This Week in Space Tech: Sept. 1 to 7, 2025
A quick week: launches up, rules easing, Europe and startups.
Launches and on-orbit ops
SpaceX pulled off a coastal one-two, lofting 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on Sep 2 local time using a brand-new Falcon 9 that landed on the droneship minutes later.
About eight hours later, another Falcon 9 flew from Cape Canaveral on Sep 3 with 28 Starlinks, with the booster also recovered at sea. The rapid cadence underscores how often SpaceX is flying its own network.
Policy and programs to watch
Regulators cleared a key hurdle that could let SpaceX more than double Falcon 9 launch cadence from Florida. The FAA finalized an environmental review that supports raising Cape Canaveral launches to as many as 120 per year and adds a new on-site landing zone, subject to follow-on licensing.
The FAA also hosted a virtual public meeting on Sep 3 for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement covering Starship operations from Kennedy’s LC-39A, part of a public comment period that runs in September.
On Capitol Hill the Senate Commerce Committee convened a hearing on Sep 3 titled “Thwarting China in the Space Race,” signaling continued scrutiny of industrial policy and supply chains in space.
Europe spotlight
ESA marked 30 years of European satellite navigation on Sep 2, opening ESTEC to partners and highlighting how Galileo and EGNOS evolved and what is coming next, including LEO-PNT and Moonlight.
As part of the festivities, ESA recognized industry contributors including Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, which received an award for long-running Galileo work.
Startup and industry moves
France’s UNIVITY secured 31 million euros from CNES under the France 2030 program to demonstrate space-based 5G non-terrestrial networks, bringing the project budget to 44 million euros with co-financing. Expect two prototype VLEO satellites before full rollout.
Astroscale Japan unveiled REFLEX-J, a refueling demo spacecraft that will test chemical propellant transfer in orbit as part of a multiyear program targeting an on-orbit demo around 2029.
SpinLaunch said it closed 30 million dollars to accelerate its Meridian Space LEO broadband constellation effort, adding momentum to the company’s pivot toward satcom services.