Space Debris & Traffic Management News

Space.com • Josh Dinner

China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew

China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station on Nov. 24, flying an earlier-than-planned mission to deliver supplies and act as a contingency 'lifeboat' after a suspected orbital-debris strike damaged Shenzhou-20's return vehicle and left three astronauts temporarily unable to undock.

2025-11-24T09:15:05.915938-08:00

Reuters

NTSB: High‑altitude weather balloon struck United 737‑8 windshield over Utah

2025-11-20T15:09:29.808207-08:00

South China Morning Post

China delays Shenzhou-20 crew return after suspected orbital debris strike on Tiangong

2025-11-04T18:35:26.912016-08:00

Via Satellite

SES and Infinite Orbits to conduct Europe’s first commercial GEO satellite life‑extension mission

2025-11-13T13:16:51.991098-08:00

Space Debris & Traffic Management News Timeline

Space.com

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China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew China launched the uncrewed Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to the Tiangong space station on Nov. 24, flying an earlier-than-planned mission to deliver supplies and act as a contingency 'lifeboat' after a suspected orbital-debris strike damaged Shenzhou-20's return vehicle and left three astronauts temporarily unable to undock.

2025-11-24T09:15:05.915938-08:00

China launches uncrewed Shenzhou-22 to Tiangong as contingency lifeboat for stranded crew

Universe Today

Mega-constellations: paper proposes on‑satellite control to offload ground‑station networks As satellite constellations scale into the tens of thousands, ground stations are struggling to keep up with the communications and command load. A new paper from Yuhe Mao and co‑authors proposes shifting control and network decision‑making onboard satellites, offloading ground‑station traffic and enabling more scalable operations.

2025-11-21T07:06:53.707083-08:00

Mega-constellations: paper proposes on‑satellite control to offload ground‑station networks

Reuters

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NTSB: High‑altitude weather balloon struck United 737‑8 windshield over Utah The NTSB says an object that struck the right‑side cockpit windshield of a United Airlines Boeing 737‑8 at about FL360 on Oct. 16 was a high‑altitude weather balloon used to collect atmospheric data, showering the flight crew with glass and forcing an emergency diversion to Salt Lake City.

2025-11-20T15:09:29.808207-08:00

NTSB: High‑altitude weather balloon struck United 737‑8 windshield over Utah

rocketlabcorp.com

Rocket Lab sets 2025 record with 18 successful Electron launches, completes back-to-back hemispheric missions Rocket Lab set a new company record with 18 Electron launches in 2025 — all successful — completing back-to-back missions from New Zealand and Virginia in two days and deploying commercial payloads, including BlackSky Earth-imaging satellites and a confidential customer satellite.

2025-11-20T06:50:12.155890-08:00

Rocket Lab sets 2025 record with 18 successful Electron launches, completes back-to-back hemispheric missions

SpaceNews.com

Next‑generation radar to detect micro‑debris and enable safer operations in LEO Developers are advancing next‑generation radar to detect micro‑debris in low Earth orbit, closing a sensing gap that leaves small fragments untracked and increases collision risk. Improved radar returns aim to enhance LEO situational awareness, feed collision‑avoidance systems and support active debris‑removal efforts.

2025-11-18T08:09:39.281859-08:00

Next‑generation radar to detect micro‑debris and enable safer operations in LEO

NASA Spaceflight

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Launch Roundup: Innospace set to debut new launcher as SpaceX lines up five Falcon 9 missions This week’s schedule includes Innospace’s debut of a new orbital launcher and SpaceX’s plan for five Falcon 9 missions, adding to an intense launch cadence across commercial providers. The concentrated activity underscores rising operational tempo and capacity buildup in the commercial launch market.

2025-11-17T13:16:50.517309-08:00

Launch Roundup: Innospace set to debut new launcher as SpaceX lines up five Falcon 9 missions

latribune.fr

Aldoria and ONERA launch €12m RAMSES to field five multispectral LEO surveillance stations Aldoria and France’s ONERA have launched RAMSES, a €12 million programme to develop and deploy five multispectral, multi‑telescope ground stations designed to detect and track low‑Earth‑orbit satellites day and night, providing persistent optical sensing capability for France’s space‑domain awareness.

2025-11-17T05:26:43.677655-08:00

Aldoria and ONERA launch €12m RAMSES to field five multispectral LEO surveillance stations

Payload

Slingshot detects uncataloged Russian satellite in MEO, exposes five‑week SDA gap Slingshot Aerospace identified a previously uncataloged Russian satellite operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO) that evaded the U.S. public Space Domain Awareness (SDA) catalog for five weeks. The detection underscores a gap in public SDA coverage and the growing role of commercial optical sensors in orbital tracking.

2025-11-17T04:52:47.455505-08:00

Slingshot detects uncataloged Russian satellite in MEO, exposes five‑week SDA gap

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