Space News Digest 14 November 2026
This is SpaceEconomy's automated daily digest of the most interesting news related to our project. Published daily for your information and entertainment.
Saturday 14 November 2026
1. ICEYE radar satellites spot a Russian jammer in Kaliningrad
ICEYE's SAR imaged a truck-mounted electronic warfare system at night with its antenna raised towards the Baltic; its Baltic Sea Overwatch report lists 20+ SIGINT and EW sites in the region, a major source of GNSS interference also felt in Finland.
https://www.verkkouutiset.fi/a/suomalaisyhtion-satelliitit-paljastivat-hairintalaitteen-kaliningradissa/
2. Russia launches dual-use imaging satellites and drone-link cubesats from Vostochny
A Soyuz-2.1b/Fregat lifted off from Vostochny at 02:16 CET on 14 November carrying KOEN (~500 kg imager, Stilsoft/MT-Lab) and Kinosputnik (~300 kg imager, Sputniks) to a ~500 km Sun-synchronous orbit. Riding along were Kaisant cubesats, whose maker says their modems will provide secure communications for drones supporting Russia's war in Ukraine, and experimental STTs cubesats. Roskosmos says all spacecraft reached their planned orbits.
https://russianspaceweb.com/koen-kinosputnik-launch.html
3. Gatehouse Satcom buys Aalborg smallsat radio maker Satlab
The Danish 5G NTN software company will roughly double its headcount to about 140 and plans a joint radio running its 5G software, starting with NB-IoT; the deal is expected to close by the end of 2026.
https://nordicdefencewatch.com/news/space/article19826828.ece
4. Starship Flight 15 reaches orbit, but the booster catch is called off
Ship 42 deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites, while Super Heavy diverted to an explosive splashdown in the Gulf; the ship's first-ever tower catch attempt is planned for this evening.
https://spacenews.com/starship-launches-on-15th-test-calls-off-booster-catch/
5. Rocket Lab's Electron reaches 100 launches
"The Mountain God Rises" put iQPS's YAMATSUMI-II SAR satellite into a 575 km orbit, making Electron the fastest commercially developed rocket to reach the milestone.
https://rocketlabcorp.com/updates/rocket-lab-hits-100-electron-launches-fastest-commercial-rocket-to-reach-the-milestone/
Image: ICEYE