INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FINISHES CHALLENGING YEAR AS PLANS ARE MADE FOR ITS RETIREMENT - The International Space Station continues to act as humanity’s outpost in low-Earth orbit, a role that began at the turn of this century. However, the ISS is showing its age and plans are being advanced for its retirement around 2030. Several events on the Station in 2024 underlined just how the ISS program was dealing with several challenges. More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 28)
CHINA BUILDS LARGE COMMERCIAL RADAR SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - The large-scale application of a Chinese commercial radar remote sensing constellation composed of 12 satellites began on Monday, according to PIESAT, a Beijing-based satellite firm. The announcement came after four PIESAT-2 satellites, which were launched into a 528-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit last week, were calibrated and successfully transmitted high-resolution images and data back to Earth. More (Source: Space Daily - Dec 28)
SPACECOIN DEPLOYS FIRST SATELLITE FOR DECENTRALIZED SPACE CONNECTIVITY - Spacecoin said it is successfully communicating with its recently launched debut connectivity satellite, designed to test technology for a decentralized space-based network shared by multiple investors. “We have established regular communication with the satellite,” Spacecoin founder Tae Oh said, following SpaceX’s Dec. 21 Falcon 9 rideshare mission to low Earth orbit. More (Source: SpaceNews - Dec 28)
CHINA SUFFERS COMMERCIAL ROCKET FAILURE BUT SETS RECORD FOR ANNUAL LAUNCHES - A Chinese commercial Kinetica-1 solid rocket failed late Thursday, with the launch attempt setting a new domestic record for launches in a calendar year. The Kinetica-1 (Lijian-1) solid rocket lifted off at 8:03 p.m. Eastern Dec. 26 (0103 UTC Dec. 27) from the Dongfeng Commercial Space Innovation Test Area at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. Rocket operator CAS Space confirmed the failure hours after liftoff. More (Source: SpaceNews - Dec 28)
AMAZING IMAGERY FROM THE GOES-16 SATELLITE SHOWS MAJOR WEATHER EVENTS IN 2024 - The Earth was ready for its close-up this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites, or GOES-16 satellites, captured several spectacular weather events from hurricanes, supercell storms, wildfires and an amazing total solar eclipse. More (Source: USA Today - Dec 27)
SOYUZ LAUNCHES RESURS-P5 IMAGING SATELLITE - A Soyuz-2-1b rocket lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome on Dec. 25, 2024, carrying the fifth and final satellite in the Resurs-P series. It was the second launch of the dual-use observation satellite during the year and the 2000th mission of the vehicle in the R-7 family. More (Source: RussianSpaceWeb.com - Dec 26)
STRANDED NASA ASTRONAUTS SEND CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM SPACE - Astronauts stranded on the International Space Station over Christmas have sent a festive message back to Earth. Sunita Williams, Barry Wilmore, Don Pettit and Nick Hague were launched into space on 5 June on what was due to be an eight-day test flight mission. But the Boeing-made Starliner spacecraft suffered several technical issues, including helium leaks and thruster failures, and has been unable to return since. More (Source: Sky News - Dec 25)
COULD THAT BE SANTA'S SLEIGH? EARLY RISERS CAN SPOT THE ISS FROM THE UK THIS CHRISTMAS - Is that Santa's sleigh pulled by a magical herd of reindeer? A bright streak of light in the pre-dawn skies above the U.K. tomorrow morning (Dec. 24) could easily be mistaken for Santa Claus getting an early start to his Christmas deliveries — but the glowing trail of light actually belongs to the International Space Station (ISS) making one of its routine laps of Earth. The ISS will also be visible early on Christmas morning, coinciding with Santa's journey back to the North Pole. More (Source: Space.com - Dec 24)
CHINESE SATELLITE BURNS UP, DROPS DEBRIS OVER US - A defunct earth-imaging satellite made in China turned into a bright fireball Saturday night as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere — and some of the remains may have made it to the ground in Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas or surrounding states. The spectacle was widely mistaken for a meteor, but scientists confirm it was actually GaoJing 1-02 (Superview 1-02), one of a constellation of four satellites launched from China to low-earth orbit in 2016. More (Source: Forbes - Dec 23)
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