POOR WEATHER FORCES SPACEX TO SCRUB THE LAUNCH OF NASA’S PACE MISSION TUESDAY MORNING - Update 9:55 p.m. EST: SpaceX and NASA scrubbed the launch due to poor weather. SpaceX is preparing to launch its second NASA mission of the year on Wednesday morning. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Earth-observing spacecraft PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) was set to liftoff Tuesday morning, but teams had to stand down due to poor weather. Teams from NASA, SpaceX and Space Launch Delta 45 (SLD45) are now aiming for the 24-hour backup opportunity: a 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 UTC) liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Feb. 7.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 6)

CHINA LAUNCHES 20 SATELLITES ON SEPARATE INLAND AND SEA ROCKET LAUNCHES - A pair of Chinese rockets launched 11 mobility services satellites for an automaker and nine further, diverse satellites into orbit late Friday. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China at 6:37 p.m. Eastern (2337 UTC) Feb. 2, followed hours later by a Jielong-3 solid rocket launching from a mobile sea platform at 10:06 p.m. (0305 UTC, Feb. 3). The former launch sent 11 satellites into orbit for the space arm of Chinese automaker Geely. The spacecraft were cataloged by U.S. Space Force space domain awareness in roughly 595 by 605-kilometer orbits with inclinations of 50 degrees.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 5)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH NASA'S PACE OCEAN-MONITORING SATELLITE THIS WEEK - A NASA satellite is about to take flight to map out the ocean's many hues. NASA's PACE spacecraft, which will help scientists gauge the health of oceans around the world, is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 1:33 a.m. EST (0633 GMT). You can watch the liftoff live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the space agency. Coverage will begin at 12:45 a.m. EST (0545 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 5)

AXIOM 3 CREW SPLASHDOWN OFF FLORIDA DELAYED BY IMPENDING STORM SYSTEM - After spending more than two weeks in space, the crew of the Axiom Mission 3 now gets an extra weekend in Space and is expected to splashdown off the coast of Florida next week instead. The crew was originally scheduled to come home Saturday, but SpaceX announced that the crew of four would spend additional days in space due to poor weather conditions expected this weekend in the recovery zone off Florida.    More
(Source: FOX Weather - Feb 4)

CHINA LAUNCHES JIELONG-3 ROCKET AS COMMERCIAL MISSIONS PICK UP PACE - Last year saw 17 Chinese commercial launches with one failure, among a new record 67 orbital launches by China. That was up from 10 Chinese commercial launches in 2022, including two failures. In 2023, China conducted more launches than any other country save the United States, which made 116 launch attempts, including just under 100 by Elon Musk's SpaceX. Critical to the construction of commercial satellite networks is China's ability to open more launch windows, expand rocket types to accommodate different payload sizes, lower launch costs, and increase the number of launch sites such as building more spaceports and using sea launch vessels.   More
(Source: Reuters - Feb 4)

SATELLITE PHONE NETWORKS CAN DEMOCRATIZE GLOBAL COMMUNICATION - Early this year, using T-Mobile’s network, SpaceX successfully sent and received text messages using new Starlink direct-to-cell satellites that deliver broadband connectivity to smartphones anywhere in the world, bypassing traditional infrastructure. While some will consider this an innocuous development, it’s a monumental moment for communication technology and geopolitics alike. In effect, it means the satellite phone, once the exclusive domain of government officials, diplomats, journalists and fictional secret agents, may soon be much more widely available, worldwide. The implications are considerable.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 3)

WATCH AX-3 ASTRONAUTS LEAVE ISS IN SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE EARLY FEB. 3 - The four astronauts of the private Ax-3 mission will depart the International Space Station in their SpaceX Dragon capsule on Saturday morning (Feb. 3) and you can watch the action live. Ax-3's Crew Dragon "Freedom" is scheduled to undock from the orbiting lab Saturday at 6:05 a.m. EST (1105 GMT), according to NASA officials. You can watch live here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or directly via the agency. Coverage will begin at 5:45 a.m. EST (1045 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 3)

PRIVATE CYGNUS CARGO SHIP ARRIVES AT THE ISS CARRYING 8,200 POUNDS OF SUPPLIES - Northrop Grumman's robotic Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early Thursday morning (Feb. 1), with the rendezvous streamed live. The Cygnus launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday (Jan. 30), kicking off a 40-hour orbital chase. That chase came to an end at 4:55 a.m. EST (0955 GMT) on Thursday, when NASA astronaut Laurel O'Hara grabbed Cygnus using the International Space Station's (ISS) Canadarm2 robotic arm to grip Cygnus.    More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 2)

SIERRA SPACE UNVEILS FULLY INTEGRATED DREAM CHASER SPACEPLANE AMID TESTING CAMPAIGN - An orbital-class spaceplane is one step closer to returning to the International Space Station. As part of an on-going test campaign, Sierra Space mated its Dream Chaser spaceplane to its Shooting Star module for the first time at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The spaceplane will be the third and final cargo spacecraft contracted by NASA to shuttle supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station as part of the Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contact. In 2016, Northrop Grumman, Sierra Space and SpaceX were awarded several flights each under the agreement that had a maximum value of $14 billion.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 2)

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