THIS ARCTIC SPACE CENTRE COULD BECOME THE FIRST TO LAUNCH SATELLITES FROM MAINLAND EUROPE - There were more space launches in 2021 than ever before with more records set to be broken in the coming years. While 2022 has been another exceptional year for space exploration, it has been marred by growing tensions with Europe’s biggest space partner, Russia According to experts, it's become easier to send satellites into orbit thanks to their smaller sizes and cheaper prices compared to a few years ago - and now Europe is looking to capitalise on it.   More
(Source: Euronews - Dec 10)

CHINA LAUNCHES NEW TEST SATELLITE - China successfully sent a new test satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Xinhua. The VHF Data Exchange System (VDES) test satellite was launched by a Kuaizhou-11 Y2 carrier rocket at 9:15 a.m. (Beijing Time) and entered the planned orbit. The satellite will be mainly used for communications test and key technologies verification of the VDES and the automatic identification system (AIS).   More
(Source: AzerNews - Dec 9)

SPACEX DELIVERS FOR RIVAL ONEWEB WITH SUNSET LAUNCH FROM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER - Forty more OneWeb internet satellites rocketed into orbit from Kennedy Space Center at sunset Thursday, company’s first launch with SpaceX after suspending flights on Russian rockets earlier this year. Following a spectacular sunset blastoff at 5:27 p.m. EST (2227 GMT) Thursday, the Falcon 9’s upper stage headed into a roughly 373-mile-high (600-kilometer) polar orbit to deploy the 40 OneWeb satellites, while the first stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral for landing. The launch was delayed from earlier in the week as SpaceX prepared the Falcon 9 launcher inside a hangar a quarter-mile south of pad 39A.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 9)

NASA LOSES CONTACT WITH ICON ATMOSPHERE-STUDYING SATELLITE IN EARTH ORBIT - NASA recently lost contact with an atmosphere-studying satellite working beyond its design lifetime. NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) fell out of contact on Nov. 25, and the mission team has not been able to hail the spacecraft in the weeks since, agency officials wrote in a brief statement (opens in new tab) on Wednesday (Dec. 7). "The team is currently still working to establish a connection," NASA officials wrote. "Working with the Department of Defense's Space Surveillance Network, the team has verified that ICON remains intact."   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 8)

CUBESATS LAUNCHED BY ISS ABOVE NAMIBIA FROM UGANDA, ZIMBABWE, AND JAPAN - A set of four CubeSats are photographed after being released from a small satellite deployer on the outside of the Kibo laboratory module as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above Namibia on the African continent.   More
(Source: SpaseRef - Dec 8)

CHINA IS CONSIDERING EXPANDING ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China is already considering adding modules to its recently-completed Tiangong space station complex, according to a senior space official. China recently completed construction of its three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station and conducted its first crew handover, seeing the Shenzhou-14 mission astronauts welcome aboard three new astronauts from Shenzhou-15.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 8)

LET’S KEEP AN OPEN DIALOGUE ON HOW TO PROTECT SATELLITES ON ORBIT - The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs estimated there are at least 8,261 satellites orbiting the Earth. These assets, worth upward of two trillion dollars, enable our national security, economy and civil society. As the National Space Council recognized, space is a “source of American innovation and opportunity.”  Yet satellites on orbit remain remarkably unprotected.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 7)

GROWTH OF SSA SYSTEMS COULD CREATE PROBLEMS FOR SATELLITE OPERATORS - The growth of space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities worldwide, intended to better track satellites and debris in orbit, could instead create confusion for satellite operators, one official warned. Speaking at the annual conference of the Global Network on Sustainability in Space (GNOSIS) Nov. 30, Richard DalBello, director of the U.S. Office of Space Commerce, said one issue he is watching is how emerging SSA systems elsewhere should cooperate on exchanging data and predictions of potential collisions.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 6)

SPACEX UNVEILS ‘STARSHIELD,’ A MILITARY VARIATION OF STARLINK SATELLITES - Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expanding its Starlink satellite technology into military applications with a new business line called Starshield. Starshield is likely to further tap the company’s biggest U.S. government customer – the Pentagon – which already represents a high-value buyer of SpaceX’s launches and has shown significant interest in the capabilities of Starlink. “While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use,” the company wrote on its website.   More
(Source: CNBC - Dec 6)

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