$1.3 billion engine deal: Orbital Briefing, 7 November

AST SpaceMobile has announced a $1.3 billion engine agreement with Firefly Aerospace to power Blacklift, its proposed heavy-lift rocket. The company is targeting a launch debut in 2028, adding a new vehicle programme to a launch market serving expanding satellite constellations.

The distinction between an engine agreement and an operational rocket matters: the announced debut remains a target, not a demonstrated capability. Blacklift's progress will depend on turning propulsion procurement into an integrated launch vehicle and flight programme; Orbital Radar's launch vehicle directory provides context on the rockets already competing for satellite missions.

Close approaches need context

Orbital Radar tracking data records 15 active close approaches on 7 November 2026. Among the listed encounters, TIANHUI 5C and TIANHUI 5D have an approximate minimum separation of 0.26 km, while TERRA SAR X and TANDEM X are listed at about 0.60 km.

Separation alone does not establish collision probability: relative speed, uncertainty in orbital positions and whether spacecraft are deliberately flying together also matter. The NOAA 16 DEB–CZ-6A DEB encounter, involving objects labelled as debris, has a listed minimum separation of about 1.95 km; the Orbital Radar Debris Map helps place such encounters within the wider orbital environment.

Orbital Radar's live catalogue lists 16,661 active satellites on 7 November 2026. That population makes reliable tracking and coordination important, but a close-approach alert should not be read as a prediction of impact.

Swift's farewell and quiet geomagnetic conditions

NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory re-entered Earth's atmosphere on November 4, ending nearly 22 years of service. Its departure closes a long-running astronomy mission; readers following atmospheric returns can use Orbital Radar's Re-entry Tracker to explore the subject.

Orbital Radar tracking data records a Kp index of 0 on 7 November 2026. Kp measures global geomagnetic disturbance, and this reading indicates quiet conditions; the current risk indicators for low Earth orbit, geostationary orbit and the International Space Station are also green. These are current conditions rather than a guarantee that space weather will remain quiet.

What to Watch

Long March 12 is scheduled for 8 November 2026 at 20:25 UTC, with the SatNet low Earth orbit group designation still tentative. Falcon 9 mission USSF-627 follows on the schedule for 10 November at 03:03 UTC. Launch times and status updates can be followed on the Orbital Radar Launch Schedule.

Amazon Leo's next scheduled mission is LV-01 aboard United Launch Alliance's Vulcan VC6L, no earlier than 13 November 2026, with 17:54 UTC currently listed. The constellation has put 396 satellites into orbit across 14 production missions and has not yet opened consumer service; Amazon says initial service will begin before the end of 2026.