IRAN SATELLITE LAUNCH FROM RUSSIA FUELS FEARS OVER MOSCOW-TEHRAN TIES - An Iranian satellite is to be launched into space from Russia on Thursday, Tehran’s information and communications minister has announced. The Pars 1 carries a 15-meter camera enabling it to send high-resolution images of surface locations from its orbit 500km above the earth. The launch aboard a Soyuz rocket will raise fresh concerns about the deepening security alliance between Moscow and Tehran.   More
(Source: iranintl.com - Feb 28)

RADAR IMAGES REVEAL DAMAGE ON EUROPE'S DOOMED ERS-2 SATELLITE DURING FINAL ORBITS - The European Space Agency has released images showing some of the final orbits experienced by a European satellite before its fiery reintroduction to Earth's atmosphere. The school-bus-sized European Remote Sensing (ERS-2) satellite reentered our planet's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 21, almost 29 years after its launch in April 1995. The Tracking and Imaging Radar (TIRA) at the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR in Germany observed the spacecraft in the days and hours ahead of its demise.   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 28)

SPACEX, NASA 'GO' TO LAUNCH CREW-8 ASTRONAUT MISSION TO ISS ON MARCH 1 - SpaceX and NASA are officially go to launch their next astronaut mission to International Space Station (ISS) this week, with its four-person crew arriving at their Florida launch site on Sunday (Feb. 25). Called Crew-8, the upcoming SpaceX mission will launch four astronauts into orbit on the Dragon capsule Endeavour and Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Liftoff is scheduled for March 1 at 12:04 a.m. EST (0504 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 27)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 24 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA - SpaceX launched 24 of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida on Sunday (Feb. 25), on the company's 18th mission of 2024. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 5:06 p.m. EST (2206 GMT). The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. It made a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.   More
(Source: Yahoo News - Feb 26)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH 24 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM FLORIDA ON SUNDAY - SpaceX plans to launch 24 of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida on Sunday (Feb. 25), on the company's 18th mission of 2024 already. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Sunday during a four-hour window that opens at 4:34 p.m. EST (2134 GMT).   More
(Source: Space.com - Feb 25)

CHINA LAUNCHES CLASSIFIED MILITARY SATELLITE TOWARDS GEOSTATIONARY BELT - China launched the TJS-11classified satellite early Friday as the country continues to build its geostationary capabilities. A Long March 5 lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island at 6:30 a.m. Eastern (1130 UTC), Feb. 23. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., (CASC), announced launch success just under an hour after launch. The announcement also provided the first official statement on the payload: TJS-11 (Tongxin Jishu Shiyan-11). The satellite is described as being mainly used to carry out multi-band, high-speed satellite communication technology verification.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Feb 24)

SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES 22 STARLINK SATELLITES FROM CALIFORNIA - A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the West Coast with another batch of 22 Starlink satellites at 8:11 p.m. PST Thursday (11:11 p.m. EST / 0411 UTC). The Starlink 7-15 mission roared away from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the first launch opportunity of the day, heading on a south-easterly trajectory, targeting a 184×178 mile (296×287 km) orbit, inclined at 53 degrees to the equator.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 24)

EXPEDITION 70 RELAXES AS SPACEX CREW-8 PREPS FOR LAUNCH - The seven-member Expedition 70 crew relaxed on Friday following a busy week of space research and cargo transfers beginning a three-day weekend. The orbital septet will go into the final days of February continuing its microgravity science while also preparing to welcome four new Commercial Crew members to the International Space Station.   More
(Source: NASA - Feb 24)

OLD EUROPEAN SATELLITE PLUNGES HARMLESSLY THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE PACIFIC - An old Earth-observing satellite fell out of orbit Wednesday and harmlessly broke apart over the Pacific. The European Remote Sensing 2 satellite reentered halfway between Hawaii and Alaska. The European Space Agency confirmed the demise of the 5,000-pound (2,300-kilogram) spacecraft, known as ERS-2. No damage or injuries were reported. Experts had expected most of the satellite to burn up.   More
(Source: AP News - Feb 23)

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