Facing growing challenges from China, the U.S. Space Force was established in 2019 to maintain American superiority in space. In April, a U.S. military satellite capable of maneuvering near objects in orbit was tracked buzzing a pair of Chinese satellites.

The payload Russia's military chose to launch on the Angara A5 is unusual. The rocket deployed its primary passenger, Kosmos 2589, into a peculiar orbit hugging the equator and ranging between approximately 20,000 (12,500 miles) and 51,000 kilometers (31,700 miles) in altitude.

Two wildfires in Northern Arizona, sparked from lightning, have burned at least 60,000 acres in a little over a week — and, while firefighters work around the clock trying to contain the fires, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s satellites are aiding the fight from space. The fires have also spread to the Grand Canyon.

Satellites that retire are deorbited into a graveyard orbit within 25 years of their missions ending. This is the case with NASA’s Relay 2 satellite, which took off in 1964 until its transponders glitched. It hung dead in near-Earth orbit by 1967 and has beamed nothing down since—until now.

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program has been particularly important for understanding when a hurricane is about to rapidly intensify, a dangerous situation for coastal communities.

Muon Space plans for the constellation to be able to scan every point on Earth every 20 minutes, with more wildfire prone areas being scanned more frequently. The FireSat constell

Once in orbit, SpaceX releases tensioners to passively cast free the Starlink satellites all at once, allowing the stack of more than 20 spacecraft to disperse as they begin their missions.

A partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance and satellite manufacturer Muon Space is giving Google a better shot at tracking wildfires—and using AI to process all the data being collected.

Amazon is preparing to launch its debut batch of satellites into orbit as it seeks to establish its own internet service for customers worldwide.