The Space Race - Weekly Roundup Mar 25th

Author

Juan Fernández
March 25, 2025

Hey there, fellow space enthusiasts!
Prepare yourself for an exciting week full of thrilling space updates!

We’ve got SpaceX gearing up for a historic polar orbit mission, Parker Solar Probe diving back into the Sun’s atmosphere, and Europe is preparing for its first-ever orbital rocket launch from continental European soil. Plus, there’s a new lunar robot from Hong Kong, a ton of new galaxies found, and new missions on the horizon.

Let’s check out what’s coming up! 👇

🚀 Kinéis Constellation Complete

Rocket Lab just wrapped up a huge job launching 25 Kinéis satellites into space to power global IoT and vessel tracking. The coolest part? They did it in under a year, with dedicated launches and full control. That’s fast, focused execution, and a big win for both companies.

🌕 Firefly Picks Honeybee Rover for it’s third Moon Mission

Firefly Aerospace has chosen Honeybee Robotics, part of Blue Origin, to build the rover that will deliver NASA’s science instruments to the mysterious Gruithuisen Domes in 2028. It’ll be Firefly’s third lunar mission, and they’re making sure NASA’s payload gets exactly where it needs to go.

🛰️ Final Shield Up on Tiangong

China’s astronauts just wrapped up their third spacewalk, finishing the last layer of debris shielding on the Tiangong station. It's impressive how smoothly and efficiently they worked, even using a robotic arm to inspect the station.

🧭 Euclid Finds 2,674 Hidden Galaxies

ESA’s Euclid telescope just spotted 2,674 dwarf galaxies hiding in plain sight: tiny, faint galaxies that are crucial to understanding how the universe grew up. Some are chaotic blobs, others more structured, but all were tough to find until now.

🌍 SpaceX's Fram2 to Make History in Polar Orbit

SpaceX is set to launch Fram2, the first private human spaceflight to polar orbit, no earlier than March 31. Led by crypto entrepreneur Chun Wang, the four-person crew will fly aboard Crew Dragon Resilience to study auroras, test human health in space, and even take the first human X-ray beyond Earth.

🌬️ Europe's 1st Orbital Launch Hits Wind Delay

Isar Aerospace was ready to make history with the first-ever orbital rocket launch from European soil—but strong winds had other plans. Their Spectrum rocket stood tall at Norway’s Andøya Spaceport, waiting to fly. No customer payloads this time, “just” a crucial data-collecting test for a rocket seven years in the making.

🤝 ESA and JAXA Team Up for Moon & Mars

ESA and Japan’s JAXA just signed a fresh agreement to deepen their collaboration on exploring the Moon and Mars. From robotic missions to shared tech and future sample returns, they’re aligning visions for sustainable space exploration and showing that big leaps happen when agencies work together.

🌪️ Webb Reveals Truth Behind ‘Cosmic Tornado’

The James Webb Space Telescope has peeled back the mystery of Herbig-Haro 49/50, once nicknamed the "Cosmic Tornado." What looked like a fuzzy twist in space is actually a newborn star’s jet crashing through gas, perfectly aligned with a distant spiral galaxy.

🤖 Hong Kong Builds Smart Lunar Robot for China

Hong Kong is stepping up in China’s space game with a new Space Robotics and Energy Center focused on building a smart, multitasking robot for the 2028 Chang’e-8 Moon mission. Designed to explore, install instruments, and even recharge other gear, this robot is a major leap for the region’s space ambitions.

🚀 MaiaSpace Lands First Commercial Deal

French launch startup MaiaSpace has just signed its first commercial contract—with Exotrail. Their Spacevan transfer vehicle will ride Maia rockets to orbit starting in 2027. It’s a major milestone for MaiaSpace, which aims to launch from French Guiana in 2026 with a partially reusable rocket built for flexibility and scale.

☀️ NASA’s Parker Probe Dives Toward the Sun Again

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe—the fastest spacecraft ever built by humans—is making another daring dive through the Sun’s outer atmosphere, reaching blistering speeds of 430,000 mph (nearly 700,000 kmph). Already holding the record for closest approach to the Sun, it’s set to repeat that feat to help solve mysteries about solar heat and wind.

📹 Our latest videos

Here are the latest videos we've published on our YouTube channel this week:

🚀 Upcoming Rocket Launches

Today, Tuesday, Mar 25th: Spectrum (Isar Aerospace, Germany) – Maiden Flight, Andøya Spaceport, Norway

Wednesday, Mar 26th:

  • Firefly Alpha (Firefly Aerospace, USA) – FLTA006 "Message in a Booster" Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

  • Electron (Rocket Lab, New Zealand) – Finding Hot Wildfires Near You (OroraTech OTC-P1) Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

  • Long March 3B/E (CASC, China) – Unknown Payload Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China

  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Starlink Group 11-7 Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Sunday, Mar 30th: Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX, USA) – Starlink Group 6-80 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Monday, Mar 31st:

  • New Shepard (Blue Origin, USA) – NS-31 Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

  • HASTE (Rocket Lab, USA) – DART AE Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia, USA

  • Eris-1 (Gilmour Space Technologies, Australia) – Maiden Flight Bowen Orbital Spaceport, Australia

And that’s it for this week. Stay curious! 😊 

Juan and the team at The Space Race