This Week in Space Tech: Nov. 3 to 9, 2025
A busy week saw Europe strengthen launch autonomy, rideshare workhorses keep humming, and policy shifts reshape when rockets can fly.
Welcome to This Week in Space Tech, your weekly roundup of the companies and startups driving the business of space.
Launches and spacecraft
Ariane 6 delivered Copernicus Sentinel-1D to orbit on Nov 4, the rocket’s fourth flight. First signal was acquired by Norway’s Troll station at 23:22 CET, keeping Europe’s all-weather radar imaging coverage continuous.
Rocket Lab’s Electron lofted iQPS’s YAM-6 synthetic-aperture radar satellite from New Zealand on Nov 5, a step toward the Japanese startup’s planned 36 satellite constellation.
SpaceX flew two Starlink batches: 28 satellites from Vandenberg on Nov 6 with a droneship landing, then 29 from Florida’s Pad 39A on Nov 9 using veteran booster 1069.
Weather scrubbed Blue Origin’s New Glenn attempt to launch NASA’s twin ESCAPADE probes to Mars on Nov 9, with the next try set after the weekend.
ULA’s Atlas V ViaSat-3 F2 launch attempts on Nov 5 and 6 were scrubbed for a liquid oxygen vent valve issue.
International watch: China performed a sea-launched Long March-11H mission, placing three Shiyan-32 payloads into orbit around Nov 9.
Policy and regulation
The FAA issued an emergency order limiting commercial launches and reentries to overnight hours starting Nov 10 local time, citing air traffic constraints during the ongoing federal shutdown. Operators are preparing to cluster flights in the 22:00 to 06:00 window.
Startup and industry moves
Planet Labs announced an eight-figure renewal with a long-standing international defense and intelligence customer for high-resolution imagery on Nov 5, reinforcing commercial demand for taskable EO data.
Astroscale disclosed a new commercial contract from its UK arm for second-generation docking plates signed Nov 6, a sign that preparing satellites for servicing and end-of-life operations is moving from pilots to procurement.
Rheinmetall and ICEYE formally established their joint venture in Neuss, Germany on Nov 7 to produce SAR satellites, with first local manufacturing targeted for 2026.