ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES ITS 1ST MISSION OF 2026, SENDING 2 SATELLITES TO ORBIT - Rocket Lab just launched its first mission of 2026. An Electron rocket carrying two satellites for the European company Open Cosmos lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today (Jan. 22) at 5:52 a.m. EST (1052 GMT; 11:52 p.m. local time in New Zealand). Electron's "kick stage" deployed ... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 23)
SPACEX LAUNCHES FIRST WEST COAST STARLINK MISSION OF 2026 - SpaceX launched its first West Coast Starlink mission of the year to send its satellites into a polar low Earth orbit. The Starlink 17-30 mission adds 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to the company’s megaconstellation. This was SpaceX’s sixth Starlink mission so far in 2026. Lift... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 23)
ISS ASTRONAUT SPOTS ARTEMIS 2 MOON ROCKET ON THE LAUNCH PAD FROM SPACE - The lone U.S. astronaut currently in space took a picture of NASA's first rocket designed for a human moon mission in more than 50 years. Artemis 2's rocket, called the Space Launch System, arrived at the launch pad Saturday (Jan. 17) — and may launch to the moon as soon as Feb. 6. From the Int... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 23)
US SPACE FORCE AWARDS 1ST-OF-ITS-KIND $52 MILLION CONTRACT TO DEORBIT ITS SATELLITES - Starfish Space will make history next year, if all goes according to plan. The Washington-based company just scored a $52.5 million contract to deorbit satellites for the U.S. Space Force, the first deal ever signed for such end-of-life disposal services for a constellation in low Earth orbit (LE... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 22)
BEZOS' BLUE ORIGIN ANNOUNCES SATELLITE RIVAL TO MUSK'S STARLINK - Blue Origin, the rocket company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, says it will launch more than 5,400 satellites to create a new communications network. Named TeraWave, it will offer continuous internet access around the world, with the ability to move large amounts of data much more quickly th... More (Source: BBC News - Jan 22)
THE FIRST COMMERCIAL SPACE STATION, HAVEN-1, IS NOW UNDERGOING ASSEMBLY FOR LAUNCH - The sprawling International Space Station is due to be decommissioned less than five years from now, and the US space agency has yet to formally publish rules and requirements for the follow-on stations being designed and developed by several different private companies. Although there are expected ... More (Source: Ars Technica - Jan 21)
WHAT THE FIRST MEDICAL EVACUATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TELLS US ABOUT HEALTHCARE IN SPACE - For the first time in 25 years of continuous crewed operations, an astronaut has been medically evacuated from the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-11 mission ended when a SpaceX Dragon capsule brought the four astronauts of Crew 11 home following a medical incident in early January 2026.... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 20)
CHINA'S SHENZHOU-20 RETURN CAPSULE TOUCHES DOWN ON EARTH - The return capsule of the Shenzhou-20 spaceship, carrying no astronauts, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 9:34 a.m. (Beijing Time) on Monday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). On-site inspections confirmed that the ret... More (Source: Xinhua - Jan 20)
SPACEX LAUNCHES SUNDAY SUNSET STARLINK MISSION FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX continued the expansion of its Starlink internet network with the launch of 29 new satellites Sunday. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida happened at 6:31:40 p.m. EST (2331:40 UTC). A cold front pushing through the Florida peninsula presented some weather c... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 19)
CHINA'S SHIJIAN 32 SATELLITE LAUNCH MISSION FAILS - A Long March 3B carrier rocket flight early on Saturday morning has failed, resulting in the loss of a satellite, according to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan province. The rocket blasted off at 12:55 am carrying the Shijian 32 multirole satellite but encountered malfunctions durin... More (Source: China Daily - Jan 18)
CREW-11 ASTRONAUTS ARRIVE IN HOUSTON AFTER 1ST-EVER MEDICAL EVACUATION FROM ISS - The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-11 mission made it to Houston today (Jan. 16), just a day after their unprecedented medical evacuation from the International Space Station. The Crew-11 spaceflyers — NASA's Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of Japan and cosmonaut Oleg Platonov — sp... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 18)
NRO, SPACEX LAUNCH RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES FROM VANDENBERG - SpaceX executed a late night Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday, which carrying an undisclosed number of intelligence-gathering satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. The mission, NROL-105, has a payload of satellites heading to low Earth orbit, which are belie... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 17)
CHINESE COMMERCIAL ROCKET LAUNCHES NEW SATELLITES FROM SEA FOR IOT CONSTELLATION - China launched a group of satellites from the waters near its eastern Shandong Province on Friday morning, marking the country's first sea-based launch in the new year. The commercial rocket, CERES-1 Y7, carrying four satellites for the Tianqi constellation, blasted off at 4:10 a.m., and sent the... More (Source: CGTN - Jan 17)
IS ELON MUSK LOSING THE SPACE CELLPHONE WAR? - The fiercest space race is not about getting back to the moon—it’s about allowing you to post a TikTok or watch Netflix on your phone anywhere around the globe, from the Atacama Salt Flats to the Khongor sand dunes in the Gobi Desert. To make this happen, two distinct design philosophies are at ... More (Source: Fast Company - Jan 16)
CREW 11 SAFELY SPLASHES DOWN AFTER SHORTENED MISSION - Four space station crewmates undocked and plunged back to Earth Thursday, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast six days after NASA ordered them home early because of a medical issue. Descending under four large parachutes, Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman, co-pilot Mi... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 16)
SPACEX BREAKS PAD TURNAROUND RECORD AT CAPE CANAVERAL WITH MIDDAY STARLINK LAUNCH - SpaceX’s launch of its Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday afternoon broke the turnaround record at its launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station by more than five hours. The Starlink 6-98 mission lifted off at 1:08 p.m. EST (1808 UTC), just 45 hours after the launch of the Starlink 6-97 mission at... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 16)
NASA ASTRONAUTS BEGIN 'BITTERSWEET' MEDICAL EVACUATION FROM SPACE STATION - Four astronauts have left the International Space Station a month early, in the first medical evacuation since the station was put into Earth's orbit in 1998. The astronauts, known as Crew 11, are expected to splash down off the coast of California in the early hours of Thursday local time. Th... More (Source: BBC News - Jan 15)
SPACEX BREAKS PAD TURNAROUND RECORD AT CAPE CANAVERAL WITH MIDDAY STARLINK LAUNCH - SpaceX’s launch of its Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday afternoon broke the turnaround record at its launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station by more than five hours. The Starlink 6-98 mission lifted off at 1:08 p.m. EST (1808 UTC), just 45 hours after the launch of the Starlink 6-97 mission at... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 15)
CHINA HAS APPLIED TO LAUNCH 200,000 SATELLITES, BUT WHAT ARE THEY FOR? - China has applied to launch nearly 200,000 satellites into Earth orbit, but the move may be an attempt at merely reserving orbital space rather than a genuine effort to build the largest mega-constellation in existence.... More (Source: New Scientist - Jan 15)
