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)

ASTRA SCRUBS CAPE CANAVERAL DEBUT WITH ELANA 41 DUE TO RANGE ASSET ISSUE - Astra is preparing to launch the ELaNa 41 mission for NASA no earlier than February 6, the company’s first flight from Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch vehicle for this mission will be LV0008, the third Rocket 3.3 vehicle, and the targeted launch window is between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM EST (18:00 to 21:00 UTC). The mission’s first launch attempt was scrubbed on Saturday due to a range equipment failure which could not be resolved before the end of the launch window.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Feb 6)

ASTRONOMERS STAND UP TO SATELLITE MEGA-CONSTELLATIONS - Astronomy is finally putting up a co-ordinated front to defend its interests as thousands of satellites are placed in the sky. Huge networks of spacecraft are being launched that are making it harder to get a clear view of the cosmos. These low-orbiting, fast-moving satellites leave bright streaks across telescope images. The International Astronomical Union is establishing a new centre to focus the community's response.   More
(Source: BBC - Feb 5)

AXIOM SPACE'S 1ST SPACE STATION CREW APPROVED BY NASA, ISS PARTNERS - Axiom Space's first astronaut crew just got the green light from NASA and the other International Space Station (ISS) partners for a trip to the orbiting lab. Axiom's first crewed mission to the ISS, known as Ax-1, is scheduled to launch on March 30 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Ax-1 will be commanded by Axiom Space employee and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría and will also include three paying customers: real-estate entrepreneur Larry Connor, Canadian businessman Mark Pathy, and Israeli investor Eytan Stibbe, each of whom reportedly paid $55 million for his seat.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 5)

SPACEX LAUNCHES THIRD FALCON 9 ROCKET MISSION IN THREE DAYS - Another 49 Starlink internet satellites lifted off Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket, notching SpaceX’s third launch and landing this week, and the company’s sixth mission in 28 days. A Falcon 9 rocket launched from pad 39A at the Florida spaceport at 1:13:20 p.m. EST (1813:20 GMT) Thursday. Thrust from nine Merlin engines powered the launcher into a clear sky on a course southeast from Florida’s Space Coast.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 4)

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