TOULOUSE, France - The Airbus built forest monitoring satellite Biomass has been successfully launched into orbit. A European Space Agency (ESA) flagship mission, Biomass will use its revolutionary P-band synthetic aperture radar instrument to measure forest biomass to assess terrestrial carbon stocks and fluxes to enable scientists to better understand the carbon cycle and its effects on climate change.

Launched on a Vega-C rocket from Europe’s Space Port, Kourou, French Guiana, the satellite will scan the Earth’s forests from an altitude of 666km during its five-year mission.

An ESA Earth Explorer mission, Biomass carries the first space-borne P-band radar, to deliver exceptionally accurate maps of tropical, temperate and boreal forest biomass to help improve the understanding of the part that forests play in regulating climate.

Biomass will also be able to measure paleo aquifers in desert regions to find new water sources in arid regions as well as contribute to observations of ice sheet dynamics, subsurface geology and forest topography. Biomass’ P-band radar will see through the forest canopy to the ground, improving current Digital Elevation Models in densely forested areas and provide a completely new view of the Earth’s surface.

The spacecraft features a large 12 metre deployable antenna to capture the reflected SAR data to show changes in biomass due to forest loss (for example from logging/burning) and regrowth. Airbus developed, built and tested the satellite in Stevenage (UK) Friedrichshafen (Germany) and Toulouse (France) before it was shipped to French Guiana in February 2025. The teams are preparing for the in-orbit commissioning and operational phases, with a separate team managing the delivery of the ground calibration transponder, located in New Norcia, Australia.

Development and testing of the Biomass spacecraft involved more than 50 companies across 20 countries.

Biomass data will support REDD+, a UN climate change initiative aimed at reducing emissions due to deforestation, by systematically monitoring forests in vulnerable areas with no need for ground intervention.

Source: Airbus
Associated URL: https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-04-airbus-built-forest-monitoring-satellite-biomass-successfully

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, Fla.-- A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the Kuiper-1 mission for Amazon's Project Kuiper lifted off on April 28 at 7:01 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Kuiper 1 launch marks the beginning of full-scale deployment of the Kuiper constellation and a new chapter in the commercial launch industry as Amazon partners with ULA to deliver a majority of its advanced satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO).

In addition to the successful launch of two Kuipersat prototypes in 2023 and another seven launches aboard Atlas V, Project Kuiper will leverage the next-generation Vulcan rocket for 38 high-cadence, rapid-fire launches, positioning ULA to deliver more than half of the constellation's more than 3,200 satellites through the world's largest commercial launch agreement.

Source: United Launch Alliance
Associated URL: www.ulalaunch.com

BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- BAE Systems has been selected by U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command to provide a new satellite command and control (C2) system for its Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) program. FORGE C2 will provide the Space Force with a command-and-control system for several of its Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) missile warning satellites. In addition, the on-orbit Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation will be transitioned onto the FORGE C2 system.

Under FORGE C2, the Space Force will utilize BAE Systems' software solution to consolidate telemetry, tracking and command, flight dynamics, mission management, and ground resource management applications onto a single framework. This will allow satellite operators to command and control the Space Force's missile warning satellites with the same core applications.

BAE Systems also helped develop infrared sensor payloads for the Next-Gen OPIR constellation and leveraged the company's deep knowledge of the mission to assist in advancing FORGE C2.

Source: BAE Systems
Associated URL: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bae-systems-selected-to-enhance-ground-system-for-space-force-missile-warning-satellites-302439857.html