LEO News

Breaking Defense

DIA warns China and Russia are expanding counterspace capabilities as China’s satellite fleet triples

A new Defense Intelligence Agency assessment says China has tripled its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellite fleet since 2018 and is expanding systems to track and target U.S. and allied forces. The report also reviews China’s reusable spaceplane and warns of growing Chinese and Russian counterspace capabilities, including potential directed-energy weapons in orbit.

Space.com

SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 from California

A Falcon 9 lifted off from California overnight on Oct. 27, carrying 27 additional Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The launch adds another batch to SpaceX’s constellation, extending its deployment cadence through a mission launched in the early morning hours.

SpaceNews.com

High activity

NASA ends Swift observatory science mission as low orbit and failed reboost effort close out operations

NASA has ended science operations for the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, which has descended to less than 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth. Atmospheric drag at that altitude prevents its telescopes from steadily observing targets, following a failed commercial-spacecraft attempt to raise the observatory’s orbit.

Runway Girl

EU, ESA and SpaceRISE sign IRIS² agreement for 348 LEO and MEO satellites as Airbus fields HBCplus interest

The European Commission, ESA and the SpaceRISE consortium signed an implementation agreement on Aug. 7, 2026, for IRIS², a sovereign communications network of 348 spacecraft in low and medium Earth orbit. Separately, Airbus says it is fielding interest in HBCplus, an inflight-connectivity solution supporting GEO and Lightspeed LEO services.

SpaceNews.com

High activity

NASA safety advisers warn agency could lose crewed access to low Earth orbit

The agency’s safety advisers say NASA risks losing human access to low Earth orbit as Crew Dragon approaches retirement and concerns persist about commercial space stations. The warning puts continuity of crewed operations in orbit at issue, though the available report provides no timetable or details of the advisers’ recommendations.

SpaceNews.com

NASA safety advisers warn agency risks losing crewed access to LEO

AINonline

High activity

Gogo maps Galileo upgrades through the mid-2030s, targeting faster LEO connectivity with minimal hardware changes

At NBAA-BACE 2026, Gogo outlined a long-term roadmap for its Galileo low Earth orbit connectivity service, including significant speed improvements targeted by 2032. The company says upgrades will require minimal changes to installed hardware and highlighted supply-chain readiness to support customer installations.

Axios

Top general says U.S. has gaps in space weapons needed to counter adversary LEO satellite fleets

Gen. Stephen Whiting says the military needs the ability to fight an adversary’s fleet of low Earth orbit satellites, identifying gaps in current space arms. The remarks underscore the growing focus on countering satellite constellations as a military capability.