CHINA TO LAUNCH NEW STATION MODULES AND COLLABORATE WITH EUROPE ON SCIENCE MISSIONS IN 2023 - With launch numbers 63 and 64 just before the end of this year, China finishes its most successful spaceflight year yet. Another Gaofen-11 launched from Taiyuan on a Chang Zheng 4B on Dec. 27 at 07:37 UTC, before the year was closed with the Shiyan 10-02 payload aboard a Chang Zheng 3B on Dec. 29 at 04:43 UTC, launching from the very busy Xichang Satellite Launch Center.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 31)

SEE THE BEST PHOTOS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION OF 2022 IN THIS NASA VIDEO - NASA has released a stunning series of images that celebrate 2022 aboard the International Space Station.  In 2022 the International Space Station (ISS) marked its 24th year orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth’s surface. The images, which can be seen as a montage on NASA Johnson's YouTube channel (opens in new tab), show that after nearly a decade and a half the station’s mission to further science is still going strong.    More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 31)

CHINA SENDS SECOND SHIYAN-10 TEST SATELLITE SENT INTO ORBIT WITH ITS FINAL LAUNCH OF 2022 - China has conducted its 64th and final launch of the year, sending the Shiyan-10 (02) into orbit from Xichang spaceport. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China at 11:43 p.m. Eastern Dec. 28, carrying Shiyan-10 (02). The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), confirmed launch success shortly after.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 31)

SPACEX COMPLETES RECORD YEAR WITH ISRAELI IMAGING SATELLITE LAUNCH - SpaceX capped off the busiest year in its two-decade history Dec. 30 with a Falcon 9 launch of a commercial Israeli imaging satellite. A Falcon 9 lifted off at 2:38 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The rocket’s first stage, flying its 11th mission, landed back at the launch site eight minutes after liftoff. The Falcon 9 upper stage deployed its payload, the EROS C3 imaging satellite, nearly 15 minutes after liftoff. The satellite was released at an altitude of nearly 500 kilometers in an unusual mid-inclination retrograde orbit, rather than the sun-synchronous orbit commonly used for optical imaging spacecraft.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 31)

WATCH THE LATEST WATER SATELLITE UNFOLD ITSELF IN SPACE - The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite launched into Earth orbit on Friday, Dec. 16, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, and engineers are working to prepare the mission to begin measuring the height of water on over 90% of Earth’s surface, providing a high-definition survey of our planet’s water for the first time. But before it can do that, the satellite would need to unfold its large mast and antenna panels (see above) after successfully deploying the solar panel arrays that power the spacecraft. The mission monitors and controls the satellite using telemetry data, but it also equipped spacecraft with four customized commercial cameras to record the action.   More
(Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - NASA - Dec 30)

RUSSIA'S 'FINAL DECISION' ON LEAKY SOYUZ SPACECRAFT AT SPACE STATION TO COME IN JANUARY - Russian space officials will make their "final decision" in January about whether to let a leaky Soyuz bear its crew back to Earth, according to state media. The Russian federal space agenc Roscosmos said it is awaiting the results of a working group investigating the findings of a severe Soyuz spacecraft leak on the International Space Station on Dec. 15 that spewed coolant into space.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 30)

SATELLITE DESIGNED BY FAIRFAX CO. STUDENTS TO DEPLOY FROM INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - A satellite designed and built by high school students in Fairfax County will be deployed Thursday from the International Space Station. The satellite traveled into space last month. Students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology worked on the 2U CubeSat, called TJREVERB for seven years, designing the mission, creating circuit boards, wiring and developing the software.   More
(Source: WJLA - Dec 29)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FIRST MISSION FOR STARLINK GEN2 CONSTELLATION - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday with 54 more Starlink internet satellites, a mission to begin populating a new orbital shell authorized by federal regulators earlier this month for the company’s Starlink Gen2 network. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on SpaceX’s Starlink 5-1 mission occurred at 4:34 a.m. EST (0934 GMT) Wednesday, about six minutes earlier than previously announced.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 28)

SPACEX BEGINS LAUNCHING STARLINK SECOND GENERATION CONSTELLATION - SpaceX is set to launch a batch of 54 Starlink internet satellites – Starlink Group 5-1 – into low Earth orbit (LEO) this Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2022. Liftoff is scheduled to occur at 4:40 AM EST (09:40 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. Starlink Group 5-1 is the first flight dedicated to the second generation (Gen 2) Starlink constellation. Previous flights have been filling the first generation (Gen 1) Starlink constellation, which SpaceX began launching in May 2019.    More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 28)

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