CHINA SET FOR ITS FIRST ONE-YEAR HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT MISSION, CONFIRMS PAKISTANI ASTRONAUT FLIGHT - China will begin its first one-year duration astronaut mission this year, while the first international astronaut will make a short visit to Tiangong space station. The country completed the three-module Tiangong space station in late 2022, with the orbital outpost hosting crews of three for six months at a time ever since. While NASA and Roscosmos have already conducted a number of year-long missions aboard the International Space Station, China is now set to select one astronaut to remain aboard Tiangong for a full year for the first time.    More
(Source: Space News - Mar 2)

FEBRUARY FINALE: SPACEX WRAPS UP MONTH WITH THREE STARLINK LAUNCHES THIS WEEK - In what has become hardly a leap for the company, SpaceX concluded its Starlink satellite launches for February 2026 with a trio of flights this week. On Tuesday (Feb. 24) at 6:04 p.m. EST (2304 GMT), a Falcon 9 lifted the first 29 satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The next day, 25 more Starlink units were sent spaceward by a different Falcon 9 flying at 9:17 a.m. EST (1417 GMT or 6:17 a.m. PST local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 2)

SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES FROM CAPE CANAVERAL WITH 29 STARLINK SATELLITES - SpaceX launched another 29 satellites for its Starlink internet service just after sunrise on Friday at fog shrouded Cape Canaveral. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 7:16:10 a.m. EST (1216:10 UTC), but views of the launch were obscured by a thick blanket of fog. SpaceX confirmed a successful deployment of the satellites about an hour after launch.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 28)

NASA REVEALS THE ASTRONAUT WHO REQUIRED 1ST MEDICAL EVACUATION FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA has shed more light on last month's early end to SpaceX's Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), at the request of the astronaut who experienced the medical issue that caused their return. NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Crew-11 pilot and commander of the ISS' Expedition 74, has revealed that it was his medical issue that prompted the evacuation of the four Crew-11 astronauts from the space station in January.   More
(Source: 25544 - Feb 27)

CONGRESS TO WEIGH EXTENDING SPACE STATION LIFE, NASA MOON BASE - A U.S. Senate committee next week will consider extending the planned life of the International Space Station by two years to give companies more time to develop a replacement, one of a few changes to a NASA bill focused on rivaling China's growing footprint in space. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation plans to take up legislation on March 4 that would amend a NASA authorization bill with the ISS extension, and add a requirement that NASA build a base on the moon's surface as part of its Artemis program.   More
(Source: Reuters - Feb 27)

SCIENCE-PACKED DRAGON DEPARTS STATION, HEADS FOR SPLASHDOWN - At 12:05 p.m. EST, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft undocked from the forward-facing port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module following a command from ground controllers at SpaceX. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft is scheduled to splash down at approximately 11:44 p.m. PST (2:44 a.m. EST Friday, Feb. 27), off the coast of California. NASA will not stream splashdown but will post updates on its space station blog.   More
(Source: NASA - Feb 27)

FIRST METOP SECOND GENERATION-B SATELLITE SPREADS ITS WING - With launch planned for later this year, testing is well underway to ensure the MetOp Second Generation-B1 weather satellite is ready for its life in orbit around Earth. These checks include verifying that its spectacular four-panel, 11-metre-long, solar wing will deploy correctly. The MetOp Second Generation (MetOp-SG) mission relies on a duo of complementary satellites to strengthen Europe’s weather forecasting capabilities from polar orbit.   More
(Source: ESA - Feb 26)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 500TH STARLINK SATELLITE IN 2026 DURING WEDNESDAY FALCON 9 FLIGHT - SpaceX launched its 500th Starlink satellite of the year during a flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base Wednesday morning. The Starlink 17-26 mission added 25 broadband satellites to the growing constellation that’s nearing 10,000 spacecraft in low Earth orbit. SpaceX confirmed a successful payload deployment an hour after liftoff. With this launch, SpaceX has flown 512 Starlink satellites to orbit in 2026.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 26)

SPACEX’S TUESDAY TWILIGHT FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCH SENDS 29 STARLINK SATELLITES INTO LOW EARTH ORBIT - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket late Tuesday afternoon with a batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites onboard. The twilight flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was the company’s 18th launch of the year supporting its broadband internet satellite constellation. The Starlink 6-110 mission sent another 29 satellites into low Earth orbit. Prior to liftoff, SpaceX had more than 9,700 Starlink satellites in space, according to stats maintained by expert orbital tracker and astronomer, Jonathan McDowell.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 25)

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