmitted by Orion during its approximately 10-day journey around the Moon.

SCaN requires that all tracking data submitted for Artemis II comply with its data system standards.

About 47 ground assets spanning 14 different countries will be used to track the Orion spacecraft during its journey around the Moon.

The networks supporting Artemis receive programmatic oversight from NASA’s SCaN Program office.

Participants selected from a request for proposals published in August 2025 include established commercial service providers, members of academia, and individual amateur radio enthusiasts.

The Deep Space Network is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California.

Work for Mengzhou’s in-flight abort test at the Wenchang Space Launch Site has continued over the past two weeks.

Hazard notices for the test prohibit aircraft and vessels from entering an approximately 40 by 40 kilometer area off the coast of Hainan province that overlaps the Wenchang launch sites.

Tourism branches at the Wenchang launch sites informed Xiaoxiang Morning Herald on January 23rd that other launches from Wenchang were on hold to free up resources and personnel for the in-flight abort test.

The China Manned Space Agency has not released details about the Mengzhou in-flight abort test.

Manufacturers for Long March launch vehicles are encouraging their staff to commit fully to the Mengzhou in-flight abort test flight.

Other support ships are expected to participate in the Mengzhou in-flight abort test operations.

The hazard notices are scheduled for February 11th and run for four hours from 10:51 am to 14:50 pm China Standard Time (02:51 am to 06:50 am Universal Coordinated Time).

The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology has not released details about the Mengzhou in-flight abort test.

After the tarp removal the Mengzhou capsule and its abort system were placed atop the modified Long March 10A test booster without a dummy service module or a boilerplate second-stage.

The in-flight abort test is the last capsule-related development milestone ahead of a demonstration flight to the Tiangong Space Station and later to the Moon.

The integrated Mengzhou capsule and Long March 10A test booster were placed on a mobile launch platform and rolled onto Launch Complex 301.

The autonomous Long March 10 series booster catching ship Linghangzhe will be positioned within the restricted area for a potential booster catch of the test booster following outfitting in January and delivery in November 2025.

An amphibious recovery ship will be positioned just offshore in case the Mengzhou capsule separates from the booster early due to an anomaly.

The Mengzhou capsule recently appeared at Launch Complex 301 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site.

The JiaHaiKe-7 and TanHai-9 capsule recovery ships will wait at a safe distance from the projected splashdown points.

On February 3rd tarps were removed from a modified Long March 10 series static fire article revealing four real grid fins and hooks that could enable booster recovery.

ESA provided an animation using MTG-S Infrared Sounder data that tracks the Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption on November 23, 2025.

MTG-S carries an ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared imaging spectrometer designated to serve the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission.

EUMETSAT manages mission control and data distribution for MTG-S.

The Meteosat Third Generation-Sounder mission (MTG-S) includes an infrared sounder to take hyperspectral soundings of the atmosphere.

MTG-S captured temperature images related to the Hayli Gubbi volcano eruption in Ethiopia on November 23, 2025, with infrared channels highlighting the developing ash plume.

MTG’s wavelength observation capabilities can complement RADARSAT radar observations for potential collaborations.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will receive increased access to ESA programs as a result of Canada’s funding commitment.