CHINA PLANS TO LAUNCH 140 SPACECRAFT, COMPLETE SPACE STATION IN 2022 - The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation ( plans six launches during the year to work on Tiangong, including two launches in the second half of the year to deliver two 22-ton modules that will connect to the Tianhe core module, which is already in orbit, the company said in an annual report released Wednesday, SpaceNews reported. China has already conducted two launches this year, including the January 16 launch of Shiyan-13, a satellite used to carry out what the China National Space Administration described as “space environment detection and related technology experiments.”   More
(Source: Forbes - Feb 10)

STATION BOOSTS ORBIT FOR MARCH CREW SWAP - The International Space Station is orbiting slightly higher today placing it in position for a crew swap taking place in March. Meanwhile, the seven-member Expedition 66 crew participated in life science and physics research and a variety of robotics activities. Russia’s ISS Progress 79 cargo craft, docked to the aft end of the Zvezda service module, fired its engines early Tuesday morning for two minutes and 22 seconds.    More
(Source: NASA - Feb 9)

RUSSIA WANTS TO SPEED UP SPACE STATION CARGO DELIVERIES WITH SHORTER, ONE-ORBIT FLIGHTS - Roscosmos wants to speed up its deliveries to the International Space Station. The Russian space agency released a proposal to allow its Progress cargo ships to arrive in a single orbit, which would mean stuff would arrive at the orbiting complex just two hours after launch, the agency said. A statement on Roscosmos' website says the Rocket and Space Corporation Energia (a part of the space agency) received a patent Nov. 12 for a single-orbit cargo flight.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 9)

FIRM PLANNING 100,000 SATELLITES CLAIMS IT WILL “CLEAN SPACE” BY CAPTURING DEBRIS - A company led by satellite-industry veteran Greg Wyler says it plans to launch about 100,000 small communication satellites into low Earth orbit. The company, E-Space, yesterday announced that it received a $50 million investment and that it will launch its first test satellites next month, with "mass production... slated for 2023."   More
(Source: Ars Technica - Feb 9)

A GEOMAGNETIC STORM MAY HAVE EFFECTIVELY DESTROYED 40 SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITES - Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink just got dealt an expensive blow — the company’s currently estimating that 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites it launched on February 3rd will be destroyed because of a geomagnetic storm. The storm caused “up to 50 percent higher drag than during previous launches,” keeping the deployed satellites from reaching their proper orbit around the Earth. And while Starlink tried to fly them “edge-on (like a sheet of paper)” to reduce that drag, it now looks like as many as 40 of them will burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere instead of reaching their destinations.    More
(Source: The Verge - Feb 9)

LYNK SATELLITES CONNECT WITH THOUSANDS OF DEVICES - Lynk Global satellites have connected with thousands of unmodified smartphones, tablets, internet-of-things devices and vehicles, the Fall Church, Virginia, startup announced Feb. 8. The mobile devices required “zero modifications,” Lynk CEO Charles Miller told SpaceNews. “In fact, these devices did not know they were even participating in our test.” Lynk was testing the ability of its fifth satellite to connect with the company’s own smartphones, when thousands of other devices that lacked terrestrial network service detected the Lynk signal and “automatically requested a connection,” Miller said by email. “Our satellite then connected them.”   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 9)

SOYUZ LAUNCHES RUSSIAN MILITARY SPY SATELLITE - A Russian military satellite launched Saturday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome aboard a Soyuz rocket, heading for an unusual orbital altitude of more than 1,200 miles to begin a top secret mission. The Soyuz launcher took off from Plesetsk, located about 500 miles (800 kilometers) north of Moscow, and headed into orbit with a spacecraft for the Russian Ministry of Defense, military officials said in a statement.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 8)

ASTRA SUFFERS LAUNCH PAD ABORT, SCRUBBED SECOND ATTEMPT TO LAUNCH NASA MISSION FROM FLORIDA - Astra scrubbed its second attempt on Monday to launch for the first time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The scrub followed a launch pad abort shortly after ignition of the company's 40-foot rocket, which the company calls Rocket 3.3 LV0008, or simply, "Rocket." The abort occurred 50 minutes into the available three-hour launch window, leaving the time to try again, but company officials ultimately decided to wait for another day.   More
(Source: Florida Today - Feb 8)

EXPEDITION 66 BEGINS 2022 ABOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - The start of 2022 saw no let-up for the Expedition 66 crew aboard the International Space Station, who are continuing their busy schedule of maintenance, science, and operations aboard their outpost in low Earth orbit. January saw the installation of new external experiments, a spacewalk by the two Russian crewmembers, the departure of a Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the deployment of five small satellites.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Feb 7)

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