MOUNT ETNA'S FIERY ERUPTIONS SEEN FROM SPACE (SATELLITE PHOTOS) - Mount Etna has been spewing lava across Sicily for weeks during a series of eruptions captured by a slew of Earth-orbiting satellites. Etna, the most active volcano in all of Europe, has been in a state of eruption since 2011. The latest series began on Feb. 16. The volcano erupted that day, again on Feb. 18 and then again between Feb. 20 and 23. During these eruptions, fountains of lava shot high into the night sky, reaching 0.4 miles (0.7 kilometers) high earlier in the month and getting 0.9 miles (1.5 km) over the volcano's summit later in the month.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 6)

RUBINS AND NOGUCHI ASSEMBLE SOLAR ARRAY SUPPORT FIXTURES OUTSIDE SPACE STATION - NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade. After handling multiple struts and bolts, Rubins reported a small pin-prick “hole” in one of her gloves and while there was no leakage and no emergency, she expressed concern about moving too far from Noguchi for additional work.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 6)

DELAYED INDONESIAN BROADBAND SATELLITE SATRIA FULLY FUNDED - Indonesia’s government has secured financing to continue manufacturing the SATRIA broadband satellite, although its intended orbital slot remains up in the air. Thales Alenia Space started developing the Ka-band spacecraft in September after receiving partial financing, which spokesperson Sandrine Bielecki told SpaceNews covered work up until this point. Bielecki said the program can continue uninterrupted now the project has secured about $545 million in funding, partly backed by France’s Bpifrance export-credit agency.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 5)

SPACEX STICKS 75TH FALCON ROCKET LANDING AFTER LAUNCHING 60 MORE STARLINK SATELLITES - Launching through a blanket of low-hanging clouds and light mist, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thundered into the sky over Florida’s Space Coast early Thursday and delivered 60 more Starlink internet satellites to orbit. The rocket’s first stage touched down on SpaceX’s floating landing platform in the Atlantic Ocean to complete its eighth trip to space and back. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket flashed to life and lifted off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center at 3:24:54 a.m. EST (0824:54 GMT).    More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 4)

SPACEX TO TRY AGAIN TO LAUNCH LONG-DELAYED STARLINK MISSION - SpaceX is targeting Thursday, March 4 for the launch of the Starlink v1.0 L17 mission with a new batch of Starlink satellites from historic LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center aboard a flight proven Falcon 9 booster. The previous launch attempt on Sunday, February 28 ended in a scrub at T-1 minute 24 seconds. SpaceX is now targeting 03:24 EST (08:24 UTC) Thursday for the launch of the oft-delayed mission that originally had its launch date set for January 27. An additional launch window on Thursday morning is available at 05:42 EST, or 10:42 UTC.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 4)

SPACEX'S SN10 STARSHIP PROTOTYPE LANDS AFTER EPIC TEST LAUNCH — BUT THEN EXPLODES - SpaceX's latest Starship prototype went out in a blaze of glory. The Starship SN10 spacecraft touched down successfully after a high-altitude test flight today (March 3), a major milestone for the company and its crewed Mars ambitions. But the vehicle didn't manage to hold itself together, exploding about eight minutes after landing.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 4)

SPACEX IS READY TO LAUNCH MORE ASTRONAUTS WITH CREW-2 NEXT MONTH - SpaceX's second fully-crewed astronaut flight, Crew-2, is prepared for launch, mission team members said Monday (March 1) during a news briefing. Crew-2, which is set to launch April 20, follows the company's Demo-2 launch in May 2020, the first crewed test flight for SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft, and Crew-1 launch in November 2020, which saw the company's first fully crewed mission to space. Like Crew-2, these missions took place as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 3)

INDIAN PSLV ROCKET LAUNCHES BRAZILIAN AMAZONIA-1 SATELLITE - India launched its first mission of the year late Saturday, sending Brazil’s Amazonia-1 Earth observation satellite and 18 smaller payloads into orbit. The 44-meter-high PSLV-C51 rocket with two solid side boosters lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on the Indian island of Sriharikota at 11:54 p.m. Eastern Feb. 28.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 2)

CHINA PREPARING TO BUILD TIANGONG STATION IN 2021, COMPLETE BY 2022 - China is gearing up for its next big leap in space exploration: the construction of its modular crewed space station, the Tiangong. Starting in 2021, the construction of the Tiangong orbital space station is expected to be complete in 2022 after eleven missions, including three launches of different modules, four launches of cargo vehicles and four crewed launches. This step comes after a phased approach to human spaceflight development, beginning with the uncrewed test flights of a crewed space vehicle...   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 2)

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