ROCKET START-UP ASTRA TO GO PUBLIC IN RACE FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE - The rocket start-up Astra plans to go public, the company announced Tuesday, raising $500 million to bolster its position in the burgeoning market for space transportation. In a deal valued at $2.1 billion, Astra would become the first publicly traded company dedicated to delivering satellites into Earth’s orbit. The Alameda, Calif.-based rocket-maker intends to go public through a merger with a blank-check company, or what’s known as a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which acts as a financial vehicle to bypass the traditional IPO process.   More
(Source: Washington Post - Feb 3)

CHINA LAUNCHES A TRIO OF RECONNAISSANCE SATELLITES FROM GOBI DESERT - China added to its space reconnaissance capabilities with the launch of a trio of satellites from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center last week. A Long March 4C rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert on Friday (Jan. 29) at 12:47 p.m. local time (0447 GMT; 11:47 p.m. Jan. 28 EST), according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp. (CASC), China's main space contractor.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 3)

SPACEX STARSHIP PROTOTYPE LOST IN TEST FLIGHT LANDING MISHAP - SpaceX launched a prototype Starship rocket Tuesday from its Boca Chica, Texas, flight facility, successfully sending the silver booster up to an altitude of about six miles as planned. But the unpiloted test flight ended with a spectacular explosion when the rocket failed to right itself and slow down enough for a tail-first landing.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 3)

SPACEX, NASA TARGET APRIL 20 FOR NEXT CREW DRAGON LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - SpaceX will launch the Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station on a Crew Dragon capsule no earlier than April 20, according to a statement from NASA. The four astronauts on board the Crew Dragon will blast off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket to embark on a stay of about six and a half months in orbit.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 2)

SPACEWALKING ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE A SPACE STATION BATTERY UPGRADE YEARS IN THE MAKING - Two NASA astronauts completed the second in a pair of spacewalks today (Feb. 1), installing a European science platform and finishing up a long series of battery replacements outside the International Space Station. Today's spacewalk, which began at 7:56 a.m. EST (1256 GMT), was the 234th spacewalk, or extravehicular activity (EVA), in support of space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, according to NASA. The 233rd spacewalk took place just a few days prior, on Jan. 27.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 2)

AN OPEN SYSTEM FOR MISSILE-WARNING SATELLITE DATA IS IN THE WORKS BUT FACES CHALLENGES - During a deadly wildfire season that ravaged California in 2018, the U.S. Forest Service used data from the Air Force’s overhead missile-warning satellites to help spot new fires and flareups. Although the satellites are owned and operated by the U.S. military, sharing data with the Forest Service was difficult because the ground stations use proprietary technology designed decades ago by the Air Force’s prime contractor Lockheed Martin.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 2)

SPACEX FIRES UP NEXT EIGHT-FLIGHT FALCON 9 BOOSTER FOR TUESDAY STARLINK LAUNCH - Ending a few-day delay, SpaceX has successfully static-fired Falcon 9 B1049 at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39A – now set to become the company’s second eight-flight booster as early as 6:19 am EST (11:19 UTC). Originally scheduled to occur as early as Friday, January 29th, Falcon 9 B1049’s static fire test was delayed for unknown reasons and then aborted late into the countdown on the 30th before SpaceX was able to complete the test on Sunday afternoon.    More
(Source: Teslarati - Feb 2)

SPACEX EYES STARLINK SATELLITE LAUNCH ON MONDAY - SpaceX is gearing up to launch more Starlink satellites with its eye on Monday to put 60 additional satellites into orbit. The target launch date is February 1, which does represent a delay with the mission initially planned to launch Sunday morning. SpaceX is working hard to put more Starlink satellites into orbit to support its Internet service. The liftoff on Monday is scheduled for 6:41 AM from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.    More
(Source: SlashGear - Feb 1)

UMBRA RAISES $32 MILLION FOR RADAR SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - Earth observation startup Umbra raised $32 million in an investment round led by the family office venture fund of Passport Capital founder John Burbank with participation from existing Umbra investors including CrossCut Ventures, Starbridge Ventures, Hemisphere Ventures and PonValley. Umbra, based in Santa Barbara, California and previously known as Umbra Lab, is preparing to launch its first microsatellite this year to provide Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery with a resolution of less than 25 centimeters.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 1)

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