SPACEX’S MOST-FLOWN FALCON BOOSTER LAUNCHES ON RECORD 33RD FLIGHT - SpaceX’s most flown Falcon 9 rocket booster launched once again Saturday night, making its 33rd mission to space and back as the company works to certify its boosters for up to 40 flights each. The Starlink 6-104 mission added another 28 broadband internet satellites to SpaceX’s growing low Earth orbit constellation of more than 9,700 satellites. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:47 p.m. EST (0347 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket flew on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 23)
WHAT'S THE POINT OF A SPACE STATION AROUND THE MOON? - The Lunar Gateway is planned space station that will orbit the moon. It is part of the NASA‑led Artemis program. Artemis aims to return humans to the moon, establishing a sustainable presence there for scientific and commercial purposes, and eventually reach Mars. However, the modular space station now faces delays, cost concerns and potential US funding cuts. This raises a fundamental question: is an orbiting space station necessary to achieve lunar objectives, including scientific ones? More (Source: Space.com - Feb 23)
FALCON 9 LAUNCHES 25 STARLINK SATELLITES AFTER WEATHER DELAYS - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 25 Starlink satellites from California early Saturday, after days of delay. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 1:04:19 a.m. PST (4:04:19 a.m. EST / 0904:19 UTC). The company had originally planned to launch the Starlink 17-25 mission Feb. 18 but it was delayed three times due to severe weather in central California. The rocket took a southerly trajectory on departure from the launch pad. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 22)
SPACEX LAUNCHES SECOND FALCON 9 ROCKET TO RETURN TO A LANDING IN THE BAHAMAS - For just the second time, a Falcon 9 booster returned to Earth on a drone ship stationed among the islands of the Bahamas during a mission to deploy 29 Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s satellite internet service. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-34 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 8:41:40 p.m. EST (0141:40 UTC). More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 20)
NASA CHIEF BLASTS BOEING, SPACE AGENCY FOR FAILED STARLINER ASTRONAUT MISSION - NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is blaming Boeing and his own agency for botching a test flight of the Starliner spacecraft, designed to take astronauts to and from the International Space Station. A 311-page report details the issues that led to the failure of Starliner's first crewed test flight, which in June 2024 launched NASA astronauts Butch Willmore and Suni Williams to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida. More (Source: NPR - Feb 20)
TOO MANY SATELLITES? EARTH'S ORBIT IS ON TRACK FOR A CATASTROPHE—BUT WE CAN STOP IT - On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for a megaconstellation of up to 1 million satellites to power data centers in space. The proposal envisions satellites operating between 500 and 2,000 kilometers in low Earth orbit. Some of the orbits are designed for near-constant exposure to sunlight. The public can currently submit comments on this proposal. SpaceX's filing is just the latest among exponentially growing satellite megaconstellation proposals. Such satellites operate with a single purpose and have short replacement life cycles of about five years. More (Source: Phys.org - Feb 20)
DOD EYES COMMERCIAL SATELLITES THAT CAN SPY ON OTHER SATELLITES - The Pentagon is looking for cheap commercial satellites that can maintain surveillance on other satellites in orbit, including close-range inspections, according to a Defense Innovation Unit solicitation published Tuesday. The Geosynchronous High-Resolution Optical Space-Based Tactical Reconnaissance project — also referred to as “Ghost Recon” (as in the Tom Clancy novels and video games) — is intended to address a vulnerability in America’s space-monitoring capabilities. More (Source: Defense News - Feb 19)
THIS COMPANY JUST INKED 1ST NASA DEAL TO SEND ASTRONAUTS TO THE ISS - More non-government astronauts are due to spend some time at the International Space Station under NASA's latest commercial partnership. California-based Vast inked a deal that paves the way for the aerospace company to send four private astronauts not affiliated with space agencies like NASA to the orbital outpost for up to 14 days. While it'll be the debut private astronaut mission for Vast, ventures of this kind aren't exactly new territory for NASA. More (Source: USA Today - Feb 19)
NOAA’S NEXT JPSS WEATHER SATELLITE, JPSS-4, COMPLETES SOLAR ARRAY DEPLOYMENT TEST - In an accordion-like motion, five solar panels successfully unfolded from the JPSS-4 satellite during its solar array deployment test, marking a major milestone for the next satellite launch in NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). As one of the major testing milestones for the weather satellite, the solar array deployment test verified that the satellite’s solar panels can deploy once launched into orbit, where they will provide the satellite with necessary solar energy for mission operations. More (Source: NESDIS - NOAA - Feb 18)
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