CANADIAN RADAR SATELLITES TO HELP UKRAINE FIGHT OFF RUSSIAN INVASION - A Canadian aerospace company is doing its part to help Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion. The Canadian government has granted MDA permission to collect satellite imagery of restricted areas of Ukraine using synthetic aperture radar (SAR), the Ontario-based company announced on Tuesday (March 8).   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 12)

OMNIBUS BILL CUTS FUNDING FOR FUTURE WEATHER SATELLITES - Appropriators cut funding for a new generation of weather satellites while increasing funding for the Office of Space Commerce for fiscal year 2022. The omnibus spending bill for fiscal year 2022, passed by the House late March 9 and scheduled to be taken up by the Senate in the next few days, trimmed spending for development of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellites, from the requested level of $1.68 billion to $1.29 billion.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Mar 11)

NASA TO AIR BRIEFING, SPACEWALKS TO UPGRADE SPACE STATION - Crew members from International Space Station Expedition 66 will conduct two spacewalks Tuesday, March 15, and Wednesday, March 23, to continue upgrades to the orbiting laboratory. NASA will discuss the upcoming spacewalks during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, March 14. Live coverage of the news conference and spacewalks will air on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.   More
(Source: NASA - Mar 11)

NASA ORDERS 3 MORE SPACEX CREW DRAGON FLIGHTS TO SPACE STATION - NASA has awarded a nearly $3.5 billion contract to SpaceX to provide three additional Crew Dragon launches to the International Space Station. The contract covers missions Crew-7, Crew-8 and Crew-9, but NASA says it might order more crew launches in the future. SpaceX began flying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in 2020, marking the end of a long drought in which NASA had no direct access to the orbiting laboratory after retiring its space shuttle fleet in 2011.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 10)

SPACEX LAUNCHES STARLINK SATELLITES ON 'AMERICAN BROOMSTICK' AND LANDS ROCKET AT SEA - SpaceX successfully launched a new batch of Starlink internet satellites on Wednesday (March 9), marking the company's 10th launch in as many weeks. A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched 48 Starlink satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8:45 a.m. EST (1545 GMT). The rocket's first stage then returned to Earth for a smooth touchdown at sea on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.   More
(Source: Space.com - Mar 9)

LONG MARCH ROCKET DEPLOYS SIX CHINESE INTERNET SATELLITES - Six demonstration satellites for a future Chinese broadband internet mega-constellation launched March 5 on a Long March 2C rocket. The six satellites, manufactured and owned by a Beijing-based company named Galaxy Space, will test broadband data relays, in-space networking, and integrated remote sensing and communications technologies. Galaxy Space said the systems tested on the six new Yinhe 2 satellites could lay the groundwork for a future “mega-constellation” of internet satellites.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Mar 9)

IRAN CARRIES OUT MILITARY LAUNCH WITH QASED ROCKET AND NOOR-2 SATELLITE - Iran’s military carried out a successful launch of their Qased rocket Tuesday, placing the Noor-2 satellite into orbit. The mission, which was only announced after spacecraft deployment, is the first Iranian launch to reach orbit in almost two years. Noor-2 is the second in a series of small satellites operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the country’s armed forces. It follows on from the Noor-1 spacecraft, launched in 2020, which was Iran’s first dedicated military satellite.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Mar 9)

RUSSIA RELEASES BIZARRE VIDEO OF SPACE STATION BREAKING APART, WHAT EXACTLY... ARE THEY SUGGESTING? - We’re not exactly sure what Russia’s space agency head Dmitry Rogozin is threatening the US with, but he certainly seems to be alluding to… something. A bizarre new video posted by state controlled media RIA Novosti showed the International Space Station breaking apart in an artist rendering after Russian cosmonauts bid adieu. NASA Watch, a space news blog, tweeted the video with some important context earlier today. It’s accompanied by some kind of ironic classical singing?   More
(Source: Futurism - Mar 7)

NORTH KOREA CONFIRMS NEW TESTS ON SPY SATELLITE - North Korea performed data transmission and other key tests needed to develop a spy satellite, state media said Sunday, in the second such tests in about a week, indicating the country intends to conduct a prohibited long-range rocket launch soon. The moves come as North Korea has been carrying out a spate of ballistic missile launches - including one detected by its neighbors on Saturday - in what experts call an attempt to add new weapons systems to its arsenal and pressure the United States into making concessions amid stalled diplomacy.   More
(Source: - Mar 7)

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