Issue 143

15 Apr 2026: The Financial Times reported that the Iranian military has tasking authority of a Chinese commercial imaging satellite, TEE-01B (60012), and has leveraged this capability to target US forces in the Middle East. CGSTL (see next article) manufactured TEE-01B and sold the satellite to the Chinese commercial company Earth Eye.

14 Apr 2026: China launched a Lijian-1 with 8 Jilin-1 (Gaofen-7) satellites (68691-68698) from Jiuquan. According to CAS Space all satellites were successfully placed into the desired orbits. The satellites are owned and operated by Changguang Satellite Technology Co Ltd (CGSTL).

8 Apr 2026: China launched a Long March-6A with the 21st group of Guowang (China SatNet LEO) satellites from Taiyuan. According to official sources, the 5 satellites (68656-68660) entered the preset orbit successfully. As with other Taiyuan launches, China placed the satellites into an 86.5° inclined orbit.

11 Apr 2026: China launched a Smart Dragon-3 (Jielong-3) with one Weixing Hulianwang Jishu Shiyan Weixing (Satellite Internet Technology Test Satellite, Guowang Test Object A) (68687) satellite from a sea-based platform off the coast of Yangjiang, Guangdong Province. By my count 68687 is the 19 th test satellite for the Guowang constellation, and is the second to be sea-launched using a Jielong-3 (the other was 58505).

8 Apr 2026: LtGen (R) John Shaw (and Friend of the Flash) authored an article on the coming Age of Space Maneuver in Forbes. Excerpts below and you can read the entire article here !

5 Apr 2026: Suspected Chinese inspector satellite Shiyan-12 02 (50322) passed ~71km of Iran’s new GEO satellite Jam e Jam 1 (67757). The fly-by opportunity occurred at ~34°E longitude and solar conditions were ideal for SY-12 02 to observe the Iranian satellite. SY-12 02 decreased its SMA to initiate an eastward drift on 14 Mar 2026 when the satellite was over 19.6°E.

17 Apr 2026: Over the next 2-3 weeks both USA 325 and TJS-10 will pass through Cosmos 2589's orbit. As we began reporting in November 2025, Cosmos 2589 (64467) has been slowly circularizing its orbit and now has an eccentricity of only .019 (it was .367 6 months ago).

17 Apr 2026: Cosmos 2576 (59773), a suspected Nivelir co-orbital weapon system, raised its SMA nearly 30km from 28 Mar - 11 Apr. Russian space operators conducted a series of maneuvers to raise Cosmos 2576's SMA from 481km to 509km. Until now, Cosmos 2576's typical operating SMA was 480-490km. The satellite has maintained its new SMA from 11-16 April.

17 April 2026: Russia launched a Soyuz-2-1b rocket lifted off from Plesetsk with multiple spacecraft for the Ministry of Defense. Announcement of the pending launch was delayed due to the threat of Ukrainian drone strikes. The exact number of payloads has yet to be confirmed, US Space Force has added 10 objects to the catalog (68753-68759 & 68762-68764).

8 April 2026: The 2026 Secure World Foundation Global Counterspace Capabilities Report assesses the continued expansion of counterspace capabilities across 13 countries and highlights the increasing integration of space into military operations.

A visual roundup of notable spacecraft, launch, lunar mission, and orbital activity imagery from the past fortnight.

At the Space Symposium held at The Broadmoor this past week, the global space community gathered at a pivotal moment for the industry—where national security priorities, commercial innovation, and human space exploration are increasingly intertwined. The message from this year's Symposium was consistent across keynote sessions and panels: space is now an operational domain, not a future one.