CHINA TOPS US IN DEFENSE-RELATED SATELLITES ORBITED IN 2022: REPORT - While the US led the world in the total number of space launches in 2022 with China coming in second, a new report calls China the winner for the most defense-related payloads. “China is replacing Russia as the No. 2 space power,” Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., and author of the “Space Activities in 2022” report [PDF], told Breaking Defense Thursday. McDowell is also the author of the online newsletter “Jonathan’s Space Report,” which chronicles worldwide space launches.   More
(Source: https://breakingdefense.com/2023/01/china-tops-us-in-defense-related-satellites-orbited-in-2022-report/ - Jan 7)

VIRGIN ORBIT SET FOR HISTORIC SATELLITE LAUNCH FROM BRITAIN ON MONDAY - The first orbital satellite to set off for space from western Europe will be launched from Cornwall in southwest England on Monday. Virgin Orbit (VORB.O), part-owned by billionaire Richard Branson, who founded the Virgin Atlantic airline, plans to use a modified Boeing 747 with a rocket attached under its wing for the first time outside the company's base in the United States.   More
(Source: Reuters - Jan 7)

OLD NASA SATELLITE FALLING FROM SKY THIS WEEKEND, LOW THREAT - A 38-year-old retired NASA satellite is about to fall from the sky. NASA said Friday the chance of wreckage falling on anybody is “very low.” Most of the 5,400-pound (2,450-kilogram) satellite will burn up upon reentry, according to NASA. But some pieces are expected to survive. The space agency put the odds of injury from falling debris at about 1-in-9,400. The science satellite is expected to come down Sunday night, give or take 17 hours, according to the Defense Department.    More
(Source: AP News - Jan 7)

MORE AMATEUR RADIO ASTRONAUTS HEAD FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Three of the four new astronauts on February's planned launch of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) are amateur radio operators. The four crew members that comprise the SpaceX Crew-6 mission pose for a photo during a training session on the crew access arm at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A in Florida. From left are, Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, Pilot Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Mission Specialist Sultan Al Nedayi, and Commander Stephen Bowen. Photo Courtesy of SpaceX.   More
(Source: ARRL - Jan 7)

NASA TO PROVIDE LIVE COVERAGE OF SPACEX CARGO CRAFT STATION DEPARTURE - A SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft is set to depart the International Space Station on Monday, Jan. 9, returning scientific research samples and hardware to Earth for NASA. The agency will provide live coverage of Dragon’s undocking and departure on NASA Television, the NASA app, and online at 4:45 p.m. EST. Ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will send commands at 5 p.m. for Dragon to undock from the zenith port of the station’s Harmony module and fire its thrusters to move a safe distance away from the station.   More
(Source: NASA - Jan 7)

ALBANIA LAUNCHES TWO SATELLITES TO CRACK DOWN ON TERRITORIAL ILLEGALITY - Albania launched its first two satellites, Albania 1 and Albania 2, into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station this week, hoping they will aid a crackdown on drug cultivation and other crimes. The satellites were a part of the SpaceX Transporter-6 rideshare mission from Space Launch Complex 40. They came following a $6 million deal with Satelllogic USA signed in 2022 to create a dedicated satellite constellation to monitor the territory.   More
(Source: EURACTIV.com - Jan 6)

AIRBUS JOINS STARLAB COMMERCIAL SPACE STATION PROJECT - Airbus Defence and Space is joining a commercial space station project led by Voyager Space, a move that could potentially make it easier for European governments to use the station after the retirement of the International Space Station. Denver-based Voyager Space announced Jan. 4 a partnership with Airbus on its Starlab commercial space station project. Airbus will provide “technical design support and expertise” for Starlab, the companies said, but did not disclose additional details about the partnership or financial terms.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 5)

SPACE MISSIONS TO WATCH IN 2023 - 2022 surpassed the record number of 135 orbital launches in 2021 with 178 successful launches, half of which came from either China or SpaceX. The last year also saw the DART impact, the start of science operations for the James Webb Space Telescope and the completion of Artemis 1. At the same time, 2022 saw humanity miss a Mars launch window — for the first time since 2009 — as the Russian invasion of Ukraine forced the European Space Agency to part ways with Roscosmos. Now, in 2023, here’s what we can expect to see for astronomy and planetary missions.   More
(Source: Sky & Telescope - Jan 4)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 114 SMALL SATELLITES ON FIRST MISSION OF 2023 - SpaceX’s first launch of the year fired away from Cape Canaveral Tuesday and hauled 114 small satellites into polar orbit for operators in 23 countries, deploying a range of payloads for tech demo, Earth observation, and communication missions. A 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket did the lifting, kicking off the mission at 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT) with a thundering launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch marked the 1st of as many as 100 missions on SpaceX’s schedule for 2023, following a record 61 launches last year.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 4)

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