CUBESATS LAUNCHED BY ISS ABOVE NAMIBIA FROM UGANDA, ZIMBABWE, AND JAPAN - A set of four CubeSats are photographed after being released from a small satellite deployer on the outside of the Kibo laboratory module as the International Space Station orbited 264 miles above Namibia on the African continent.   More
(Source: SpaseRef - Dec 8)

CHINA IS CONSIDERING EXPANDING ITS TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China is already considering adding modules to its recently-completed Tiangong space station complex, according to a senior space official. China recently completed construction of its three-module, T-shaped Tiangong space station and conducted its first crew handover, seeing the Shenzhou-14 mission astronauts welcome aboard three new astronauts from Shenzhou-15.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 8)

LET’S KEEP AN OPEN DIALOGUE ON HOW TO PROTECT SATELLITES ON ORBIT - The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs estimated there are at least 8,261 satellites orbiting the Earth. These assets, worth upward of two trillion dollars, enable our national security, economy and civil society. As the National Space Council recognized, space is a “source of American innovation and opportunity.”  Yet satellites on orbit remain remarkably unprotected.    More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 7)

GROWTH OF SSA SYSTEMS COULD CREATE PROBLEMS FOR SATELLITE OPERATORS - The growth of space situational awareness (SSA) capabilities worldwide, intended to better track satellites and debris in orbit, could instead create confusion for satellite operators, one official warned. Speaking at the annual conference of the Global Network on Sustainability in Space (GNOSIS) Nov. 30, Richard DalBello, director of the U.S. Office of Space Commerce, said one issue he is watching is how emerging SSA systems elsewhere should cooperate on exchanging data and predictions of potential collisions.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 6)

SPACEX UNVEILS ‘STARSHIELD,’ A MILITARY VARIATION OF STARLINK SATELLITES - Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expanding its Starlink satellite technology into military applications with a new business line called Starshield. Starshield is likely to further tap the company’s biggest U.S. government customer – the Pentagon – which already represents a high-value buyer of SpaceX’s launches and has shown significant interest in the capabilities of Starlink. “While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use,” the company wrote on its website.   More
(Source: CNBC - Dec 6)

ASTROCAST EXPANDS COMMERCIAL CONSTELLATION TO 14 SATELLITES - Nanosatellite IoT network operator, Astrocast launched four new 3U Spacecraft to expand its commercial constellation to 14 satellites. This is a significant milestone for the Swiss startup, as this launch made it "one of the top 40 satellite operators in the world, based on the number of satellites currently in orbit". The new satellites will strengthen the reliability of the operator's network and provide direct-to-satellite, highly secured connectivity to users worldwide.    More
(Source: TelecomTalk - Dec 5)

CHINA'S SHENZHOU 14 ASTRONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH AFTER HELPING BUILD TIANGONG SPACE STATION - China's Shenzhou 14 astronauts have handed over control of the Tiangong space station and returned to Earth. The return capsule from the mission's Shenzhou spacecraft set down safely after sunset within the Dongfeng landing area in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Sunday (Dec. 4) at around 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT, 8:00 p.m. local time), about nine hours after undocking from the country's recently completed Tiangong space station.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 5)

ASTRONAUTS INSTALL NEW SOLAR ARRAY OUTSIDE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio headed outside the International Space Station Saturday for a seven-hour spacewalk to install and unfurl a new roll-out solar array recently delivered by a SpaceX cargo ship. Cassada and Rubio, both on their first flights to space, began the spacewalk at 7:16 a.m. EST (1216 GMT) Saturday. The start of the excursion was officially marked when the astronauts switch their spacesuits to battery power.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 4)

FCC APPROVES SPACEX’S STARLINK GEN 2 APPLICATION UP TO 7,500 SATELLITES - The FCC approved part of SpaceX’s application for the second generation of the Starlink constellation, which will allow SpaceX to deploy up to 7,500 satellites. The order was a partial approval, because SpaceX had requested approval for 29,988 satellites, and the order also put additional constraints on the system.  The FCC’s partial approval released Dec. 1 worked to strike a balance of approving the system in order to bridge the digital divide, while protecting against orbital debris and spectrum interference and responding to other operators’ concerns.    More
(Source: Via Satellite - Dec 3)

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