Space News Digest 6 November 2026

1. ESA's Hera returns its first close-up of the Didymos asteroids
From about 60 km away, Hera's Asteroid Framing Camera shows the far side of Didymos with boulders, craters and ridge patterns; Dimorphos is mostly in shadow. The Milani CubeSat carries VTT's ASPECT imager. Detailed images are due on 25 November.
https://www.esa.int/articles/about-us/directorates/operations/space-safety/hera/hera-s-first-close-up-view-of-didymos-asteroids

2. Analyst says Russia's close approach to ICEYE-X36 looks like an attack rehearsal
Greg Gillinger of Integrity ISR told Reuters the October manoeuvre by Cosmos 2612 was the most aggressive Russian posture he has seen against another nation's satellites; two sibling craft are now positioning toward ICEYE-X37.
https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/russia-rehearses-attack-finnish-iceye-satellite/

3. Spacewalkers finish the ISS roll-out solar array upgrade
NASA's Anil Menon and Canada's Joshua Kutryk installed and unfurled the eighth and final iROSA on 5 November after clearing a power-connector snag, completing a five-year effort expected to lift station power by up to about 30 percent through 2030.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/11/05/spacewalkers-complete-five-year-effort-to-upgrade-space-station-power-supply/

4. Orbital Matter and EnduroSat plan a 2028 in-space solar-array printing mission
After Replicator 2 printed a rigid boom in vacuum, the German start-up and Bulgarian satellite maker will try to support a roughly 5 kW, 5-metre array with booms made on orbit for future orbital data centres.
https://payloadspace.com/orbital-matter-endurosat-announce-an-in-space-manufacturing-mission-in-2028/

5. China launches three Yaogan-51 remote-sensing satellites on a Long March 2C
Liftoff from Xichang at 23:58 Beijing time on 5 November put Yaogan-51 07–09 into their planned orbit for science and electromagnetic-environment work; it was the 675th Long March flight.
https://www.china-in-space.com/p/new-yaogan-satellite-trio-launched

Image: ESA