FCC APPROVES SPACEX PLAN TO DEPLOY AN ADDITIONAL 7,500 STARLINK SATELLITES - The Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it has approved SpaceX's request to deploy another 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites as it works to boost internet service worldwide. The FCC said Elon Musk's SpaceX can now operate an additional 7,500 Gen2 Starlink satellites, bringing the total to 15,000 satellites worldwide. The FCC is also allowing SpaceX to upgrade the satellites and operate across five frequencies and is waiving prior requirements that prevented overlapping coverage and enhanced capacity. More (Source: Reuters - Jan 10)
SPACEX SCRUBS MIDDAY STARLINK MISSION LAUNCH FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX scrubbed its planned early afternoon Falcon 9 launch on Thursday without citing a reason for the slip. The flight will deliver a new batch of its Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station when it does fly. While an explanation for the delay to the Starlink 6-96 mission wasn’t publicly announced, the payload fairings with the 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites inside was late in arriving to the pad at Space Launch Complex 40. More (Source: VWttUD8HkaU - Jan 9)
NASA POSTPONES JAN. 8 SPACEWALK DUE TO 'MEDICAL CONCERN' WITH AN ASTRONAUT - NASA has postponed a planned Jan. 8 spacewalk outside the International Space Station due to a "medical concern" with an unnamed crew member. Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman had been scheduled to step outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday at about 8:00 a.m. EST (1300 GMT), kicking off a roughly 6.5-hour extravehicular activity (EVA). But that spacewalk has been postponed. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 8)
SATELLITE OVERLOAD: ASTRONOMERS LOOK TO UN TO PRESERVE THE NIGHT SKY - As satellite launches surge toward 1.7 million by 2030, astronomers and space companies are turning to multilateralism to mitigate satellite brightness and radio interference and keep astronomy alive. Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on “American space superiority”, reaffirming US support for the rapid expansion of commercial satellite constellations and framing them as critical infrastructure for national security and economic growth. More (Source: Geneva Solutions - Jan 8)
CHINA SPACE STATION CONDUCTS IN-ORBIT EXPERIMENT ON LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES, AIMING TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE OF SPACECRAFT ENERGY SYSTEM: REPORT - The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) revealed that the project titled "In-situ electrochemical optical research on lithium-ion batteries for space applications" has been carried out on the China Space Station, with an ultimate goal to enhance the performance of spacecraft energy system. The Shenzhou-21 crew jointly conducted on-orbit operations for the experiment, with crew-member Zhang Hongzhang from CAS serving as the payload expert and leveraging his professional expertise, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday. More (Source: Global Times - Jan 7)
THE FIRST COMMERCIAL SPACE STATIONS WILL START ORBITING EARTH IN 2026 - The space station industry is starting to take off. For decades, if you wanted to send an astronaut or experiment into orbit, the International Space Station (ISS) was the only option. But now, as NASA and its partners prepare to deorbit the ISS at the end of the decade, commercially owned stations are preparing to take over. More (Source: New Scientist - Jan 7)
EXPEDITION 74 GEARS UP FOR FIRST SPACEWALK OF 2026 - The Expedition 74 crew is gearing up for the first spacewalk of 2026 this week that will see two astronauts prepare the International Space Station for a new set of roll-out solar arrays. The orbital residents also had time on Monday to conduct microgravity research, pack a U.S. cargo craft, and maintain communications and life support systems More (Source: NASA - Jan 6)
SPANISH COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE DAMAGED DURING MANEUVERING – IT WAS LAUNCHED LAST FALL - The Spanish satellite SpainSat NG II was damaged during a maneuver to reach its final orbit. According to the operator Hisdesat, the device collided with “space debris” at an altitude of about 50,000 kilometers, which happened after its launch on October 23, reports Defence Turk. Hisdesat immediately activated its contingency plan to guarantee the continuity of services to the Spanish Ministry of Defense and NATO allies. The company emphasized that its commitments to customers remain in effect. More (Source: militarnyi.com - Jan 6)
THE NEXT FRONTIER IN SPACE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK – WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT SATELLITES - There are about 15,000 satellites orbiting the Earth. Most of them, like the International Space Station and the Hubble Telescope, reside in low Earth orbit, or LEO, which tops out at about 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface. But as more and more satellites are launched into LEO – SpaceX's Starlink internet constellation alone will eventually send many thousands more there – the region's getting a bit crowded. More (Source: Space.com - Jan 5)
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