This Week in Space Tech: Sept. 15 to 21, 2025
A lively week with fresh launches, policy moves, and new money for orbital networks.
Launches and flight activity
Blue Origin is back on the pad: New Shepard flew its NS-35 mission on Sep 18, lofting more than 40 research payloads and pushing New Shepard past 200 payloads flown to date. Liftoff was 9:01 a.m. EDT from West Texas.
Starlink keeps building out: SpaceX launched another batch of 21 Starlink satellites on Sep 21, adding capacity ahead of a busy late-September manifest.
China tests internet-sat tech in orbit: A Long March 2C from Jiuquan on Sep 16 deployed a satellite-internet technology demonstrator with a Yuanzheng-1S upper stage.
ISS logistics steady after drama: Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus NG-23 completed a delayed approach and arrived at the station on Sep 18, two days after an initial close-approach abort.