August 2025

SpaceX successfully launched 24 new Starlink satellites on Aug. 14, lifting off at 1:05 a.m. EDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The first-stage booster, B1093, completed its fifth flight and landed smoothly on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. This mission marked SpaceX’s 98th Falcon 9 flight of 2025, raising the active Starlink constellation to over 8,100 satellites. Starlink currently delivers broadband service to about 130 countries and territories, targeting near-global coverage with a planned 12,000-satellite network. SpaceX’s next mission, Starlink 17-5, is set for Aug. 15, aiming to send another 24 satellites into orbit to further expand the network.

NASA’s PUNCH mission has reached full operational status, enabling continuous monitoring of the Sun and solar wind from multiple vantage points around Earth. This collaborative effort complements other major solar missions and promises valuable insights into the Sun–Earth connection. Early public release of PUNCH’s science data marks an exciting opportunity for researchers and space enthusiasts worldwide.

In a groundbreaking discovery, astronomers observed SN 2023zkd, a supernova that may have been triggered by close interaction with a black hole. Featuring unusual brightness peaks and extended pre-explosion activity, the event offers new insights into star black hole dynamics. Real-time AI detection played a key role, and upcoming surveys promise to uncover more of these rare stellar phenomena.

A rare NASA satellite image shows 10 sharply defined “dark voids” above Heard Island, a volcanic peak in the southern Indian Ocean. Formed by von Kármán vortices bent nearly 90 degrees by fierce westerly winds, the striking gaps pierce thick cloud cover, offering a vivid glimpse of nature’s intricate atmospheric patterns from space.

Lilo & Stitch is a Disney Sci-Fi movie that follows a girl called Lilo, who adopts a dog, unaware that he is an Alien. Soon, she names him Stitch and then watch how beautifully the duo connect. However, things take a tense turn when the creator of the Alien is on a hunt for him. Will he find him?

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) has made surprising observations in a black hole binary system, detecting a high degree of X-ray polarisation that challenges current models of corona structure and accretion discs. In X-ray binaries, black holes pull matter from nearby stars, forming hot accretion discs and coronas.

United Launch Alliance launched its powerful Vulcan Centaur rocket carrying NTS-3, a cutting-edge GPS PNT satellite for the U.S. military. This mission marks the first military experimental navigation satellite launch in 48 years. With advanced anti-jamming technology and the ability to reprogram in orbit, NTS-3 sets a new benchmark for satellite security and flexibility.

Europe’s heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket completed its third successful launch on Aug. 12, 2025, lifting off from Kourou, French Guiana at 8:37 p.m. EDT. The mission carried Metop-SGA1, an 8,900-pound next-generation polar-orbiting weather satellite operated by EUMETSAT. Placed into an 800 km polar orbit 64 minutes after liftoff, Metop-SGA1 will deliver high-resolution global observations of temperature, precipitation, clouds, winds, sea ice, aerosols, and pollution. Built by ArianeGroup for the European Space Agency, Ariane 6 is Europe’s successor to the Ariane 5. This launch follows its commercial debut in March 2025, marking another milestone in strengthening Europe’s independent access to space.