Seradata's recommended space stories - March 2025
March 31, 2025

Seradata's recommended space stories - March 2025

We are cutting through the orbital debris for you. In other words, we're keeping an eye on space news on the web so you don't have to.
Here is our round-up of the most important, and interesting, space news stories of March that we haven't covered on our main stories
Space orders can also be found in another post.

Notable missions and events

Progress MS-30 space freighter carrying new space suit and supplies docked with International Space Station (ISS)Varda proved its W-2 Space Capsule via its fiery re-entry test and successful return to Earth in AustraliaFirefly’s Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander completed its mission but not before taking the first solar eclipse photo from lunar surfaceBoeing hopes to recover the reputation of CST-100 Starliner with another NASA test flightSentinel-1A had its life extended.

Anomalies, delays and failures

Odin asteroid probe is probably lost before it got anywhere close, as is Lunar Trailblazer which flew on same launchLucky escape: ULA notes manufacturing defect caused solid rocket booster nozzle failure on otherwise successful second Vulcan flightCygnus NG-22 flight to ISS delayed by damage to the cargo module sustained during its deliveryFalcon 9 booster topple after landing was caused by leak caused fire – stage returned to Port CanaveralNew Glenn first stage landing was unsuccessful because of “BE-4 engines not re-igniting properly” after propellant-related issues

Space Exploration

Uncrewed Starship will fly to Mars in 2026 with humanoid robot aboard, according to Elon MuskNASA will switch off two instruments on the Voyager spacecraft to extend their livesChina has opened its Tianwen-3 sample return mission in 2028 to international collaborators and revealed its exploration plan

Human space

NASA Crew 9 landed safely (returning ‘stranded astronauts’) as Crew 10 went to the ISSShenzhou-19 astronauts ventured out of Chinese Space Station Tiangong to fit debris shielding during a spacewalkChinese commercial firm AZSpace wants to launch its own astronauts/taikonautsSpace Science

Microbes established an ecosystem on the ISSAn unexpected higher sea level rise was recorded by NASA spacecraft – thermal expansion blamed as well as melting iceGlobal warming might actually cool highest atmospheric altitudes, leading to reduced drag on satellites and debrisSpace Technology

China’s 100 kW magnetoplasma-dynamic thruster may give it the edge in planetary explorationChinese nuclear engineers pointed out the superiority of their lunar reactor over the US versionMiles Space demonstrated its Poseidon M1.5 thruster Miles Space using water as a propellant Starcatcher to demo intersatellite energy beaming initially in a ground testArgotec announced its new plug-in module Hawk Plus bus design

Military Space

X-37B (OTV-7) spaceplane mission ended with landing after elliptical/GTO flight including orbital changes via aerobrakingUS DoD to test use of Starship for superfast transportation to warzonesSDA criticised for Tranche 0 laser test mission underperformance as SDA admits mistakesThe US restored satellite imagery to Ukraine but Europe has started looking at alternatives to Starlink for UkraineFirms demonstrate fast post-launch tracking to US Space ForceBooz Allen has put forward its ‘Brilliant Swarms’ plan for the US ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence shieldSpace situational awareness may be affected by staff cuts, US official warns as the US Space Force budget is trimmedAs China launches TJS-16 ‘experimental comsat’ probably used for electronic intelligence, its TJS-15 releases a subsat

Space Companies

Rivada to start its Outernet Ka-band constellationGeopolitical shifts boost Lightspeed as concerns about political reliability of Starlink makes AST SpaceMobile head towards European destinyIntuitive Machines wants to diversify offerings beyond Moon LandingsChina’s iSpace (or Beijing Interstellar Glory Space Technology) cinched a fresh Series D round of funding worth “several hundred million yuan”Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt took up the reins of rocket firm Relativity as its CEOULA’s chief Tory Bruno lambasted a critical report as out of dateDespite all its woes, Boeing underlined that it remains committed to space businessDirect-to-device is where it’s at, as Viasat and Space42 team upIn a bid to demonstrate the first WiFi hotspot in LEO, Momentus will carry Solstar’s Deke Space Communicator aboard its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle in 2026Rocket Lab to buy Mynaric to expand its intersatellite laser communicationsDeep Blue Aerospace raised new funds to conduct its first Nebula rocket orbital launch in mid-2025SES partners with Lynk as it views machine-to-machine marketNASA added SpaceX Starship to NLS Class II ‘medium risk’ contract category

Spaceports

India starts construction of its second spaceport: Kulasekarapattinam in Tamil Nadu.

Space Agencies & Politics

Trump Administration’s cuts to NASA staff has led to whole office closuresSpaceNews itemised the US govt staff cuts hereArianespace sees opportunity in geopolitical instability

Space Tracking

Slingshot Aerospace‘s contract, to provide part of TraCSS space traffic system, is back on after GAO rejects Kayhan Space protest

Sources include Cision, BBC, CNBC, msn.com, NASA, Orbitaltoday, Payload, phys.org, Politico, scmp.com and SpaceNews with links provided to each story.