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)

NSF AND SPACEX REACH AGREEMENT TO REDUCE STARLINK EFFECTS ON ASTRONOMY - The National Science Foundation has reached an agreement with SpaceX to mitigate the effects of the company’s second-generation Starlink satellites on astronomy, even as another organization goes to court to block the constellation’s deployment. NSF, which funds operations of several major observatories, announced Jan. 10 that is had completed an astronomy coordination agreement with SpaceX regarding its Gen2 Starlink constellation. The Federal Communications Commission granted a license Dec. 2 to allow SpaceX to deploy a quarter of that 30,000-satellite system while deferring consideration of the rest of the constellation.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 15)

NEW RUSSIAN CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR CREW OF DAMAGED SPACE CAPSULE - Russia's space agency Roscosmos announced new contingency plans Saturday for the three-member crew of a damaged capsule docked to the International Space Station, saying the U.S. member of the trio would return to Earth in a separate SpaceX vessel if they needed to evacuate in the next few weeks. The Soyuz MS-22 capsule, which serves as a lifeboat for the crew, sprang a coolant leak last month after it was struck by a micrometeoroid — a small particle of space rock — which made a tiny puncture and caused the temperature inside to rise.    More
(Source: voanews.com - Jan 15)

APSTAR, YAOGAN, AND SHIYAN PAYLOADS LIFT OFF FROM CHINA - China has launched two more missions to orbit, bringing its launch count in January to four launches already. First, a Chang Zheng 2C launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) on Thursday at 18:10 UTC, carrying APStar-6E. On Friday, a Chang Zheng 2D was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center (JSLC), carrying the Yaogan-37 & Shiyan-22 A/B payloads.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Jan 14)

EU INAUGURATES FIRST MAINLAND SATELLITE LAUNCH PORT - The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden. European officials and Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first mainland orbital launch complex on Friday during a visit to Sweden by members of the European Commission, which is the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm. The new facility at Esrange Space Center near the city of Kiruna should complement the EU’s current launching capabilities in French Guiana.   More
(Source: AP News - Jan 14)

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