The following construction and launch orders for the space industry were announced in May 2025:
Construction Orders:
Chinese satellite developer MinoSpace won a major contract, valued at CNY804 million (around US$111 million), to build a remote sensing satellite constellation for Sichuan Province
The US Space Force has paid Lockheed Martin US$509.7 million for two additional Global Positioning System satellites – GPS III satellites 21 and 22 – to be delivered by 2031
Poland’s Ministry of National Defence signed off on a US$227 million contract to acquire three synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, with an option for three more from a consortium led by ICEYE Polska and Wojskowe Zakłady Łączności No.1 (WZŁ-1). Poland plans to launch its first SAR satellite in October 2025.
Launch Orders:
NASA has picked Rocket Lab to launch the Aspera mission on an Electron rocket – the launch from New Zealand is planned for the first quarter of 2026
Rocket Lab also revealed that it was chosen to perform “a Rocket Cargo survivability experiment” in 2026 with its reusable Neutron rocket, by the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) “rocket cargo” program
As part of a multi-launch agreement, Impulse’s Helios kick stage will send a four-ton SES satellite from LEO to GEO within eight hours in 2027
Exolaunch signed multi-year contracts with SpaceX for space on multiple Transporter missions to SSO, Bandwagon flights to mid-inclination orbits, and launches to near-polar orbits
Japan’s Ministry of Defense has selected Space One and Space BD to launch an optical imaging satellite (to be built by Canon Electronics). It will use Space BD for launch services while relying on Space One to manage the launch on a Kairos small launch vehicle.
Also in Japan, Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS) intends to launch eight additional synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites before the end of 2026
Argentina’s space agency has secured a ride for its ATENEA CubeSat aboard NASA’s Artemis II test flight
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander will take the UAE’s Rashid 2 Rover to the far side of the Moon in 2026
China is gearing up to launch new modules to its Tiangong space station, using its Long March 5B rocket
Sources include Cision, BBC, CNBC, msn.com, NASA, Orbitaltoday, Payload, phys.org, Politico, scmp.com and SpaceNews with links provided to each story.
