North America
Launches and Missions
SpaceX continued its high-tempo launch operations with two missions from separate coasts, successfully deploying additional satellites for its Starlink broadband constellation. The first launch of the week occurred on October 26, 2025, from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:43 p.m. PDT, carrying the Starlink 11-21 mission to orbit (Spaceflight Now).
This mission deployed another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites, which are the second generation of SpaceX’s internet spacecraft, designed to provide significantly more bandwidth and network capacity than earlier models. The mission was operationally significant as it set a new record for the shortest time between launches from that specific pad at Vandenberg. This rapid turnaround capability is a key component of SpaceX’s reusable launch architecture, demonstrating the efficiency of its ground support teams and the robustness of its launch hardware.
The second launch of the week, designated Starlink 10-37, took place on October 28 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket for this mission lifted off at 12:35 p.m. EDT (Spaceflight Now). This flight was notable for its payload, which consisted of 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Sources indicated that this was only the second time SpaceX had launched this specific quantity, which is understood to represent the current maximum payload limit for the Falcon 9 vehicle in this configuration, highlighting the company’s efforts to maximize payload delivery per launch.
Together, these two missions further the expansion of the Starlink megaconstellation, which provides internet services to users globally. The launch from Vandenberg was noted as the 98th Starlink-dedicated launch of 2025, illustrating an aggressive deployment schedule that remains unmatched in the commercial launch sector (Spaceflight Now).
Commercial Space and Industry Developments
In the commercial lunar sector, Astrobotic announced a significant update to its mission schedule on October 28. The company’s Griffin-1 Moon mission is now scheduled for no earlier than July 2026 (Spaceflight Now). This marks a substantial delay from the previous launch target, which was anticipated before the end of 2025.
The Griffin-1 mission utilizes Astrobotic’s large Griffin-class lander, which is designed to deliver significant payloads to the lunar surface. This mission is contracted to carry a pair of commercial robotic rovers to the Moon. This schedule adjustment underscores the persistent technical and logistical challenges faced by companies developing complex lunar landers for the first time.
This mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, a program that contracts with commercial partners to deliver science and technology instruments to the lunar surface. The CLPS program is foundational to NASA’s Artemis program, as it is intended to perform reconnaissance and science missions in advance of human landings. The delay of Griffin-1 follows the loss of Astrobotic’s first CLPS mission, Peregrine Mission One, in early 2024, which experienced a critical propulsion anomaly shortly after launch that prevented its planned lunar landing.
In financial and industrial news, Boeing reported its third-quarter results on October 29, providing insight into the performance of its space-related divisions. The company’s Defense, Space & Security segment posted $6.9 billion in revenue for the quarter, with Boeing noting that the division was showing “stabilizing operational performance” (Boeing Newsroom).
As part of its report, Boeing highlighted recent achievements, including a new contract secured during the quarter from the U.S. Space Force. This contract is intended to enhance the military’s strategic satellite communication capabilities. This reinforces Boeing’s long-standing role as a prime contractor for U.S. government and defense space programs, which include the production and operation of wideband global SATCOM satellites and the autonomous X-37B spaceplane.
Further illustrating the health of the U.S. space industrial base, component manufacturer Redwire Space was actively recruiting for specialized technical roles. The company sought electrical engineering technicians to support its facility in Jacksonville, Florida (SpaceNews Jobs).
The recruitment information provided context on the programs this new workforce would support. It specified that these roles would contribute to high-profile programs including NASA’s Orion crew spacecraft, which is the vehicle for Artemis human missions, as well as various Department of Defense missions. This activity indicates ongoing production and development work on critical next-generation hardware for both civil and national security space sectors.
Government and Policy
Progress on NASA’s Artemis program hardware was a key topic at the American Astronautical Society’s 2025 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium. On October 28, Blue Origin provided a comprehensive progress update on its lunar exploration systems (Spaceflight Now).
The company’s senior director of civil space detailed the development status of the Blue Moon crew and cargo landers. Blue Origin is one of two companies, alongside SpaceX, selected by NASA to provide a Human Landing System (HLS) to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back.
The presentation at the symposium served as a technical and programmatic briefing for government stakeholders and the wider aerospace community. It outlined the progress on the lander’s subsystems, testing milestones, and path toward flight readiness for future Artemis missions. These updates are closely watched as the HLS is a critical, long-lead element required for NASA to achieve its goal of a sustainable human presence on the Moon.
Space Infrastructure and Technology
A major milestone in aeronautical research was achieved on October 28, when Lockheed Martin, in partnership with NASA, announced the successful completion of the first flight of the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft (Lockheed Martin News).
The X-59 is an experimental aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin’s advanced projects division, commonly known as Skunk Works. The aircraft is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which has been designed from the ground up to test technologies that reduce the loudness of a sonic boom. The X-59’s unique shape is intended to turn the disruptive boom into a much quieter “thump.”
The data gathered from the X-59’s flight test campaign over the coming months will be provided to regulators, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and international bodies. This data is intended to inform new rules that could lift the long-standing ban on commercial supersonic flight over land, potentially enabling a new market for high-speed passenger and cargo air travel (Lockheed Martin News).
Europe
Commercial Space and Industry Developments
A foundational shift in the European space industry was confirmed this week. In its nine-month financial results released on October 29, aerospace giant Airbus confirmed the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Leonardo and Thales. The agreement, originally announced on October 23, outlines the intent to combine the space activities of the three companies into a new joint venture (Airbus Newsroom).
This new, yet-unnamed, entity would represent a massive consolidation of Europe’s space industrial base, merging a vast portfolio that includes satellite manufacturing, ground segment development, and space-related technologies. The three parent companies are major players in European space programs, from satellite navigation with Galileo to Earth observation with Copernicus.
The explicitly stated purpose of this strategic combination is to “strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in space.” This move is widely interpreted as a direct response to intensifying global competition, particularly from large, vertically integrated American companies like SpaceX, and as an effort to create a more robust European champion capable of securing critical infrastructure contracts related to telecommunications, Earth observation, and national security (Airbus Newsroom).
Government and Policy
The European Space Agency (ESA) provided a public update on its Space Safety Programme on October 30. The agency released a new composite image illustrating its “ESA Space Safety Fleet,” which includes current and future missions dedicated to monitoring space hazards (ESA).
The program is a multi-domain effort focused on three primary areas: detecting and mitigating threats from asteroids, monitoring and managing space debris, and forecasting severe space weather events. ESA noted that new activities and missions for the program are being proposed for approval at the agency’s upcoming 2025 Ministerial Conference.
In its communication, ESA stressed the growing importance of these activities, framing space safety as essential for protecting both terrestrial infrastructure and assets in orbit. The agency highlighted that these efforts are imperative for ensuring Europe’s “independent, continuous access to critical data and satellite services,” linking the program’s objectives to broader European geopolitical and economic security.
Space Infrastructure and Technology
On October 29, ESA reported on the successful application of artificial intelligence to advance satellite-based disaster mapping (ESA). The agency detailed the results of a recent AI challenge that pushed participants to develop novel algorithms for rapidly analyzing satellite data.
The competition focused on using AI to automatically process imagery from satellites, such as the Copernicus Sentinels, to identify the impacts of natural disasters. This includes mapping the extent of flooded areas, identifying damaged buildings and infrastructure, and assessing landslides. The primary goal is to provide emergency response teams on the ground with faster, more accurate, and more actionable situational awareness, which can be critical in the immediate aftermath of a crisis.
In the domain of deep-space technology, ESA also announced on October 29 that its first stand-alone deep-space CubeSat, named “Henon,” is “taking shape” (ESA). Henon is a small, 6U-sized spacecraft designed to test autonomous navigation and operation technologies far from Earth. This mission is part of a broader European effort to miniaturize spacecraft systems for more cost-effective scientific and exploration missions beyond Earth’s orbit.
Science and Exploration
As part of its regular communications on Earth observation activities, ESA released a new satellite image on October 31 titled “Earth from Space: Ghostly lake” (ESA). The image, acquired by an Earth-monitoring satellite, captured a large, intermittent, or ephemeral lake located in an arid region. Such images are used by scientists to monitor changes in water cycles, track the impacts of climate change, and study geological processes, demonstrating the value of continuous environmental monitoring from space.
Asia
Launches and Missions
The China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) conducted the week’s most significant human spaceflight mission with the successful launch of Shenzhou-21. The mission lifted off on November 1, 2025 (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert, carried by a Long March-2F rocket (Xinhua).
The Shenzhou-21 spacecraft is carrying a three-person crew for a six-month mission aboard the Tiangong space station. The crew includes mission commander Zhang Lu, a veteran who previously flew on the Shenzhou-15 mission. He is joined by two first-time astronauts: Wu Fei, serving as the flight engineer, and Zhang Hongzhang, serving as a payload specialist. This crew composition includes all three categories of taikonauts (pilot, engineer, and specialist) that China trains for its space station program (Xinhua).
The mission achieved a new national record for the fastest rendezvous and docking in China’s manned space program. The spacecraft autonomously connected to the forward docking port of the station’s Tianhe core module at 3:22 a.m. (Beijing Time), only about three hours after liftoff. CMSA officials noted that this rapid docking capability enhances astronaut comfort, reduces mission constraints, and improves the station’s options for emergency response (Xinhua).
Upon their arrival, the Shenzhou-21 crew was welcomed aboard the Tiangong station by the incumbent Shenzhou-20 crew. This marked the seventh in-orbit crew handover in China’s spaceflight history. The six taikonauts conducts a joint handover for several days, transferring control of the station and briefing the new crew, before the Shenzhou-20 crew returns to Earth.
Earlier in the week, Japan’s space program achieved a major success with the launch of its new flagship H3 rocket on October 26. The rocket lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center carrying the HTV-X1 unmanned cargo spacecraft on its inaugural mission to the International Space Station (The Economic Times).
The HTV-X1 is Japan’s next-generation cargo freighter, developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as the successor to the highly reliable H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV), also known as “Kounotori.” The new HTV-X vehicle features a larger payload capacity and is designed to support extended missions attached to the ISS. At the time of reporting, the spacecraft was successfully in transit to the station (AP News).
This launch was also a critical validation flight for the H3 rocket itself. The H3 is designed to be more cost-competitive in the global launch market and is foundational to Japan’s independent access to space. This successful flight helps solidify Japan’s national launch capability and its role as a key international partner in the ISS program (The Economic Times).
Government and Policy
The Chinese government publicly reaffirmed its commitment to landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030. During a press conference on October 30, a spokesperson for the China Manned Space Programme stated that the nation’s goal was firm and that development of all major systems was “progressing smoothly” (AP News).
These systems include the Long March 10 heavy-lift rocket (a new-generation launch vehicle designed for human lunar missions), a new crewed spacecraft, the lunar lander itself, and the crewed lunar rover (The Economic Times). This announcement reinforces the clear, state-directed timeline for China’s lunar ambitions as it competes with the U.S. Artemis program.
Science and Exploration
The newly arrived Shenzhou-21 crew on the Tiangong space station is tasked with a comprehensive scientific mission. According to CMSA, the crew will oversee a total of 27 new in-orbit experiments during their six-month stay (Xinhua).
The research portfolio is diverse, covering space life sciences, biotechnology, space medicine, and materials science. Specific planned investigations include studies on the relationship between genetic codes and chirality, the performance and degradation of advanced lithium-ion batteries in a microgravity environment, and the testing of intelligent computing platforms designed for space applications (Xinhua).
In addition to the human-led experiments, the Shenzhou-21 cargo included four mice (two male and two female). These animals will be part of a biological study on the effects of long-term weightlessness and confinement on mammals. This research provides foundational data for understanding the biological challenges of long-duration human missions to the Moon or Mars (The Economic Times).
In India, following the recent successful return of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla from the private Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission, officials from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) commented on the mission’s value. The flight, which saw Shukla spend time on the ISS, reportedly provided “intangible information” and critical operational experience that will be applied to India’s own Gaganyaan human spaceflight program (The Hindu).
Space Infrastructure and Technology
ISRO achieved a critical milestone for its Gaganyaan human spaceflight program this week by successfully completing the first integrated air drop test of its parachute system (The Hindu). This test is part of a complex and lengthy validation sequence to ensure the parachutes can safely decelerate and land the Gaganyaan crew module upon its high-speed reentry from orbit. The successful completion of this integrated test, which validates the full parachute deployment sequence, is a key step toward human-rating the entire landing system.
In parallel, ISRO’s launch operations team was active at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. On October 26, the LVM3 launch vehicle for the LVM3-M5 mission was moved to the launch pad in preparation for its flight (ISRO).
The rocket is scheduled to launch on November 2, just after the close of this reporting period. Its payload is the CMS-03 communication satellite. Weighing 4,400 kg, CMS-03 is set to be the heaviest communication satellite ever launched to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Indian soil. This launch further demonstrates the increasing heavy-lift capability of the LVM3 rocket, which is ISRO’s vehicle for both heavy commercial payloads and the future Gaganyaan crewed missions (ISRO).
Commercial Space and Industry Developments
ISRO’s commercial arm, NewSpace India Limited, announced a significant new commercial launch contract. ISRO has been contracted to launch a 6,500 kg communication satellite for a U.S.-based client, with the launch expected “in a couple of months” (The Hindu). This contract is notable for the large mass of the payload, which will require the full capability of the LVM3 rocket. It marks a major entrant for ISRO into the dedicated heavy-lift commercial launch market, a domain historically dominated by U.S. and European providers.
In South Korea, U.S. aerospace and defense firm Lockheed Martin announced a new collaboration with Korean Air on October 27. The two companies will work together to explore opportunities supporting the U.S. government’s Regional Sustainment Framework (RSF) (Lockheed Martin News). This partnership will focus on assessing in-country capabilities for the sustainment, maintenance, and support of U.S. space and defense systems. This move reflects a broader geopolitical trend of localizing critical industrial support functions and strengthening defense supply chains with allied nations.
Summary
This article outlines a week of significant, parallel progress across global space programs, highlighted by major crewed and cargo launches in Asia that demonstrated maturing national capabilities. The successful launch of China’s Shenzhou-21 mission and its record-setting rapid docking with the Tiangong space station showcased a high degree of operational proficiency. This was complemented by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s successful inaugural cargo flight on its new H3 launch vehicle, signaling a new generation of logistics support for the International Space Station and a critical validation of the new rocket.
In North America, the week was characterized by the relentless cadence of the commercial sector, as SpaceX conducted two more Starlink deployment missions, one of which set a new pad turnaround record. This industrial velocity was contrasted by the persistent high-stakes challenges of deep-space hardware development. Astrobotic announced a substantial delay for its Griffin-1 lunar lander, a setback for NASA’s CLPS initiative that underscores the technical hurdles of reliably landing on the Moon.
The global industrial landscape saw significant strategic positioning. The confirmation of a major joint venture between Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales represents a significant consolidation of the European space industry, explicitly intended to bolster “strategic autonomy” in the face of global competition. This move mirrors national-level efforts in India, where ISRO is leveraging its LVM3 rocket to enter the heavy commercial launch market while simultaneously achieving critical milestones for its domestic Gaganyaan human spaceflight program.
Lunar ambitions and foundational technology development remained central themes. China’s public reaffirmation of its 2030 deadline for a crewed lunar landing provides a firm, state-directed timeline for its program. In contrast, U.S. lunar efforts, discussed at the von Braun symposium, continue to advance through a complex public-private partnership model. Concurrently, technological advances such as the successful first flight of NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic jet and ESA’s work on AI for disaster response continue to lay the groundwork for future scientific and commercial applications on Earth and in space.
