CHINA TO EXPAND ITS SPACE STATION, INTERNATIONAL ASTRONAUT SELECTION UNDERWAY - China is planning to expand its Tiangong space station with a multi-functional module to enhance its capabilities. China completed the construction of the three-module Tiangong space station last November, realizing a plan first approved in 1992. The operational phase of the station began with a first crew handover late last year. China plans to keep Tiangong permanently inhabited for at least a decade with crews of three spending six months at a time in orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 28)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FIRST BATCH OF SECOND-GENERATION STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES - SpaceX launched the first batch of next-generation Starlink internet satellites Monday from Cape Canaveral, deploying 21 bigger, heavier, more capable spacecraft to boost capacity for the global broadband network. A Falcon 9 rocket hauled the 21 Starlink satellites into a 230-mile-high (370-kilometer) orbit after lifting off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:13:50 p.m. EST (2313:50 GMT) Monday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 28)

TECHNICAL ISSUE SCRUBS SPACEX COMMERCIAL CREW LAUNCH - A last-minute problem with a rocket ignition system halted a Falcon 9 launch of a NASA commercial crew mission Feb. 27, delaying the launch by at least three days. Launch controllers halted the countdown for the launch of the Crew-6 mission about two and a half minutes before its scheduled 1:45 a.m. Eastern liftoff because of a problem with the ignition system, which uses a chemical combination called triethylaluminum triethylborane, or TEA-TEB. The launch director informed the four-person crew in the Crew Dragon of the issue a few minutes earlier.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 27)

SPACEX UNVEILS FIRST BATCH OF LARGER UPGRADED STARLINK SATELLITES - SpaceX released the first photos of the company’s upgraded Starlink internet satellite design, with 21 of the heavier, higher-capacity internet satellites set to ride a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit from Cape Canaveral on Monday. The new Starlink satellite design, called “V2 Mini,” will have four times the communications capacity of early generations of Starlink satellites, known as Version 1.5, SpaceX said.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 27)

SPACEX, NASA ASTRONAUT LAUNCH TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CALLED OFF AT LAST MINUTE - SpaceX and NASA have called off an astronaut launch to the International Space Station after an issue with the rocket’s ground system was detected. With about two minutes left on the countdown clock, the launch was called off because of a problem related to the TEA-TEB ignition fluid, which is used to ignite the SpaceX Falcon 9’s rocket engines at liftoff.    More
(Source: CNN - Feb 27)

CHINA IS TRYING TO QUICKLY LAUNCH 13,000 SATELLITES TO DEFEAT STARLINK - China is preparing to send almost 13,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit in order to directly compete with—and monitor—SpaceX’s Starlink constellations. Huge numbers of satellites like this are becoming less and less unexpected. They are not without their faults—a fact that any astronomer whose data has been ruined by the devices’ reflectivity will be quick to tell you—but they have the potential to increase internet coverage and communication efficiency around the world. So, it’s not surprising China wants in on the action.   More
(Source: Popular Mechanics - Feb 26)

RUSSIA'S REPLACEMENT SOYUZ SPACECRAFT ARRIVES AT SPACE STATION - A replacement Soyuz spacecraft for three International Space Station astronauts arrived at the orbiting complex as planned on Saturday night (Feb. 25). The replacement Russian Soyuz spacecraft, called MS-23, docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday at 7:58 p.m. EST (0058 GMT on Sunday, Feb. 26). The rendezvous occurred while the two spacecraft were flying 260 miles (418 kilometers) above northern Mongolia.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 26)

REPLACEMENT SOYUZ LAUNCHED ON FIGHT TO SPACE STATION - A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship blasted off from Kazakhstan Thursday, kicking off an unpiloted but critical flight to the International Space Station to replace a damaged Soyuz and provide an eventual ride home for three of the lab’s crew members. Lighting up the pre-dawn sky, the Soyuz 2.1a booster carrying the Soyuz MS-23/69S crew ship shot away from the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:24 p.m. EST (5:24 a.m. local time Friday), kicking off a 9-minute climb to space.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)

AMAZON GETS A GREEN LIGHT TO LAUNCH 3,000-SATELLITE KUIPER CONSTELLATION - Amazon has received the go-ahead to construct a constellation of 3,236 satellites after gaining approval for an updated orbital debris mitigation plan. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. main telecommunications services regulator, approved Amazon's Project Kuiper plan in an authorization adopted and released (opens in new tab)on Feb. 8.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 24)

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