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🚀 Space Pulse · 2026-06-14 13:10 UTC

Space Pulse · 2026-06-14 13:10 UTC

SPACE PULSE

Sunday, 14 June 2026

⚡ TL;DR

  • JAXA's Hayabusa2 asteroid explorer has a confirmed flyby date for asteroid Torifune, while an X1.0 solar flare on 3 June drove a G3 geomagnetic storm watch that dominated the past two weeks of space weather.
  • A busy and solar-active fortnight: launches queuing up across three continents, Chandra makes a galactic-center find, and the 248th AAS Meeting opens today in Pasadena.

🚀 LAUNCHES

IMMINENT (next 72 hours)

  • Kinetica 1 (CAS Space), unknown payload, Go for Launch, 15 Jun 03:40 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), Starlink Group 17-54, 24 satellites, Go for Launch, 15 Jun 14:00 UTC.
  • Isar Aerospace Spectrum, "Onward and Upward" second test flight, 5 ESA CubeSats aboard, Go for Launch, 15 Jun 20:00 UTC.

COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • Long March 3B/E (CASC), unknown payload, Go for Launch, 16 Jun 09:45 UTC.
  • Kuaizhou 11 (ExPace), unknown payload, Go for Launch, 17 Jun 03:40 UTC.
  • Long March 12 (CASC), unknown payload, Go for Launch, 17 Jun 02:45 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), BlueBird Block 2 satellites 3-5 for AST SpaceMobile, Go for Launch, 17 Jun 06:39 UTC.
  • Ariane 64 Block 2 (Arianespace), Amazon Project Kuiper LE-03 broadband constellation batch, Go for Launch, 17 Jun 11:53 UTC.
  • Electron (Rocket Lab), Ten Owl Of Ten / StriX Launch 10, Synspective SAR satellite, Go for Launch, 17 Jun 20:40 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), NROL-179 NRO reconnaissance batch, Go for Launch, 18 Jun 08:54 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), Starlink Group 17-28, 24 satellites, Go for Launch, 20 Jun 14:00 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), Globalstar 2-R Mission 1 (9 satellites), To Be Confirmed, 20 Jun 06:39 UTC.
  • Long March 7A (CASC), unknown payload, To Be Confirmed, 23 Jun 02:00 UTC.
  • Falcon 9 Block 5 (SpaceX), Starlink Group 17-45, 24 satellites, Go for Launch, 24 Jun 02:48 UTC.
  • Electron (Rocket Lab), iQPS Launch 7 / "The Grain Goddess Provides," SAR Earth observation satellite, To Be Determined, 30 Jun.

RECENT NOTABLE LAUNCH

  • H3 Flight No.6, 30-configuration Test Vehicle (JAXA/Mitsubishi), launched successfully 12 Jun; after a postponement from 10 Jun due to technical review, the vehicle lifted off and JAXA confirmed a successful result.

🔭 DISCOVERIES

  • NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has identified a possible new supernova remnant in the Galactic Center region; findings published in The Astrophysical Journal mark a rare detection in this crowded, dust-obscured neighborhood.
  • ESO's VLT and Gemini North measured atmospheric wind speeds on seven ultra-hot Jupiter-like exoplanets and found the strongest evidence yet that some exoplanets may host magnetic fields, with anomalous wind patterns pointing to magnetospheric influence (ESO, 2 Jun 2026).
  • NASA's Hubble Space Telescope imaged galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211, revealing a dense swarm of galaxies; separately, a composite Hubble-Webb image of Messier 64 (the Black Eye Galaxy) was released, combining Webb's mid-infrared and Hubble's ultraviolet/visible light data from observations through March 2026.
  • A JWST spectroscopic study found an unidentified absorption feature at 5.11 micrometres on both Titan and Pluto, hinting at a shared but still-unknown surface chemical on these two very different worlds (arXiv 2606.13350).
  • ALMA revealed new 12C/13C and 14N/15N isotopic ratios in Jupiter's stratosphere, with the molecules first deposited by the 1994 comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact still detectable more than 30 years later (arXiv 2606.13238).

🛰️ MISSIONS

  • JAXA confirmed the exact flyby date and time for Hayabusa2's encounter with asteroid Torifune, announced 9 June; the extended mission continues after the successful Ryugu sample return.
  • JAXA and ESA signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Planetary Defence and a cooperation agreement specifically covering the RAMSES mission to asteroid Apophis (signed 7 May 2026 in Berlin).
  • JAXA's HTV-X1 completed a controlled atmospheric re-entry on 27 May 2026 after departing the ISS; during its stay it successfully demonstrated the H-SSOD small satellite deployment technology.
  • ESA confirmed ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano has been assigned as pilot for the Artemis III crewed lunar landing mission; ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is currently aboard the ISS and participated in a live call from orbit at ILA Berlin on 11 June.
  • SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon is preparing to undock from the ISS on 16 June, carrying science samples back to Earth; NASA will carry live undocking coverage on NASA+.
  • ESA tested inter-satellite laser communication links between second-generation Galileo navigation satellites, a key new capability for the upgraded constellation (ESA, 12 Jun 2026).
  • NASA's X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft hit Mach 1.4 at 55,000 feet on 12 June, reaching the design conditions required for its future community overflight noise measurements.
  • NASA's Fly Foundational Robots mission will carry prototype gamma-ray detectors for a robotic arm technology demonstration, advancing next-generation high-energy astronomy sensor hardware.
  • JAXA's H3 Flight No.6 (30-config test vehicle) was postponed from 10 June due to a technical issue, rescheduled 9 June, and successfully launched 12 June.

☀️ SPACE WEATHER

  • MAJOR FLARE SEQUENCE, EARLY JUNE: An M9.3 flare (R2-Moderate) erupted from region N13W05 on 3 June at 01:36 UTC, followed by an M7.7 (R2) from N08W14 at 07:00 UTC and an X1.0 (R3-Strong) from N17W19 at 11:28 UTC the same day — three significant flares within roughly 10 hours.
  • Following those eruptions, NOAA issued a G3 (Strong) geomagnetic storm watch for 4-5 June; a sudden impulse of 70 nT was observed at the MEA station on 5 June at 05:11 UTC, confirming CME arrival.
  • The 5 June storm peaked at G2 (Moderate, K-index 6) with a K7-or-greater warning issued at 17:16 UTC; conditions gradually subsided and the G3 watch was downgraded to G2 on 5 June evening.
  • A Type II radio burst at 838 km/s was detected 6 June at 13:47 UTC, and a second strong Type II burst reached 1,127 km/s on 10 June at 17:15 UTC, indicating continued energetic CME activity from the active Sun.
  • A G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm watch (NOAA serial 275) was issued 11 June, forecasting G1 on Jun 12, G2 on Jun 13, and G1 on Jun 14; however, that watch was cancelled this morning at 08:30 UTC on 14 June as conditions did not materialise.
  • GOES-19 high-energy electron flux (2 MeV, greater than 1,000 pfu) has been elevated persistently since 16 May, peaking at 6,667 pfu; a new electron flux alert triggered again on 13 June at 13:32 UTC.
  • Current status as of 13:09 UTC 14 Jun: K-index warning at level 4 extended to 06:00 UTC 14 June; geomagnetic conditions elevated but below storm threshold; elevated electron flux ongoing.

📄 RESEARCH

  • JWST SURFACE MYSTERY ON TITAN AND PLUTO (arXiv 2606.13350): JWST spectra of both Titan and Pluto show an absorption at exactly 5.11 micrometres that does not match any known molecule in current surface composition models; the feature being shared by such different worlds makes it particularly intriguing.
  • JUPITER'S COMET LEGACY MEASURED BY ALMA (arXiv 2606.13238): New carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios in Jupiter's stratosphere from the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact in 1994 have been precisely measured with ALMA; the deposited molecules persist above 0.1 mbar pressure three decades later, constraining the comet's original composition.
  • CLOSEST SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVA PROBED IN X-RAYS (arXiv 2606.13128): Four epochs of Chandra observations of SN 2018bsz, the nearest known stripped superluminous supernova, are used to constrain its power source — either a magnetar central engine or circumstellar interaction — and map ejecta structure over time.
  • RS OPHIUCHI RECURRENT NOVA FIRST HOURS CAPTURED (arXiv 2606.13202): The seventh outburst of the symbiotic recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi, recorded 8 August 2021, is examined in detail for its earliest hours of evolution; multi-wavelength data trace the nuclear explosion on the surface of a massive white dwarf accreting from a giant companion.
  • NGC 1313 X-2 COMPANION STAR IDENTIFIED (arXiv 2606.13116): Ten nights of archival Gemini-South long-slit spectra stacked and analysed reveal the nature of the donor star to pulsating ultraluminous X-ray source NGC 1313 X-2 — one of the few ULXs where the companion can be spectroscopically characterised.

Curated from official sources — NASA/ESA/JAXA/ESO/NOAA/arXiv/Launch Library. Informational only.
Serial 20260614-13-v1 · 2026-06-14 13:10 UTC

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