June 25, 2026 Quick space links
Courtesy of BtB’s stringer Jay. This post is also an open thread. I welcome my readers to post any comments or additional links relating to any space issues, even if unrelated to the links below.
- Hitachi signs a deal with Amazon’s Leo constellation
It appears this deal is tied to Hitachi’s use of Amazon’s cloud web services.
- Blue Origin touts its proposed Blue Ring Mars Telecommunications Orbiter
So, how’s that New Glenn explosion investigation going?
- Hayabusa-2 update: Out of the four ion engines, three are unusable, and the last remaining one is starting to degrade
Japan hoped to send it to asteroid 1998 KY26 in 2031, but this update suggests that it is now unlikely it will get there.
- A history of the Russian APAS docking system
It became the basis for the docking systems now used by all.
- On June 25, 1974 the Soviet Union launched Salyut 3
It was Soviet’s second space station, the first purely military mission, that was occupied twice for 16 and 2 days respectively. For the full story see chapter 4 of Leaving Earth.
- On June 25, 1997 a Progress freighter collided with the Spektr module on Mir
It punctured the module, disabling for the remainder of Mir’s life. For the full story see chapter 13 of Leaving Earth.








