An opportunity to study the Moon… The upper stage belongs to a Falcon 9 rocket that launched two lunar landers, Firefly’s Blue Ghost and ispace’s Hakuto-R, on January 15, 2025. Its impact will help astronomers and others studying the Moon. “Because the timing, location, and speed of the crash are known in advance, this event is a rare opportunity to learn about impact physics, the properties of lunar soil, planetary protection, and the safety of future operations on the lunar surface,” the research team said. (submitted by philip verdieck)
AST SpaceMobile turns back to Falcon 9. AST SpaceMobile announced this week that its launch of the BlueBird 11, 12, and 13 satellites is currently scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The additional satellites 11, 12, and 13 will further expand AST SpaceMobile’s space-based cellular broadband network, supporting voice, data, and video services directly to standard, unmodified smartphones.
Company using all launch vehicles available… The company’s network is a direct competitor to SpaceX’s plans to use its Starlink satellite network to deliver direct-to-cell connectivity. AST has been starting to ramp up satellite production, and with the New Glenn and Vulcan rockets currently offline, it has had little choice but to turn to SpaceX to launch its large satellites.
Starship test flight largely successful. SpaceX was more than lucky last Friday, sending its 13th full-scale Starship test flight halfway around the world from South Texas to an on-target, intact splashdown in a remote section of the Indian Ocean. Starship has made precise splashdowns before. This time, however, the ship gently tipped over and came to rest floating in a remote stretch of ocean west of Australia, Ars reports. Later, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the company would attempt to retrieve the vehicle from the ocean.
Our next catch of the day?… Encouraged by the picture-perfect end to Friday’s flight, SpaceX is likely to take the next leap with Starship on the next launch, according to Musk. That would entail hurling Starship on a longer-range trajectory, perhaps into low-Earth orbit, to bring the vehicle back to the launch site. Mechanical arms on the launch tower will attempt to capture the ship as it slows to a hover. SpaceX has already done this with the rocket’s massive Super Heavy booster, which is larger and heavier than Starship itself but comes back at a fraction of the speed.