INDIA LAUNCHES X-RAY ASTRONOMY SATELLITE - India launched an astronomy satellite to start a year that will feature key tests for its human spaceflight program and a potential joint crewed mission with NASA. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 10:40 p.m. Eastern Dec. 31 (9:10 a.m. local Jan. 1) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It deployed its primary payload, the XPoSat spacecraft, into a 650-kilometer orbit about 22 minutes later.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 2)

ISRO TO USHER IN 2024 WITH LAUNCH OF DEDICATED SCIENTIFIC SATELLITE TO STUDY BLACK HOLES - ISRO is set to welcome the new year with the launch of its first X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite that would offer insights into celestial objects like black holes, onboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket on Monday. The launch comes after the success of its Gaganyaan Test Vehicle D1 mission in October. The PSLV-C58 rocket, in its 60th mission, would carry primary payload XPoSat and 10 other satellites to be deployed in low earth orbits.   More
(Source: The Indian Express - Jan 1)

CHINA LAUNCHES TEST SATELLITE FOR SATELLITE INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES - China on Saturday launched a test satellite for satellite internet technologies from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 8:13 a.m. (Beijing Time), and successfully entered its preset orbit. It was the 505th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.   More
(Source: Xinhua - Dec 31)

FIRST SATELLITE FOR CHINESE G60 MEGACONSTELLATION ROLLS OFF ASSEMBLY LINE - The first satellite for a second planned Chinese low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has been produced in new facilities in Shanghai. A new generation flat-panel satellite rolled off the assembly at the G60 digital satellite production factory in Shanghai’s Songjiang District Tuesday, Dec. 27, according to Chinese press reports. The satellite is the first for the G60 Starlink low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation. An initial 108 satellites of a total of around 12,000 G60 Starlink satellites are to be launched across 2024.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 31)

NORTH KOREA TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITES, BUILD DRONES AS IT WARNS WAR INEVITABLE - North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said U.S. policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday. Kim lashed out at Washington in lengthy remarks wrapping up five days of ruling party meetings that set economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.   More
(Source: Reuters - Dec 31)

ISRO TO WELCOME 2024 WITH INDIA’S FIRST X-RAY POLARIMETER SATELLITE LAUNCH ON JAN 1 - ISRO’s XPoSat mission will help understand emission mechanisms of various astronomical sources like black holes, neutron stars. Building on the momentum of 2023, Indian Space Research Organisation or ISRO is set to start 2024 with a bang. India is set to launch its first X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite on January 1. The XPoSat mission will lift off at 9:10 am using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the space agency announced.   More
(Source: Hindustan Times - Dec 29)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON HEAVY ROCKET, X-37B MILITARY SPACEPLANE - The second time was the charm for SpaceX as it was able to launch the X-37B military spaceplane onboard its Falcon Heavy rocket. Liftoff of the USSF-52 mission from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center occurred at 8:07 p.m. EST (0107 UTC) on Thursday at the opening of a ten-minute launch window. The launch came after SpaceX and the U.S. Space Force had to delayed the mission from Dec. 11 due to “a ground side issue.” The Falcon Heavy was returned to its hangar on Dec. 14 with SpaceX no longer saying the vehicle remained ‘healthy’ in its social media posts.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 29)

SPACEX ACES MODERN-DAY LAUNCH TURNAROUND RECORD WITH FALCON 9 STARLINK MISSION - SpaceX completed double-header launch night as the end of the year approaches. A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 6-36 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC) on Thursday. This mission comes on the heels of the Falcon Heavy launch, sending the X-37B military spaceplane to orbit. The two missions launched 2 hours 48 minutes and 40 seconds apart, marking the fastest turnaround between orbital launches from Florida since the launches of the Agena Target Vehicle and Gemini 8 on March 16, 1966, which were 1 hour 40 minutes and 59 seconds apart.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 29)

RUSSIA EXTENDS CROSS-FLIGHT PROGRAMME WITH NASA UNTIL 2025 - ROSCOSMOS - Russia's space state agency Roscosmos said on Thursday that a cross-flight programme with NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) had been extended until 2025, Interfax news agency reported.   More
(Source: Reuters - Dec 29)

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