Read the full story: Space.comSwift Space Telescope Resumes Science After Failed Rescue AttemptNASA’s Swift observatory, facing an eventual uncontrolled reentry, has restarted science operations even as efforts to save the spacecraft from its decaying orbit have come up short.
The telescope, which has studied gamma-ray bursts and transient events since 2004, will continue collecting data for as long as its orbit allows.
Read the full story: NASASatellite of the DayMETEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) - METEOSAT-11, the final MSG-series weather satellite, has orbited at GEO since 2015.
Read the full feature: Satellite of the Day: METEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) or track METEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) live.
Slipped: Electron | Owl Around The World (StriX Launch 11) moved from Sep 1, 11:30 UTC to Sep 2, 11:00 UTC.
Top Stories
NASA Crew Dragon Launch Delayed Over Spacecraft Leak
NASA and SpaceX have pushed back the next crewed launch to the International Space Station after discovering a leak on the Dragon spacecraft. No new launch date has been announced. Dragon leak issues have surfaced before in the program’s history, and each instance triggers a full inspection before the vehicle is cleared to fly with crew aboard.
Read the full story: Space.com
Swift Space Telescope Resumes Science After Failed Rescue Attempt
NASA’s Swift observatory, facing an eventual uncontrolled reentry, has restarted science operations even as efforts to save the spacecraft from its decaying orbit have come up short. The telescope, which has studied gamma-ray bursts and transient events since 2004, will continue collecting data for as long as its orbit allows. Swift’s reentry timeline remains a tracking target for the catalog community.
Read the full story: Space.com
Greece Signs $3.4B Deal for Israeli Multi-Layer Air Defense
Greece finalized a $3.4 billion purchase of an integrated Israeli air defense system called Achilles Shield. The package includes Rafael’s David’s Sling medium-range interceptor and IAI’s Barak MX, linking ships, aircraft, ground assets, and satellites into a single network architecture. It is the first time Israel has exported a complete layered defense array to a single customer.
Read the full story: Breaking Defense
Japan Requests Record $55.6B Defense Budget, Eyes Anti-Radar Missiles
Japan’s defense ministry submitted an 8.89 trillion yen ($55.6 billion) budget request for the next fiscal year, continuing its streak of record defense spending. The request flags Northrop Grumman’s AARGM-ER anti-radiation missile for the first time, along with new low-cost cruise missiles and a submarine-launched guided missile. Specific quantities and costs were withheld pending updated national security strategy documents expected later this year.
Read the full story: Breaking Defense
Quantum Imaging Startup Diffraqtion Doubles Funding to $10M+
Diffraqtion, building quantum-enhanced cameras for space, added over $5 million to its pre-seed round with backing from Lockheed Martin Ventures and Sumitomo’s Presidio Ventures, bringing total funding past $10 million. The company’s technology aims to match the performance of large-aperture optics using smaller, cheaper sensors. Diffraqtion has already secured a NASA SBIR Phase I for space debris tracking and plans to fly a hosted payload for orbital demonstration.
Read the full story: Payload
Türkiye Signs the Artemis Accords
NASA announced Türkiye as the newest signatory to the Artemis Accords, the framework of principles governing civil space exploration and lunar cooperation. The addition continues steady international expansion of the accords, which now cover dozens of countries committing to transparency, interoperability, and peaceful use of space resources.
Read the full story: NASA
Satellite of the Day
METEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) - METEOSAT-11, the final MSG-series weather satellite, has orbited at GEO since 2015. Its rising 3.39-degree inclination hints at end-of-life fuel conservation by EUMETSAT.
Read the full feature: Satellite of the Day: METEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) or track METEOSAT-11 (MSG-4) live.
By the Numbers
Active satellites tracked: 15,878
15,878 Cataloged debris objects: 14,906
14,906 New objects cataloged yesterday: 1
1 Orbital launches this year: 208 (201 successful)
208 (201 successful) Next launch: Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-23 in about 23 hours (Sep 2, 07:46 UTC)
Catalog Watch
Space-Track cataloged 1 new object in its latest daily accounting (2026-08-31), alongside 28,422 updated element sets.
New catalog entries: 100532.
Reentry Watch
Upcoming Space Launches
Schedule Changes
Newly added: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H3-24 | HTV-X2, scheduled for Dec 31, 00:00 UTC.
Slipped: Electron | Owl Around The World (StriX Launch 11) moved from Sep 1, 11:30 UTC to Sep 2, 11:00 UTC.
Slipped: Ariane 62 | Metop-SG B1 moved from Dec 31, 00:00 UTC to Nov 30, 00:00 UTC.
Status change: Pallas-1 | Demo Flight is now “Launch Successful”.
Next 48 Hours
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Starlink Group 15-23 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (Sep 2, 07:46 UTC) Watch Live
- Starlink Group 15-23 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA (Sep 2, 07:46 UTC) Watch Live Rocket Lab Electron - Owl Around The World (StriX Launch 11) from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand (Sep 2, 11:00 UTC) Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.
See every upcoming mission on the live schedule: Upcoming Launches
Note: Launch dates and times are subject to change due to technical or weather considerations.
