Mario Billiani 🚀

Never miss a launch with #GoogleCalendar for worldwide space launches! Reminders & #webcast links included. bit.ly/SpaceLaunchCal…

This is going to be a problem. arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/…

Italy’s lunar habit module has cleared a NASA review, allowing ASI and Thales Alenia Space to prepare for a Preliminary Design Review in 2027. europeanspaceflight.com/italys-lunar-h…

@isaraerospace @maritimelaunch New NET for the next #Spectrum launch is now 11 June. bit.ly/SpaceLaunchCal…

We are joining forces with @maritimelaunch to develop orbital launch readiness from Nova Scotia, Canada. Spaceport Nova Scotia is strategically located to support access to mid- to high-inclination and polar orbits for Earth observation and communication satellites. Read more: isaraerospace.com/press/isar-aer…

Launch of Long March CZ-7A rocket with unknown payload to orbit imminent. Watch live! youtube.com/live/1aT4OfdPi…

#Starlink Group 17-37 launch coverage on YouTube youtube.com/live/L2kjR-2Vm…

Launch of @SpaceX #Falcon9 Block 5 rocket with 24 @Starlink satellites & 1st stage droneship landing imminent. Watch live! x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Not a good story. Over the past year, China continues to abandon numerous upper stages in long-lived low earth orbit,* counter to best practices for the long term sustainment of space. I initially sounded the alarm on this issue in April 2025, and further highlighted the issue in an August 2025 article and...the update is that things only continue to get worse. For those not familiar, the total orbital debris mass is a key variable for the long term sustainment of space. There is broad agreement that abandoning rocket body upper stages in long-lived orbits is NOT a best practice. In fact, all the major space-faring nations have acknowledged this (e.g., IADC signatories). However, as China's "mega constellations" launch rate increases, so does the number of abandoned rocket bodies in long-lived high LEO orbits. Russia and the US dominate the number of rocket bodies remaining in such long-lived orbits, rooted in historical practices from decades ago with minimal orbital debris concerns (graphic, bottom panel). HOWEVER, China's upper stages are estimated to have much higher masses on average. Although the US has almost double such objects, China's total mass of such objects is 252 metric tons and increasingly rapidly vs the US total of 57 metric tons (and holding steady). It's acknowledged there are some uncertainties in PRC upper stage dry mass values (Graphic, top panel). No matter, things are not going well. * "Long-lived LEO" is defined here as having a min perigee height of 600 km and an orbit height less than 2000 km (to preclude HEO rocket bodies) ** Object mass estimate use @planet4589 's dry mass from the GCAT *** Orbit data from U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S) via space-track.org, used with permission per ODR 24-002-4.

@astro_jaz @JPMajor The universe in an eye

this is such an underrated photo from artemis ii. you’re literally looking out the window at the universe. it’s absolutely beautiful.

The Haolong cargo spaceplane, contracted by China Manned Space Agency for bringing cargo to and from Tiangong, is reportedly continuing through development as planned, with heat shield parts being externally bought Details -> china-in-space.com/p/haolong-carg…

DARPA has a plan to keep geosynchronous satellites going for years beyond their expiration date. The agency aims to test it with a mission launching as soon as this summer. space.com/space-explorat…

@Arianespace Envisat

Because this is where space meets Earth, every single day 🚀 👉 Do you know another satellite launched by Arianespace in LEO? #LaunchingAmbitions

Closer than you think 🌍✨ Low Earth Orbit (LEO) begins just a few hundred kilometers above us. And yet, it plays a role in our everyday lives. 📡 Staying connected 🌦️ Forecasting the weather 🌍 Monitoring our planet in near real time

Starship flip and landing burn at the end of its twelfth flight test

At 7:48am ET this morning #SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket from launch pad SLC-40. 53 seconds into the launch the rocket transited in front of the sun from the exact location I was setup at. Just as I captured this split second shot a shock collar around the rocket’s fairings formed. #Starlink

Some crazy vapor for Falcon 9 on the way to orbit this morning during the launch of Starlink 10-47. 📸 - @LaunchHeavenX

A spectacular shock collar enveloped the nose of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as it thundered away from Cape Canaveral Monday morning, carrying 29 Starlink satellites to orbit. 🎥 @ABernNYC

Rassvet launch - Mar 3 Has split into two groups, heading for multiple orbit planes Six sats raising orbit, now at 360-400 km Nine 'parked' below 320 km One 'dead' - could it be carrying the OZBP payload that ceased transmitting after 3 days? #061" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">orbitalfocus.uk/2026#061

After a 3.5-hour flight, Shenzhou-23 docked with the China Space Station at 18:45UTC

Sort-of-sideways confirmation from @VardaSpace that W-4 was not recovered.

When HEO acquired Continuum-1, we committed to using it to catalogue objects in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Part of that work means turning attention to derelict hardware. As noted in the recent issue of the @IntegrityISR Flash, CZ-6A upper stages are a growing concern to the sustainability of LEO as they have produced some of the largest fragmentation clouds in LEO in recent years. These rocket bodies are left in orbits that will take years to decay, with no means of manoeuvre and no plan for removal. This is one of them. Continuum-1 imaged this CZ-6A rocket body in orbit. It is the upper stage from the October 31, 2023 launch that carried the Tianhui 5A and 5B satellites. It appears largely intact and is gravity-gradient stabilised. Images like these establish a baseline. If the object's state changes, that deviation is observable and comparable against something real. Attribution is rarely straightforward after a fragmentation event. A prior record can make the difference between knowing something happened and knowing why. Reference: #body" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">isruniversity.com/2026/05/19/iss…

More rocket, less talking youtube.com/live/yQh58Bn7E…

#Shenzhou23 launch coverage on YouTube youtube.com/live/cY7Jh93Cy…

Launch of Long March CZ-2F/G rocket with Zhu Yangzhu, Li Jiaying (Lai Ka-ying) and Zhang Zhiyuan on #Shenzhou23 mission to the Chinese Space Station imminent. Watch live! x.com/i/broadcasts/1…