INDIAN PSLV PREPARED FOR FIRST LAUNCH IN NEARLY A YEAR - An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is preparing to soar into orbit Sunday with an Indian radar imaging satellite and two rideshare payloads, including one built in the United States in partnership with science institutes in India, Singapore, and Taiwan. The nearly 146-foot-tall (44.4-meter) launch vehicle is poised to take off at 7:29 p.m. EST Sunday (0029 GMT Monday) with India’s EOS 4 Earth observation satellite.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 13)

RESEARCH SATELLITES DESTROYED IN ASTRA ROCKET FAILURE - Four NASA-funded nanosatellites were lost Thursday when an Astra rocket tumbled out of control minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, the fourth time in five tries that the startup space company has failed to reach orbit. Astra’s 43-foot-tall (13.1-meter) launch vehicle, named Rocket 3.3, took off from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). The kerosene-fueled rocket flew downrange for nearly three minutes, heading over the Atlantic Ocean to place four CubeSats into orbit for NASA and university teams in three states.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 12)

ARIANESPACE LAUNCHES 34 ONEWEB SATELLITES ON SOYUZ ROCKET IN 1ST LAUNCH OF 2022 - An Arianespace Soyuz rocket launched 34 new broadband satellites for the OneWeb constellation to space today (Feb. 10). In its first mission of 2022, the European launch provider Arianespace launched Soyuz Flight VS27 from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana at 1:09 p.m. EST (3:09 p.m. local time, or 1809 GMT). "There we have it! Liftoff of OneWeb's launch 13 from Kourou in French Guiana," launch commentator Georgie Barrat said during a live webcast of the mission. "Gosh, this is the moment that you tune in to watch a live rocket launch, isn't it? To see it go from that launch pad and hurtle — and look at it hurtling — into orbit."   More
(Source: - Feb 11)

SOLAR GEOMAGNETIC STORMS COULD THREATEN MORE SATELLITES AFTER ELON MUSK'S STARLINK - Elon Musk's SpaceX will lose 40 Starlink satellites to a geomagnetic storm as solar activity ramps up. But does this spell disaster for the future of satellites in space? On Tuesday (Feb. 8), SpaceX revealed that likely 40 of its 49 newest Starlink satellites that launched last Thursday (Feb. 3) were affected by a geomagnetic storm on Friday. The storm increased the density in Earth's atmosphere, increasing drag on the satellites as they were released and attempting an insertion phase into orbit. This drag kept the satellites from entering orbit and they will now burn up in our atmosphere.    More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 11)

GRIPPING RESEARCH ON SPACE STATION AS TWO CARGO MISSIONS NEAR LAUNCH - Wednesday’s main research aboard the International Space Station is exploring how astronauts manipulate objects and move around in weightlessness. The Expedition 66 crew is also getting ready for a pair of resupply missions due to launch next week. Grabbing an object and moving around is different in space than on Earth. Scientists are studying how astronauts adjust to the microgravity environment with possible implications for spacecraft interfaces designed for future missions to planets, moons, or asteroids.   More
(Source: SciTechDaily - Feb 11)

FIERY DEATH OF SPACEX STARLINK SATELLITES CAPTURED ON VIDEO AFTER GEOMAGNETIC STORM - A dramatic video serves as a memorial to a star-crossed satellite that lived fast and died very young. SpaceX launched 49 satellites to low Earth orbit on Feb. 3 to further beef up the company's huge and growing Starlink internet megaconstellation. But most of those newly lofted spacecraft will never beam any broadband signals down, thanks to a powerful sun eruption.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 10)

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)

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