Space Debris & Traffic Management News

Space.com • Mike Wall

SpaceX Starship Flight 13: launches 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites for U.S. military and deploys first Starlink V3

SpaceX carried out a Starship Flight 13 mission launching 21 U.S. military “Tranche 1 Transport Layer” satellites from California and said it would deploy the first Starlink V3 satellites for the first time. The mission also comes as SpaceX approaches 10,839 working satellites across its Starlink fleet.

4 Sources

2026-07-16T03:17:02.860166-07:00

Space.com

Rocket Lab completes full-duration static fire of Archimedes engine for Neutron’s second stage

2 Sources

2026-07-15T13:17:29.953260-07:00

Space.com

SpaceX Starlink logs 355,000+ collision-avoidance maneuvers in a year as satellites dodge other objects almost weekly

1 Source

2026-07-15T05:14:12.048378-07:00

Reuters

SpaceX targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13, deploying Starlink from a v3 vehicle after schedule slips

32 Sources

2026-07-13T07:45:06.737977-07:00

Space Debris & Traffic Management News Timeline

Space.com

4 sources

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SpaceX Starship Flight 13: launches 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites for U.S. military and deploys first Starlink V3 SpaceX carried out a Starship Flight 13 mission launching 21 U.S. military “Tranche 1 Transport Layer” satellites from California and said it would deploy the first Starlink V3 satellites for the first time. The mission also comes as SpaceX approaches 10,839 working satellites across its Starlink fleet.

2026-07-16T03:17:02.860166-07:00

SpaceX Starship Flight 13: launches 21 Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites for U.S. military and deploys first Starlink V3

Space.com

2 sources

Rocket Lab completes full-duration static fire of Archimedes engine for Neutron’s second stage Rocket Lab conducted a full-duration static fire test of the Archimedes engine that will power the second stage of its new Neutron launch vehicle. The test campaign is positioned as a key step toward flight readiness for the powerful next-generation launcher.

2026-07-15T13:17:29.953260-07:00

Rocket Lab completes full-duration static fire of Archimedes engine for Neutron’s second stage

Space.com

1 source

SpaceX Starlink logs 355,000+ collision-avoidance maneuvers in a year as satellites dodge other objects almost weekly SpaceX’s Starlink satellites have executed more than 355,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers over the past year, with each satellite dodging other objects almost weekly. The frequency underscores the growing operational burden from nearby objects and the risk environment experts say could worsen.

2026-07-15T05:14:12.048378-07:00

SpaceX Starlink logs 355,000+ collision-avoidance maneuvers in a year as satellites dodge other objects almost weekly

Space.com

None source

Every SpaceX Starlink satellite has to dodge a collision almost weekly, and experts fear the worst

2026-07-15T05:14:12.048378-07:00

Every SpaceX Starlink satellit

Space.com

1 source

SpaceX flies a Falcon 9 booster for the 600th time, launching Starlink satellites on two back-to-back missions July 13-14 SpaceX placed Starlink satellites into orbit using a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket for its 600th launch. The July 14 mission followed a first Starlink launch about eight hours earlier on another Falcon 9 from the U.S. East and West coasts, respectively.

2026-07-14T15:14:01.119789-07:00

SpaceX flies a Falcon 9 booster for the 600th time, launching Starlink satellites on two back-to-back missions July 13-14

Breaking Defense

1 source

Space Force TacRS adds at least three more Victus demonstration projects, seeking $300M from FY2027–2031 The U.S. Space Force’s TacRS program has at least three additional Victus demonstration projects planned, including more Victus Haze activity. The effort includes a combined $300 million request spanning FY2027 through FY2031, aimed at operationally relevant spacecraft experimentation.

2026-07-13T08:16:13.069667-07:00

Space Force TacRS adds at least three more Victus demonstration projects, seeking $300M from FY2027–2031

Reuters

32 sources

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SpaceX targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13, deploying Starlink from a v3 vehicle after schedule slips SpaceX is preparing Starship’s 13th test flight later this week, with a target no earlier than July 16. Flight 13 will use the rocket’s Version 3 configuration and is intended to be similar to Flight 12, while SpaceX also plans to test new Starlink satellites in orbit. The launch has seen at least one T-0 pushback.

2026-07-13T07:45:06.737977-07:00

SpaceX targets July 16 for Starship Flight 13, deploying Starlink from a v3 vehicle after schedule slips

Space.com

1 source

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Study finds 2-inch (5-cm) space-debris fragments forming a “minefield” in high-value, high-traffic orbit A new study reports a debris cloud made up of fragments as small as 2 inches (5 cm) in an orbital region populated by mission-critical satellites. The authors warn the concentration of tiny pieces in a high-traffic zone could pose escalating collision risk—effectively raising insurance and replacement costs for operators.

2026-07-13T05:14:11.600423-07:00

Study finds 2-inch (5-cm) space-debris fragments forming a “minefield” in high-value, high-traffic orbit

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