Welcome to our twenty-fifth Monthly Dose of Space! In this monthly newsletter, we bring you major news from the past month. October heads toward the end of a busy 2025 worldwide, so let's jump into the past month!

News of the Month

Last month has seen the first flight of Japan's new cargo spacecraft, the advance of the Artemis Accords, New Glenn preparing to fly toward Mars, and an update about SpaceX's lunar lander.

Hungary, Malaysia, Philippines join Artemis Accords

On October 22nd, Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy shared online that Hungary has signed onto the U.S.-led non-binding Artemis Accords. With the signing, Duffy wrote:

"Building on the strong relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Orbán, I’m proud to expand America’s space partnership with Hungary." – "Their decision to join the Artemis Accords affirms a shared commitment to peaceful, transparent exploration."

Almost a week later, on October 28th, Malaysia and the Philippines joined the accords according to a 'fact sheet' shared by the Trump White House. The U.S. State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs also tweeted the following statement:

"The Philippines and Malaysia have committed to principles of safe and transparent space exploration by signing onto the Artemis Accords, bringing the number of signatories to 59. The United States is continuing our long tradition of leadership in space exploration."

No proper statements about the signings by the three countries have been shared due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

With the signing of the accords, Hungary, Malaysia, and the Philippines join Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, the Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Senegal, Thailand, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay as signatories.

Japan's HTV-X arrives at International Space Station

HTV-X docked to the International Space Station, via Kimiya Yui on Twitter.

Japan launched its new cargo spacecraft, HTV-X, toward the International Space Station atop of a H3 rocket flying out of the Tanegashima Space Station on October 26th.

HTV-X took about three days to reach close proximity to the space station. Once near the space station, the robotic Canadarm2, operated by Japanese astronaut Kimiyu Yui, attached to HTV-X to berth it to the U.S. segments Harmony module, specifically its Earth-facing docking port.

Cargo onboard HTV-X for its first trip to the International Space Station includes various fresh foods, experiment materials for the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo, and the Demonstration System for CO2 Removal, among others.

The HTV-X spacecraft will remain docked to the International Space Station for about six months before remaining in low Earth orbit for a year and a half to complete technical demonstration objectives. HTV-X is planned to eventually resupply NASA's Moon orbiting Gateway space station.

New Glenn near second flight

New Glenn performing its first-stage static fire ahead of its second flight, via Jeff Bezos on Twitter.

Blue Origin announced on October 31st that its New Glenn rocket completed a first-stage static fire, lighting all seven of its liquid methane and liquid oxygen burning BE-4 engines. The test lasted for 38 seconds, with them being at full thrust for 22 seconds.

Dave Limp, the company's Chief Executive Officer, provided more details on the static fire, stating:

"We extended the hotfire duration this time to simulate the landing burn sequence by shutting down the non-gimballed engines after ramping down to 50 percent thrust, then shutting down the outboard gimballed engines while ramping the center engine to 80 percent thrust. This helps us understand fluid interactions between active and inactive engine feedlines during landing."

Before testing at the launch site, Dave Limp revealed the name of New Glenn's second first-stage booster, calling it 'Never Tell Me The Odds'. He also shared:

"I think the odds of landing this booster are a lot better than 3,720-to-1. Both strakes are in place, and BE-4 installation is well underway. Great job by the team as we continue getting our second booster ready for launch."

Previously, on October 8th, 'Never Tell Me The Odds' was moved toward the launch pad, equipped with its seven BE-4 engines with thermal protective fabric and panels installed. Several hours later, the booster arrived at Launch Complex 36 for connection to New Glenn's second-stage.

At the moment, New Glenn's second flight is believed to be targeting a launch date of no earlier than November 9th. This flight will send two satellites towards Mars for NASA.

In the lead-up to a second launch, Blue Origin was awarded 78.2 million United States Dollars from the United States Space Force to expand satellite processing facilities in Florida. That facility should be open by 2028 for use by multiple launch providers.

SpaceX shares some lunar lander updates

A render of SpaceX's Starship Lunar HLS around the Moon, via SpaceX on Twitter.

On October 30th, SpaceX shared a lengthy post on its website about its Starship human-rated lunar lander, commonly known as Starship HLS. Within the post, the company boasted about the vehicle's potential capabilities, limited progress through Starship flight tests, and a handful of milestones. Those milestones included:

  • Lunar environmental control and life support system tests in a full-scale cabin with multiple occupants, validating oxygen/nitrogen injection, air distribution, sanitation, humidity, thermal control, and acoustic environments
  • Docking adapter qualification for the androgynous SpaceX system that will connect Starship and Orion, based on Dragon's active docking system
  • Full-scale landing leg drop test at flight energies onto simulated lunar regolith to verify performance and study foot-regolith interaction
  • Raptor engine lunar landing throttle test demonstrating the thrust profile needed for lunar touchdown
  • Micrometeoroid and debris testing of various shielding, insulation, and window materials to protect against impacts and thermal extremes
  • Landing software, sensor, and radar tests for navigation hardware that will enable precise lunar descent and landing
  • Raptor cold start tests using pre-chilled sea-level and vacuum engines to simulate post-space thermal conditions
  • Integrated lunar mission operations plan review covering SpaceX-NASA collaboration, flight rules, crew procedures, and mission planning
  • Depot power module demonstration testing electrical generation and distribution systems for the propellant depot variant
  • Ground station and communications demonstration between flight-equivalent ground and vehicle systems
  • Elevator and airlock demonstration with pressurized space suits to practice crew and cargo transfer operations
  • Medical system demonstration testing onboard capabilities and ground-to-crew telemedicine
  • Hardware-in-the-loop testbed activation using flight-representative hardware to simulate the propellant transfer flight test

Along with mentioning the milestones above, SpaceX said that they plan to perform a Starship-to-Starship in-space propellant transfer demonstration and to produce a non-flight-bound Starship HLS cabin. That cabin is proposed to be used for training and testing as well as for demonstrating design maturity.

Toward the end of the post, SpaceX also wrote the following:

"[NASA selected] through fair and open competition which determined that SpaceX’s bid utilizing Starship had the highest technical and management ratings while being the lowest cost by a wide margin." – "In response to the latest calls, we’ve shared and are formally assessing a simplified mission architecture and concept of operations that we believe will result in a faster return to the Moon while simultaneously improving crew safety."

That is in response to Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy recently saying that he plans to open up the Artemis III lunar landing contract, which will send two astronauts to the lunar surface after mid-2027, to accelerate its timelines to land ahead of China's planned crewed lunar missions.

Launches of the Month

This month saw 27 launches worldwide, continuing a busy year. If you want to know what each launch was we have them all listed below!

Wrapping out the week as it began, SpaceX launched another 28 Starlink V2 satellites to LEO aboard Falcon 9 B1097, the boosters 2nd flight. Drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" once again was the down range landing pad, its 155th successful Falcon 9 recovery.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 delivered twenty-eight Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida. Booster B1090 supported this launch, flying for the eighth time and landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.

Another twenty-eight Starlink satellites were launched atop of Falcon 9 into low Earth orbit out of Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Supporting this mission was booster B1071 for its twenty-ninth flight, with a landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

October 8th - New Shepard for NS-36

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket flew a suborbital tourism mission from the company's West Texas launch site, carrying Aaron Newman, Jeff Elgin, Vitalii Ostrovsky, Danna Karagussova, William Lewis, and Clint Kelly (a repeat customer) above the Kármán line. Booster NS4 supported this flight, for its sixteenth mission, along with capsule RSS First Step, flying for the fifteenth time.

October 11th - Gravity-1 with three satellites

Orienspace's Gravity-1 launch vehicle performed its second flight, after a twenty-one-month gap, from a sea-launch platform in the Yellow Sea near the city of Haiyang for a flight into sun-synchronous orbit. Atop of the rocket were the Shutianyu 01 and 02 space monitoring satellites, planned to image orbital debris, and the remote sensing Jiangsu Geological Satellite for measuring mineral resources as well as monitoring land usage.

October 13th - Long March 2D with Shiyan-31

A Long March 2D launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center carrying Shiyan-31 into a polar orbit. Shiyan-31 is said to be for verifying new optical imaging technologies.

October 14th - Starship-Super Heavy for its eleventh flight test

SpaceX had its in-development fully-reusable Starship-Super Heavy perform its eleventh flight test, lifting off from South Texas. Flying for the test was Ship 38, for its first flight and the final launch of a 'Block 2' Starship, and Super Heavy Booster 15, flying for the second time. Both vehicles successfully splashed down afterwards.

October 14th - Falcon 9 with KF-03

From Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida, on October 14th, SpaceX's Falcon 9 flew into low Earth orbit carrying 24 satellites for Amazon's Kuiper constellation, bringing it up to 153 spacecraft. Supporting this mission was booster B1091, flying for the second time and landing downrange on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions'.

October 14th - Electron for 'Owl New World'

Rocket Lab launched its Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1A, on the Māhia Peninsula in New Zealand, carrying a StriX satellite into low Earth orbit from Synspective. The new StriX satellite is planned to collect data of the Earth below at a resolution between one and three meters.

October 16th - Falcon 9 with a Tranche 1 mission

Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California, carrying twenty-one satellites into polar orbit for the U.S. military. Booster 1093 supported this mission for its seventh flight, landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

October 16th - Long March 8A with GuoWang Group 12

A Long March 8A lifted off from the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site carrying nine satellites into low Earth orbit for China's Central Government-backed GuoWang constellation. This constellation now has 95 spacecraft in orbit, with it planned to provide internet connectivity services.

Another Falcon 9 flew from Space Launch Complex 40, carrying twenty-eight Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Flying in support of this mission was booster B1095, making its third flight and landing downrange on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions'.

October 17th - Long March 6A with Qianfan Polar Group 18

Following a seven-month deployment pause, the Shanghai-supported Qianfan constellation saw its sixth launch to date with the deployment of its 'Polar Group 18'. That launch brought the constellation up to 108 spacecraft in orbit, ahead of plans to provide space-based internet services.

October 19th - Kinetica-1 with three satellites

CAS Space's Kinetica-1 blasted off from Launch Area 130 at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, carrying two Chinese and one Pakistani satellites into sun-synchronous orbit. Pakistan's satellite onboard was PRSC-HS1, the country’s first hyperspectral imaging satellite, which is expected to support crop monitoring, natural resource monitoring, disaster responses, and city planning. The two Chinese satellites were AIRSAT-03 and AIRSAT-04, both X-band synthetic aperture radar remote sensing spacecraft with a similar task to PRSC-HS1.

A Falcon 9 launched from Space Launch Complex 40, in Florida, carrying twenty-eight Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. Supporting this mission was booster B1067 for its record-leading thirty-first flight, with a landing on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' downrange.

Another batch of twenty-eight Starlink satellites were delivered to low Earth orbit atop of a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 4E, in California. Booster B1088 supported this mission, for its eleventh flight with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.

Yet another set of twenty-eight Starlink satellites were flown into low Earth orbit by a Falcon 9 out of Space Launch Complex 4E. Supporting this launch was booster B1075 for its twenty-first flight, landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' afterward.

October 23rd - Long March 5 with TJSW-20

A Long March 5 with an 18.5-meter-long fairing lifted off from Launch Complex 101 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site, carrying the TJSW-20 spacecraft into a geostationary transfer orbit. Uses for the satellite are set to be communications, radio, television, and data transmission, with other tasks planned to be for verifying multi-band high-speed throughput communications technologies.

October 24th - Falcon 9 with SpainSat-NG II

SpaceX launched SpainSat-NG II into geostationary transfer orbit on behalf of the Spanish government from Space Launch Complex 40 atop of a Falcon 9. Booster B1076 supported this launch for its twenty-second and final flight. Spainsat-NG II is set to advance and expand the capacity of secure military communications.

Yet another Falcon 9 delivered twenty-eight Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E. Supporting this mission was booster B1081 for its nineteenth flight, landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

October 26th - H3 with HTV-X

Japan launched its H3 rocket, with four solid rocket boosters for the first time, into low Earth orbit from the Tanegashima Space Center for the HTV-X's first resupply mission to the International Space Station. HTV-X will remain with the station for about six months.

October 26th - Long March 3B/E with Gaofen-14-02

A Long March 3B/E launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center carrying the Gaofen-14-02 satellite into sun-synchronous orbit. Gaofen-14-02 is set to work with the existing Gaofen-14 to create digital topographical maps, elevation models, and other kinds of geographic maps.

SpaceX launched twenty-eight Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit atop of its Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40. Booster B1077 supported this mission for its twenty-fourth flight, with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'A Shortfall Of Gravitas'.

Another twenty-eight Starlink satellites were sent into low Earth orbit via a Falcon 9 out of Space Launch Complex 4E. Supporting this mission was booster B1082, for its seventeenth flight with a landing on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You' downrange.

Falcon 9 sent twenty-nine Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit out of Space Launch Complex 40. Booster B1083 supported this launch for its fifteenth flight, landing downrange on the drone ship 'Just Read The Instructions'.

October 31st - Long March 2F/G with Shenzhou-21

From the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Shenzhou-21 mission blasted off atop of a Long March 2F/G heading for the Tiangong Space Station in low Earth orbit. Taikonauts flying for this sixth-month mission are Commander Zhang Lu, Flight Engineer Wu Fei, and Payload Expert Zhang Hongzhang.

Out of Space Launch Complex 4E, yet another twenty-eight Starlink satellites were sent into low Earth orbit atop of a Falcon 9. Supporting this mission was booster B1063, for its twenty-ninth launch with a landing downrange on the drone ship 'Of Course I Still Love You'.

Launches to look out for in November!

November will head toward the end of a busy year for worldwide launches. Listed below are all of the launches expected or likely to happen next month, launches on the 1st of September may have already occurred due to when this newsletter is published.

November 2nd - Falcon 9 with Bandwagon-4

SpaceX is planning to perform its Bandwagon-4 low Earth orbit rideshare mission via a Falcon 9 flying from Space Launch Complex 40.

November 2nd - LVM-3 with GSAT-7R

India's LVM-3 rocket is set to launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre carrying the GSAT-7R communication satellite to geostationary transfer orbit on behalf of the Indian Navy.

November 3rd - Long March 7A with a to-be-annouced payload

A Long March 7A is preparing to fly from the Wenchang Space Launch Site into an orbit higher than low Earth orbit with a currently unannounced payload.

November 4th - Ariane 6 with Sentinel-1D

Arianespace is planning to launch the Ariane 6 rocket from the Guiana Space Centre into sun-synchronous orbit carrying the Sentinel-1D weather satellite.

November 5th - Electron for 'The Nation God Navigates'

Rocket Lab's Electron is set to fly from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B on the Māhia Peninsula, in New Zealand, into low Earth orbit with a synthetic aperture radar satellite on behalf of iQPS.

A Falcon 9 is set to launch a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.

NET November 5th - Zhuque-3 for its debut flight

If the Shenzhou-20 mission returns to Earth on November 5th, LandSpace may be cleared to launch its partially reusable Zhuque-3 launch vehicle for the first time out of the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. The first-stage booster may also softly touchdown downrange on a landing pad.

Another batch of Starlink satellites is set to head into low Earth orbit atop of a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 4E.

Even more Starlink satellites will be launched into low Earth orbit via Falcon 9 from Launch Complex 39A.

November 9th - New Glenn with ESCAPADE

Blue Origin is preparing to launch its New Glenn rocket for the second time from Launch Complex 36, launching two small satellites towards Mars for NASA's ESCAPADE mission.

Yet another batch of Starlink satellites are set to be launched atop of Falcon 9 into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.

November 10th - Falcon 9 with Transporter-15

SpaceX is preparing to launch its Transporter-15 sun-synchronous orbit rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 4E atop of Falcon 9.

Falcon 9 will send more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A.

Another Falcon 9 will send a batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40.

November 16th - Falcon 9 with Sentinel-6B

SpaceX is preparing to launch the Sentinel-6B weather satellite into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E.

More Starlink satellites will head to low Earth orbit via a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40.

Falcon 9 will again launch a batch of Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit out of Space Launch Complex 4E.

November 26th - KSLV-2 with CAS500-3

South Korea's CAS500-3 (Compact Advanced Satellite 500-3) Earth observation technology verification will head into sun-synchronous orbit atop of the country's KSLV-2 launch vehicle.

November 27th - Soyuz 2.1a with MS-28

A Soyuz 2.1a is set to fly out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying the MS-28 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.