BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCHES NEW SHEPARD ROCKET ON RETURN TO FLIGHT MISSION - Blue Origin appears to be back in the suborbital business. Under a mostly sunny west Texas sky, the company launched its New Shepard suborbital rocket at roughly 10:42 a.m. CST (1642 UTC). This marked the 24th flight of a New Shepard rocket. The launch was a big deal for Jeff Bezos’ company since it marked the first time in about 15 months that they were able to launch their vehicle. During the Sept. 12, 2022 launch of the NS-23 mission, the engine nozzle suffered a structural failure, forcing the mission to end prematurely.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 20)

SPACE X FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Monday night after high winds kept the rocket grounded last week. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 with 23 Starlink satellites occurred at 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC). Blustery weather scrubbed a launch attempt last Tuesday and high seas in the recovery zone forced further delays for this mission but on Monday the winds had died down and the Falcon 9 lifted off into a chilly Florida night sky.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 19)

SPACEX DRAGON DEPARTURE FROM SPACE STATION FOR NASA TARGETS WEDNESDAY - NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 5:05 p.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 20, for the undocking of the company’s 29th Dragon commercial resupply services mission from the International Space Station due to unfavorable weather conditions. Joint teams continue to evaluate weather conditions as a cold front passes through the splashdown zones off the coast of Florida to determine the best autonomous undocking opportunity. Coverage of Dragon’s departure Wednesday will begin at 4:45 p.m.   More
(Source: Space Coast Daily - Dec 19)

EUROCONSULT REPORTS FOUR TONS OF SATELLITES TO BE LAUNCHED DAILY BY 2032 TOTALING $558 BILLION - Commercial NGSO constellations, known for their size and advanced capabilities, are reshaping the manufacturing and deployment of satellites to deliver global connectivity. They dominate the industry by concentrating 65% of satellites demand yet contribute only 18% to the manufacturing and launch value, averaging $10.5 billion yearly.    More
(Source: SatNews - Dec 19)

U.S. SPACE COMMAND DECLARES ‘FULL OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY’ - U.S. Space Command, the Defense Department’s combatant command responsible for space operations, has achieved full operational capability, its commander Gen. James Dickinson announced Dec. 15. In short, this means that U.S. Space Command is now fully up and running. It has the staff, infrastructure and plans it needs to handle its mission of conducting space operations and protecting American and allied assets and interests in space.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 18)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE - China successfully launched a new remote sensing satellite into its planned orbit from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the southern island province of Hainan on Friday. The carrier rocket, coded as Long March-5 Y6, blasted off at 9:41 p.m. (Beijing Time), carrying the Yaogan-41, a high-orbit optical remote sensing satellite.   More
(Source: CGTN - Dec 17)

SECOND ARKTIKA SATELLITE LIFTS OFF - Roskosmos closed its 2023 orbital launch attempts on December 16 with a Soyuz rocket mission carrying the second Arktika remote-sensing satellite into a highly elliptical orbit stretched above the northern hemisphere of our planet. Like its predecessor, it will be used primarily for meteorological observations of the Arctic Region.   More
(Source: RussianSpaceWeb.com - Dec 17)

SPACE FORCE EYES NEW BREED OF SATELLITES THAT ADJUST THEIR ORBIT AND RESPOND TO THREATS - The U.S. military has long relied on large, expensive satellites parked in fixed orbits above the Earth. Some U.S. Space Force leaders believe it’s time to change that model in favor of more mobile and renewable satellites that can maneuver to avoid attack. “We’ve got to be better at dynamic space operations,” said Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, who runs the Space Force’s Space Systems Command and was nominated to be the next vice chief of the U.S. Space Force.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 16)

SPACE FORCE STILL DODGING CHINESE SATELLITE DEBRIS - Anti-satellite attacks not only have consequences for the space vehicle itself, but can cause problems for other systems in orbit for years, and even decades, to come. In January 2007, China conducted an anti-satellite test, destroying a non-operational weather satellite with a ballistic missile. The destruction created a cloud of more than 3,000 pieces of space debris, according to a Secure World Foundation fact sheet.   More
(Source: National Defense Magazine - Dec 16)

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