NEW NASA CHIEF SCIENTIST PLEDGES A PLAN TO RENEW AGENCY'S EARTH SATELLITE FLEET - NASA's newly appointed science and Earth science lead says there is "more to plan" when it comes to figuring out next priorities for the agency's aging satellite fleet. Katherine Calvin is the first NASA chief scientist to also act as the agency's senior climate advisor, a role created in Februar... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 13)
CHINA’S MEGACONSTELLATION PROJECT ESTABLISHES SATELLITE CLUSTER IN CHONGQING - A group leading China’s national low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has founded two new firms to help develop the project, but overall plans remain vague. China Satellite Network Application Co., Ltd. and Chongqing Satellite Network System Research Institute Co., Ltd. were establi... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 13)
COSMONAUTS PREP FOR SPACEWALK AS ASTRONAUTS WORK SCIENCE AND MAINTENANCE - In one week the first spacewalk of 2022 is set begin at the International Space Station. Two Expedition 66 crew members are getting their spacesuits ready as the rest of the crew works research and maintenance. Station Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineer Pyotr Dubrov are due to exit th... More (Source: NASA - Jan 13)
HOW TO SEE AND TRACK THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) - The International Space Station (ISS) is a multi-nation laboratory, orbiting 248 miles (400 kilometers) above our heads. It perhaps comes as no surprise that the ISS can easily be seen and tracked from Earth. The colossal structure reflects sunlight and appears as a bright white pinpoint of ligh... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 13)
BREAKUP OF CHINA’S YUNHAI-1 (02) SATELLITE LINKED TO SPACE DEBRIS COLLISION - U.S. space tracking has linked the breakup of Chinese satellite Yunhai-1 (02) to a collision with a small piece of debris from a Russian satellite launch, according to NASA. The Yunhai-1 (02) satellite was developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and launched in September 2019 ... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 12)
VIRGIN ORBIT TO DEMONSTRATE AIR-LAUNCH FLEXIBILITY ON UPCOMING MISSION - Virgin Orbit is preparing to launch a set of smallsats as both a demonstration of the flexibility of its air-launch system and its ability to increase its cadence of launches. Virgin Orbit’s next LauncherOne mission, called “Above the Clouds” by the company, is now scheduled for Jan. 13 aft... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 12)
POWERFUL EUROPEAN EARTH-OBSERVATION SATELLITE SUFFERS ANOMALY IN ORBIT - One of humanity's most powerful Earth-observing satellites is having some problems in orbit. The Sentinel-1B radar satellite, part of the European Union's Copernicus Earth observation program, hasn't beamed home any data since suffering an anomaly on Dec. 23. And the problem appears to be relativ... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 12)
NASA COMPLETES MAJOR JWST DEPLOYMENTS - The primary mirror of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope unfolded into place Jan. 8, completing the major steps in the post-launch deployment of the giant observatory. Controllers issued commands to deploy an assembly called the starboard primary mirror wing, containing 3 of the 18 segments of t... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 12)
ARISS HIGHLIGHTED AMONG NASA’S BEST SPACE STATION SCIENCE PICTURES OF 2021 - NASA has recognized Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) as a science education and research program. Two images of ARISS activity are among those singled out by the space agency as some of the Best Space Station Science Pictures of 2021. ARRL Representative to ARISS-Internationa... More (Source: ARRL - Jan 11)
ON CHINA'S NEW SPACE STATION, A ROBOTIC ARM TEST PAVES WAY FOR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION - A large robotic arm on China's space station has successfully grasped and maneuvered a cargo spacecraft in a crucial test ahead of upcoming module launches. The 33-foot-long (10 meters) robotic arm on the Tianhe module of China's new Tiangong space station took hold of the Tianzhou 2 supply ship ... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 10)
KAZAKHSTAN UNREST NOT AFFECTING BAIKONUR COSMODROME SPACEPORT, RUSSIA SAYS - The current chaos in Kazakhstan isn't seriously impacting the famous spaceport in the nation, Russian officials say. Spiking fuel prices spurred a wave of protests recently across Kazakhstan, an autocratic Central Asian nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. Some of those protests have tu... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 9)
EXPEDITION 66 CONCLUDES 2021 WITH BUSY DECEMBER ABOARD ISS - While many cultures celebrated their respective holiday traditions on Earth, the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) carried on with their busy schedules high above. December 2021 saw three major visiting vehicle movements, one spacewalk, and many of the research and maintenance tasks that... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jan 8)
CHINA SAYS ITS SPACE STATION WILL BE READY THIS YEAR - China has said that its space station, stated to be a major strategic asset in space, will be ready for operations this year, providing a bird's-eye view of the world. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station of its own as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is... More (Source: Times of India - Jan 7)
SPACEX LOFTS 49 STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES TO ORBIT IN 1ST LAUNCH OF 2022 - SpaceX successfully launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the year Thursday (Jan. 6), sending a new stack of Starlink satellites into orbit from Florida, before nailing a landing at sea. The previously flown Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at ... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 7)
WEBB’S SECONDARY MIRROR SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYED - In another major milestone for the James Webb Space Telescope, a motor-driven tripod unfolded as planned Wednesday, moving a 2.4-foot-wide secondary mirror into position to reflect collected starlight back down to the instruments that will study it. While the deployment of a tennis court-size sun... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 6)
CHINA LIVESTREAMS NEW YEAR'S VIEW FROM NEW SPACE STATION - China welcomed the New Year with a live stream from cameras outside the new Tianhe space station module. In a new video from the China National Space Administration, livestreamed on New Year's Day (Jan. 1), you can now see the beauty of the Earth below from the Tianhe module on China's Tiangong s... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 6)
OP-ED | IS THERE ENOUGH ROOM IN SPACE FOR TENS OF BILLIONS OF SATELLITES, AS ELON MUSK SUGGESTS? WE DON’T THINK SO. - As researchers interested in orbital capacity, it’s surreal to wake up and find Elon Musk commenting on the question that has been central to your work: how many satellites can we fit in low Earth orbit (LEO)? According to a recent interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Musk’s stance is that te... More (Source: SpaceNews - Jan 5)
THE RULES OF SPACE HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATED IN 50 YEARS, AND THE UN SAYS IT'S TIME - On November 15, 2021, Russia destroyed one of its own old satellites using a missile launched from the surface of Earth, creating a massive debris cloud that threatens many space assets, including astronauts onboard the International Space Station. This happened only two weeks after the United Nati... More (Source: CNN - Jan 4)
SPACEX’S FIRST LAUNCH OF 2022 WILL DEPLOY MORE STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES - SpaceX plans to kick off its 2022 launch schedule with a Falcon 9 rocket flight Thursday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center with the company’s next group of Starlink internet satellites. In a change from previous Starlink missions, the Falcon 9 rocket will fly southeast from the coast of Florid... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 3)
