NASA SCALES BACK PROJECT TO SEND SCIENTISTS TO ISS - A budget shortfall has caused NASA to scale back plans for a project that would support sending scientists to the International Space Station to conduct research. NASA sought funding in fiscal year 2023 for Commercially Enabled Rapid Space Science, or CERISS, intended ultimately to allow scientists to fly on private astronaut missions to the ISS or future commercial space stations to conduct “hyper-specialized” research more effectively than if done by a professional astronaut.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 20)

SPACEX'S FALCON HEAVY ROCKET LAUNCH LOOKED TOTALLY MAGICAL FROM THE ISS - What does a rocket launch look like? It depends where you see it from. Nearby, it looks like a fiery, roaring beast as the rocket and spacecraft ascend. If you're on the International Space Station orbiting above Earth, you might see an ethereal, wispy ghost formation in the distance. On Wednesday, NASA's ISS account tweeted a look at SpaceX's Jan. 15 Falcon Heavy rocket launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The stunning views are just as much art as science.    More
(Source: CNET - Jan 20)

SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE TO BE 5-PERSON 'LIFEBOAT' IN EVENT OF ISS EMERGENCY - A SpaceX Dragon capsule is being modified on orbit to carry an extra astronaut home to Earth if need be. On Wednesday (Jan. 18), NASA plans to start moving agency astronaut Frank Rubio's seat liner from a Russian Soyuz spacecraft over to Endurance, the Dragon spacecraft that's flying SpaceX's ongoing Crew-5 mission for NASA.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 19)

SPACEX DELIVERS GPS SATELLITE TO 12,000-MILE-HIGH ORBIT - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket just after sunrise Wednesday from Cape Canaveral, hauling a GPS navigation satellite into orbit to replace an aging 16-year-old spacecraft in the global positioning network trusted to guide everything from military weapons to civilian commuters. The mission was the second SpaceX launch for the U.S. Space Force in less than three days, coming on the heels of a Falcon Heavy launch Sunday that accurately delivered two military satellites into a high-altitude geosynchronous orbit.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 19)

GPS NAVIGATION SATELLITE SET FOR LAUNCH ON SPACEX ROCKET - SpaceX’s second launch for the U.S. military in three days is set to blast off from Florida and deliver a GPS navigation satellite into orbit Wednesday, reinforcing the global positioning and timing network as four more GPS spacecraft are in storage at a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado to be launched as needed over the next few years. The launch of the U.S. Space Force’s GPS 3 SV06 mission — the sixth spacecraft in the latest generation of GPS 3-series satellites — is set for 7:10 a.m. EST (1210 GMT) Wednesday from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 18)

CHINA LAUNCH PLANS MORE THAN 70 LAUNCHES IN 2023 - China’s state-owned and commercial space sector actors are planning a total of more than 70 launches across 2023 as the country’s space activities continue to expand. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s main space contractor and maker of the Long March rocket series, will again aim for more than 50 launches this year, according to an announcement from an early January meeting.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 18)

NORTHROP GRUMMAN-BUILT LDPE-3A SATELLITE TO SUPPORT US SPACE FORCE NATIONAL SECURITY MISSION - Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Long Duration Propulsive ESPA (LDPE)-3A spacecraft launched successfully today in support of the USSF-67 mission. This spacecraft helps advance rapid access to space for the U.S. Space Force and marks the third successful launch in the LDPE program. The LDPE-3A was built using Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar, providing rapid access to space by maximizing the available volume inside a launch vehicle. This bus carries hardware for five independent missions, eliminating the need for each mission to wait for a future launch opportunity.   More
(Source: SpaceRef - Jan 17)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION EVADED THREE COLLISION RISKS IN 2022 - The International Space Station (ISS) had to perform three collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM) in the year 2022 alone, in contrast with the total of 33 manoeuvres it has had to do since 1999. The orbiting lab that houses a handful of astronauts and circles the earth at speeds of over 28,000kmph, at an altitude of 425kms, faces the constant risk of large and small objects that constitute space debris, said a top NASA scientist.  During a collision avoidance manoeuvre, the orbiting spacecraft fires its engines in order to move away and stay clear of an incoming object.    More
(Source: WION - Jan 17)

SPACEX LAUNCHES U.S. SPACE FORCE’S FIRST MISSION OF 2023 ON FALCON HEAVY - A SpaceX Falcon Heavy lifted off Jan. 15 at 5:56 p.m. Eastern from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, carrying the U.S. Space Force USSF-67 mission to geostationary Earth orbit.  USSF-67 was the Space Force’s first national security mission of 2023 and marked Falcon Heavy’s fifth flight since its 2018 debut, as well as its second national security space launch following the Nov. 1 launch of USSF-44.  About two and a half minutes after liftoff, both side boosters separated. The second stage separated from the core stage just over four minutes after liftoff.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 16)

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