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)
WHY CAN'T WE PUT A SPACE STATION ON THE MOON? - A space station on the moon could be very useful. It would provide future space missions with a stopping point between leaving the Earth and reaching further into the solar system or even the Milky Way. One reason we haven’t built a space station on the moon is that we don’t send people there ve... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 3)
ASTRONAUTS RING IN NEW YEAR ABOARD SPACE STATION TO WELCOME 2022 - The astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station are marking the New Year, becoming only the 37th crew in history to be in space as Earth begins another revolution around the Sun. Expedition 66 crew members Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and Mark Vande Hei of NASA, Ma... More (Source: Space.com - Jan 2)
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION EXTENDS SPACE STATION OPERATIONS THROUGH 2030 - NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced today the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to extend International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030, and to work with our international partners in Europe (ESA, European Space Agency), Japan (JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Can... More (Source: NASA - Jan 2)
NASA AND ROCKET LAB CLEAR WAY FOR ELECTRON LAUNCH FROM VIRGINIA IN 2022 - Rocket Lab‘s launch site at the Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern coast of Virginia is expected to see a launch in 2022, as Rocket Lab and NASA near completion of a new flight safety certification system. Launch Complex 2 will be the company’s first launch site in the United States. It w... More (Source: Via Satellite - Jan 2)
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION WRAPS UP A BUSY 2021 - The ISS, now in its twenty-first year of continuous human occupation, has had a busy year of operations. Two new modules were added and 18 visiting vehicles were at the Station throughout the year. In total, 23 humans called the orbiting outpost home in 2021. This year marked the completion of the R... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jan 2)
IRAN LAUNCHES ROCKET INTO SPACE AMID NUCLEAR TALKS - Iran launched a rocket with a satellite carrier bearing three devices into space, authorities announced Thursday, without saying whether any of the objects had entered Earth’s orbit. It was not clear when the launch happened or what devices the carrier brought with it. Iran aired footage of the... More (Source: NBC News - Jan 2)
RUSSIA LAUNCHES THIRD AND FINAL ANGARA A5 DEMONSTRATION MISSION - Russia has launched its third and final demonstration flight of the Angara A5 rocket on Monday, December 27. Angara is being developed and built by the Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center and is intended to replace several existing launch vehicles. Angara attempted to place its ... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 31)
IRAN’S SIMORGH ROCKET FALLS SHORT OF ORBIT WITH THREE PAYLOADS ABOARD - Iran’s Simorgh rocket appears to have suffered another failure during a previously-unexpected launch Thursday. Iranian media has reported that the rocket lifted off from the Imam Khomeini Space Centre at 03:30 UTC (07:00 local time) Thursday morning with three payloads aboard, and although a succe... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 31)
HERE'S 7 THINGS THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TAUGHT US IN 2021 - The International Space Station is the world's most extreme and expensive scientific laboratory. In its more than 20 years of operations it has housed thousands of experiments, providing fascinating insights into the effects of microgravity on the human body, cultured cells or various materials and ... More (Source: Space.com - Dec 31)
TELESCOPE TOWER EXTENDS ON WEBB OBSERVATORY - The James Webb Space Telescope extended a four-foot tower Wednesday to give the observatory’s mirrors and instruments, designed to function at cryogenic temperatures, enough separation from the hot side of the spacecraft after the mission’s sunshield deploys over the next few days. Webb’s D... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 31)
