STARLINK CLOSE ENCOUNTERS DECREASE DESPITE EVER-GROWING NUMBER OF SATELLITES - SpaceX has reported that the number of close encounters between its satellites and other orbital objects has not increased in the past six months despite the constellation's growth. Space sustainability experts say the development is good news but warn the decrease in avoidance maneuvers is likely just a deviation from what has been a longer-term upward trend.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 16)

MEET THE 4 ASTRONAUTS OF SPACEX'S AX-3 LAUNCH FOR AXIOM SPACE - Houston-based Axiom Space is poised for the company's third private astronaut launch to space. Ax-3 will carry a four-person, all-European crew on a roughly two-week mission to conduct research aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The quartet includes Ax-3 mission commander and former NASA astronaut Michael "LA" López-Alegría, mission specialist Walter Villadei, who also flew aboard Virgin Galactic's Galactic 01 suborbital spaceflight as VIRTUTE 1 mission commander last summer, Turkey's soon-to-be first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut reserve member Marcus Wandt.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 16)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FALCON 9 LAUNCH FOLLOWING SATURDAY NIGHT SCRUB - The second time will be the charm for SpaceX as it was able to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Sunday evening among the clouds. It launched at 8:52 p.m. EST (0152 UTC) on Sunday, Jan. 14, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station following a Saturday night scrub. The company was launching at a rate of about every four days or so from the Cape towards the end of 2023. However, the launch cadence on the East Coast has slowed somewhat with one of the two Florida-based droneships, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ still on the sidelines after it was damaged during a booster recovery in late December.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 15)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 22 STARLINK SATELLITES ON WEST COAST FALCON 9 FLIGHT - SpaceX was finally able to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from California early Sunday morning after a delay caused by high upper-level winds. The launch, carrying 22 Starlink satellites, will add to the more than 5,300 satellites already in orbit. The rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 12:59 a.m. PST (3:59 a.m. EST, 0859 UTC). The launch has already been delayed multiple times, as delay from Thursday was also due to poor weather, according to SpaceX.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 14)

SPACEX SCRUBS LAUNCH FALCON 9 ROCKET ON STARLINK MISSION FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX stood down from its Saturday night Starlink launch attempt. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites is now targeting liftoff at 7:27 p.m. EST (0027 UTC) on Sunday, Jan. 14, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company was launching at a rate of about every four days or so from the Cape towards the end of 2023. However, the launch cadence on the East Coast has slowed somewhat with one of the two Florida-based droneships, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ still on the sidelines after it was damaged during a booster recovery in late December.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 14)

TIANZHOU-6 CARGO SPACECRAFT SEPARATES FROM CHINA SPACE STATION - China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-6 separated from the orbiting station combination at 4:02 p.m. Beijing Time on Friday and switched to independent flight, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMS). The spacecraft will re-enter the atmosphere as most of the components will be burned up and few remains will fall into a designated safe zone in the southern Pacific Ocean.   More
(Source: CGTN - Jan 13)

JAPAN'S 1ST LAUNCH OF 2024 SENDS SPY SATELLITE TO ORBIT - Japan's first launch of 2024 is in the books. An H-2A rocket topped with a reconnaissance satellite called IGS Optical 8 lifted off from Tanegashima Space Center on Thursday (Jan. 11) at 11:44 p.m. EST (0444 GMT and 1:44 p.m. local Japan time on Jan. 12). Everything went smoothly, according to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which built and operates the H-2A.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 13)

EUROPE CONSIDERS LAUNCHING COPERNICUS SATELLITE ON FALCON 9 - Europe may shift the launch of a Copernicus Earth observation satellite to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 to avoid further delays in getting it into orbit. At a press briefing Jan. 11, Simonetta Cheli, director of Earth observation at the European Space Agency, said the agency and the European Commission will decide in the near future whether to switch the Sentinel-1C radar imaging satellite from Vega C to Falcon 9.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 13)

ORIENSPACE BREAKS CHINESE COMMERCIAL LAUNCH RECORDS WITH GRAVITY-1 SOLID ROCKET - A young Chinese launch startup has reached orbit with its Gravity-1 all-solid launch vehicle, smashing the record for payload capacity for Chinese commercial rockets. Orienspace’s Gravity-1 rocket lifted off from Defu-15002 mobile sea platform in the Yellow Sea at 12:30 a.m. Eastern (0530 UTC) Jan. 11. Ignition of the solid rocket motors produced large plumes of exhaust, with debris visibly falling into the sea as the rocket climbed into the sky. The firm confirmed launch success shortly after.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 12)

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