Satellites

SES uses O3b mPOWER to provide broadband capacity for mobility, government, telecoms and enterprise customers. The final three Boeing-built satellites undergo orbit raising and initialisation before joining the service fleet.

Next: Service entry for satellites 11, 12 and 13, expected by mid-2027

Concept artwork: YFarmX / ChatGPT Image 2

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The third Sentinel-3 spacecraft carries four science instruments to extend observations of oceans, land, ice and the atmosphere. Routine operations are managed jointly by ESA and EUMETSAT on behalf of the European Commission.

Next: Launch and early orbit phase checks over the coming days, followed by commissioning of its four instruments

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The Fluorescence Explorer will measure plant fluorescence to study vegetation activity and environmental stress. ESA targets global maps at 300-metre resolution from 814 km altitude.

Next: Launch and early orbit phase checks over the coming days, followed by commissioning

Concept artwork: YFarmX / ChatGPT Image 2

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NISAR, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar mission, launched on 30 July 2025 on ISRO's GSLV-F16 and has entered its science phase. ISRO's site notes that S-band SAR data products are now available to users, and the agency is running training on SAR data analysis alongside its wider programme. The dual-frequency radar observatory maps changes to Earth's land and ice surfaces.

Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech, restyled

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Jonathan McDowell's independent tracking catalogue recorded 11,112 working Starlink satellites in orbit as of its 15 September 2026 update (10:59 UTC), comprising 3,173 first-generation and 7,939 second-generation spacecraft. The first 20 third-generation V3 satellites deployed from Starship's thirteenth flight test on 24 July 2026; that flight flew a suborbital trajectory, so the catalogue records them as a deployment demonstration rather than satellites entering service. The fleet serving customers today remains the first two generations, launched on Falcon 9.

Next: Further V3 deployments on future Starship flights; no confirmed date

Image: NSF NOIRLab/CTIO/AURA/DELVE, CC BY 4.0

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The US Space Force completed the GPS III block on 21 April 2026 with the launch of the tenth satellite, stating the constellation now stands at 32 active spacecraft with added redundancy. Lockheed Martin, which builds the satellites in Denver, is under contract for 12 next-generation GPS IIIF spacecraft, and says GPS IIIF will add a Regional Military Protection signal with over 60 times the anti-jam capability of legacy vehicles for qualified military users.

Next: GPS IIIF production, 12 satellites under contract at Lockheed Martin

Image: US Air Force, restyled

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