'IT'S EXTREMELY WORRISOME.' NASA'S JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE FACES POTENTIAL 20% BUDGET CUT JUST 4 YEARS AFTER LAUNCH - The scientists behind NASA's largest and most powerful space telescope ever built are bracing for potentially crippling budget cuts, and the observatory is only halfway through its primary mission. The team overseeing NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been directed to prepare for up to 20% in budget cuts that would touch on every aspect of the flagship observatory's operations, which are managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Maryland.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 23)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 22 STARLINK INTERNET SATELLITES FROM CALIFORNIA - SpaceX launched another set of its Starlink internet satellites from southern California on Saturday evening (Feb 22). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 22 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Station at 8:38 p.m. EST (5:38 p.m. local time or 0138 GMT Feb. 23).   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 23)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH 21 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX is preparing to launch 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday. The Falcon 9 rocket is targeting a liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 is set for 11:42 p.m. EST (0442 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 23)

CHINA LAUNCHES CHINASAT-10R COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE FROM XICHANG - China launched a new communications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit Saturday to replace the aging ChinaSat-10 spacecraft. A Long March 3B rocket lifted off at 7:11 a.m. Eastern (1211 UTC) Feb. 22 from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China. Exhaust from the rocket illuminated launch infrastructure around the pad as the launch vehicle climbed into the night sky.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 23)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 450TH FALCON ROCKET ON STARLINK 12-14 MISSION - SpaceX launched its latest batch of 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit Friday morning. The Starlink 12-14 mission was the 450th launch of a Falcon rocket, accounting for 439 Falcon 9 and 11 Falcon Heavy flights. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:19 a.m. EST (1519 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 22)

MUSK CALLS FOR DEORBITING ISS “AS SOON AS POSSIBLE” - SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said that NASA should deorbit the International Space Station “as soon as possible,” preferably in the next two years, to focus on missions to Mars. The sudden call by Musk to end the ISS years earlier than NASA currently plans, made on social media Feb. 20, threatens to further complicate the relationship between Musk, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, and the space agency and much of the space industry. “It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station,” Musk posted on X, the social media site he owns. “It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars.”   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 21)

NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP SATELLITES AVOID COLLISIONS IN SPACE - Space is becoming more crowded every day, with over 11,000 active satellites and nearly 40,000 pieces of debris in low Earth orbit. But Los Alamos National Laboratory has just demonstrated a new, patented technology called Extremely Low Resource Optical Identifier, or ELROI, that gives the space research community an innovative way to track satellites and avoid costly collisions.   More
(Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory - Feb 21)

MUSK SAYS US ASTRONAUTS ARE STRANDED ON SPACE STATION FOR ‘POLITICAL REASONS’—AS THEY REJECT CLAIM - Elon Musk suggested the two U.S. astronauts who have been on the International Space Station since June last year—due to safety issues with their return vessel, the Boeing Starliner—were left abandoned there for “political reasons,” reiterating a claim originally made by President Donald Trump that the astronauts themselves recently denied.   More
(Source: Forbes - Feb 20)

GLOBALSTAR DETAILS NEXT-GENERATION LEO CONSTELLATION IN FCC FILING - Globalstar detailed plans for its next-generation Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation to support Apple satellite connectivity in a filing this week to the FCC. Globalstar said in the filing it has been working on the new satellite system, called C-3, since October 2023. Last week, Globalstar announced MDA Space as the prime contractor for the next-gen LEO constellation after announcing plans for the constellation in November.    More
(Source: Via Satellite - Feb 20)

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