20 YEARS AGO: SPACE STATION MIR REENTERS EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE - On March 23, 2001, after 15 years in orbit, Russia’s space station Mir reentered over the Pacific Ocean following a controlled deorbit maneuver. Despite highly publicized incidents late in its orbital life, Mir secured its place in history as the first modular space station that enabled semi-permanent human habitation in low-Earth orbit. The destination for a generation of Russian cosmonauts, Mir, provided opportunities for astronauts from other countries and space agencies to conduct research for their national programs on a commercial basis.    More
(Source: NASA - Mar 25)

DEFUNCT US WEATHER SATELLITE BREAKS UP IN EARTH ORBIT - A U.S. weather satellite that retired eight years ago has fallen apart in orbit, breaking into at least 16 pieces of space junk, according to government representatives. The satellite, dubbed NOAA-17 after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that operated it, launched in 2002 and was decommissioned in 2013 after its instruments began to fail. NOAA-17 broke up on March 10, according to the Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron based in California, as was first reported by SpaceNews.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 24)

STARLINK AND ONEWEB SATELLITES READY FOR LAUNCH ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE WORLD - SpaceX and OneWeb — space industry rivals and owners of two of the largest fleets of commercial satellites — are set to add more spacecraft to their internet networks Wednesday with launches from Cape Canaveral and Russia. A Falcon 9 rocket is standing on its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for liftoff at 4:28 a.m. EDT (0828 GMT) Wednesday with the next batch of 60 Starlink satellites, bringing the total number of Starlink spacecraft launched to date to 1,385.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 24)

ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES 7 SATELLITES TO ORBIT - Rocket Lab just launched seven small satellites to Earth orbit, including one of its own spacecraft designed to help pave the way for future missions to Venus and the moon. A Rocket Lab Electron booster lifted off from the company's Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand Monday (March 22) at 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT, or 11:30 a.m. March 23 local time), on a mission dubbed "They Go Up So Fast."    More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 24)

THEY GO UP SO FAST… ROCKET LAB LAUNCH UPDATE… - The Rocket Lab launch team is gearing up for the company’s 19th mission, that being a rideshare launch taking place from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula as early as tomorrow, March 22, with the launch window ranging from 22:20 to 23:30 UTC, 18:20 to 19:30 ET and 15:20 to 16:30 PT, and March 23, from 11:20 to 12:30, New Zealand Time. The launch opportunities will continue through March 31st, should such become a necessity.   More
(Source: SatNews - Mar 23)

RUSSIA LAUNCHES MULTI-SATELLITE RIDESHARE MISSION ON COMMERCIAL SOYUZ FLIGHT - Russia’s federal space agency Roscosmos launched its first dedicated commercial launch through its GK Launch Services subsidiary, using a Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat vehicle to deliver a cluster of satellites to orbit, including South Korea’s CAS500-1. Soyuz – sporting a new blue and white livery – lifted off from Site 31/6 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on Monday, 22 March at 06:07 UTC, which was 12:07 local time and 02:07 EDT. This followed a scrub about 30 minutes before launch on Saturday’s attempt.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 22)

SAUDI ARABIA SET TO LAUNCH TWO LOCALLY MADE SATELLITES - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to launch two satellites on Sunday, March 21. Both satellites were designed and made in the Kingdom. The first satellite called Shaheen Sat will be the 17th spacecraft from King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology to be launched in Kazakhstan. It will be used for photography and maritime tracking purposes. The second one, a CubeSat has been designed by King Saud University for educational use.   More
(Source: SatelliteProME.com - Mar 21)

CHINA HAS 3 NEW SPY SATELLITES IN ORBIT AFTER LONG MARCH 4C LAUNCH - The China National Space Administration launched another trio of satellites into orbit late Friday (March 12), adding to its network of spy satellites observing regions nearby Chinese territory. The fresh set of Yaogan 31-series satellites launched at 9:19 p.m. EST Friday (0219 GMT Saturday or 10:39 a.m. local time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, near the Gobi desert, according to local reports.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 20)

US SPACE FORCE CONFIRMS BREAKUP OF DECOMMISSIONED WEATHER SATELLITE NOAA-17 - US decommissioned weather satellite NOAA-17 has exploded in space, breaking into 16 pieces, the 18th Space Control Squadron (SPCS) of the US Space Force said on Friday. "#18SPCS has confirmed the breakup of NOAA 17 ... on March 10, 2021, at 0711 UTC. NOAA 17 was decommissioned in 2013. Tracking 16 associated pieces – no indication caused by collision," the squadron wrote on Twitter.   More
(Source: Sputnik International - Mar 19)

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