Jiuquan, China, 19 October 2025 – Marking a historic milestone in its national space program, Pakistan successfully launched its first Hyperspectral Satellite (HS-1) from China’s Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) described the launch as a significant advancement that will enhance the country’s capacity for environmental monitoring and disaster response, ushering in a new phase of space technology for sustainable development.

A New Era in Hyperspectral Earth Observation

Rocket Lab successfully launched Japan-based Synspective’s seventh StriX satellite into low Earth orbit on October 14, 2025, marking its 15th mission of the year and the first of 21 new launches planned for Synspective before the end of the decade. The Electron rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand, at 16:33 UTC, deploying the satellite into a 583-kilometer circular orbit after an approximately 50-minute mission.

UN-SPIDER has welcomed a new Regional Support Office at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH). The cooperation was formalised through a memorandum of understanding signed on 22 September by Aarti Holla-Maini, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), and Kaveh Madani, Director of UNU-INWEH. The signing took place in New York on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The joint NISAR (NASA–ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission has captured its first radar images of the Earth’s surface, previewing data that will soon support global monitoring of land, ice, and vegetation. Launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on July 30, 2025, the satellite was raised to its operational 747-kilometer orbit in mid-September and will survey land and ice twice every 12 days using a 12-meter drum-shaped antenna reflector, the largest NASA has flown.

Radar Capabilities and Applications