Public Space News (9-13 June)

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Public Space, the news from International Space Agencies – by Frederic Eger.

United States.

NASA’s headquarters, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Johnson Space Center (JSC), and human spaceflight programs are all undergoing updates from June 9 to 13, 2025. The NASA continues to collaborate through crowdsourcing initiatives with 25 new Open Innovation challenges, and Acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro announced leadership changes, including David Gallagher as director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA awarded a bridge contract to ASRC Federal System Solutions LLC for financial support and project planning services.
SpaceX’s Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is set to launch on June 10, 2025, with a backup launch opportunity on June 11. The mission will conduct over 60 scientific experiments focused on human research, Earth observation, and material sciences aboard the ISS. NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps retired on May 30, 2025, after nearly 16 years of service. NASA is conducting an independent review of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket following a rare engine failure in July 2024 to ensure safety before future crew or cargo missions. Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft remains docked at the ISS beyond its original 10-day mission due to helium leaks and thruster issues. NASA plans the next ISS spacewalk for July 29, delayed due to a coolant leak during the last EVA on June 24. The upcoming SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the ISS is slated for launch in August 2025, carrying three NASA astronauts and one cosmonaut for a six-month stay. NASA also hosted skywatching tips for June 2025, promoting visibility of Venus, Saturn, and Mars, and adjusted launch and docking dates for private missions to the ISS.

Russia.

Russia’s Roscosmos has announced ambitious long-term plans for its human spaceflight programs, including building a nuclear power plant on the Moon, expanding Russia’s satellite network, upgrading the global navigation system, and developing a new Russian orbital station to succeed the International Space Station (ISS). Roscosmos continues its commitment to the ISS partnership through at least 2028, with NASA expecting cooperation until 2030. Russia plans its own space station after the ISS retirement.

Ongoing technical challenges persist on the Russian segment of the ISS, including unresolved air leaks in the transfer tunnel and past coolant losses on Soyuz and Progress spacecraft. A Progress cargo spacecraft launch with supplies and fuel to the ISS is planned for August 2025 from Baikonur Cosmodrome using a Soyuz 2.1a rocket.

Roscosmos reported plans for multiple satellite launches in 2025, including scientific and communications satellites. Despite its civilian space program label, Roscosmos is heavily involved in missile production and military technology development, with much of its $12 billion funding from 2024 to 2026 supporting missile and defense projects rather than purely space exploration.
Russia’s space agency highlights its lunar ambitions, ongoing ISS operations and challenges, upcoming cargo missions, and the dual-use nature of its funding and technology development within its human spaceflight and broader space programs.

China.

China’s Tiangong space station, completed in October 2022, has been stable and operational, hosting multiple manned missions and cargo resupply flights. The station has supported over 180 scientific projects and conducted 11 spacewalks, including a record nine-hour EVA. China plans to maintain and expand Tiangong for at least a decade, positioning it as the only crewed orbital outpost after the anticipated deorbiting of the International Space Station around 2030. The station serves dual civilian and military purposes.

China is advancing international cooperation in human spaceflight, signing an agreement with Pakistan to train Pakistani astronauts for future missions aboard Tiangong. Recent missions include the Tianwen-2 mission, which aims to collect samples from the near-Earth asteroid Kamo’oalewa and return them to Earth around 2027, and the successful launch of the Shijian-26 satellite, which supports national land surveys and environmental management.

China is also progressing toward its goal of landing astronauts on the Moon by 2030, with key components in prototype stages. Test and launch facilities are under construction at the Wenchang launch site, with digital engineering integration enhancing development efficiency. China’s human spaceflight program is focused on sustaining and expanding the Tiangong space station, deepening international cooperation, advancing lunar exploration projects, and continuing robotic sample return missions beyond Earth orbit.

“NASA, Roscosmos, China, India, and the European Union are living through news updates this week  June 9-13, 2025. SpaceX’s Axiom Mission 4 is set to launch, and NASA plans ISS spacewalks. Roscosmos plans lunar power plant, satellite network expansion, and lunar exploration. 

India.

The launch of the Axiom-4 mission, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, has been postponed from June 10 to June 11, 2025, due to unfavorable weather conditions at Kennedy Space Center. The new launch time is 5:30 PM IST on June 11. This mission will send Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, with a multinational crew including astronauts from the US, Poland, and Hungary. This marks a significant milestone for India’s human spaceflight ambitions, returning India to crewed spaceflight more than four decades after Rakesh Sharma’s 1984 flight. ISRO has declared 2025 the “Gaganyaan year” with a focus on completing three uncrewed test flights scheduled for late 2025 and 2026, leading up to the first crewed flight targeted for early 2027. The program aims to develop a 3.7-ton spacecraft capable of carrying a three-member crew to low Earth orbit for missions lasting from a few orbits up to seven days. Infrastructure upgrades, including launch pad augmentation at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, are underway to support crewed missions. The European Space Agency (ESA) will support Indian human spaceflight missions, including the first Gaganyaan mission planned for 2025, by providing tracking and communication support through its 15-meter antenna in Kourou, French Guiana.

ESA

The European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA) are focusing on their human spaceflight programs for June 9-13, 2025. The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) is a historic multinational crew flight, with ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland as a mission specialist. The launch was originally scheduled for June 10, but was postponed to June 11 due to unfavorable weather conditions and further delayed as NASA and Axiom Space investigate a new pressure signature detected in the Russian Zvezda module on the ISS. ESA remains a vital partner in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence. ESA contributes the European Service Module for the Orion crew vehicle and modules for Gateway, such as Lunar I-Hab and communication systems. ESA is actively monitoring the impact of proposed U.S. budget cuts on NASA’s lunar programs and is open to continued cooperation. ESA continues astronaut training and preparations for current and future missions, including the Ax-4 mission. The Smile mission, launched earlier in June 2025, is observing solar wind interactions with Earth, contributing to space weather science that supports human spaceflight safety and operations. 

— Frederic Eger.

About the Author.

Frederic Eger is an Israeli, Argentine and French independent journalist and filmmaker with almost three decades of experience in the media industries. He focuses on science, technology, space and global issues. Frederic holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the Sorbonne and a certificate in producing from UCLA. He is a member of the several organizations, among them the Moon Society, the Mars Society, Icarus Interstellar… Albert Einstein, Michio Kaku or Theodore Herzl are among his models.

 

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