CHINA LAUNCHES 2 SETS OF COMMERCIAL WEATHER SATELLITES IN 3-DAY SPAN - Late last month, China launched two clusters of small satellites to provide commercial meteorological data. Two separate Kuaizhou 1A solid rockets lifted off from transport erector launchers at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 8:00 p.m. EST on Dec. 24 (0100 GMT and 9:00 a.m. Beijing time on Dec. 25) and 1:50 a.m. EST (0650 GMT, or 2:50 p.m. Beijing time) on Dec. 27.    More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 5)

SPACEX FALCON 9 LAUNCHES OVZON-3 SATELLITE, KICKING OFF LAUNCH YEAR AT THE CAPE - The orbital launch year in Florida began in the same way it ended 2023: with the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. On board the workhorse launch vehicle was a communications satellite for Sweden-based Ovzon. Liftoff of the rocket happened at the opening of a ten-minute launch window that began at 6:04 p.m. EST (2304 UTC). It marked the second Falcon 9 flight in less than 24 hours, following the launch of 21 Starlink satellites from California late Tuesday.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 4)

SPACEX’S FIRST FALCON 9 LAUNCH OF 2024 FEATURES FIRST 6 DIRECT-TO-CELL STARLINK SATELLITES - SpaceX is wasting no time in kicking off what it plans to be a historically busy year for orbital launches. The company launched its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket on a Starlink satellite mission Tuesday night. Liftoff occurred at 7:44 p.m. PST (10:44 p.m. EST, 0344 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Among the 21 Starlink satellites launching Tuesday evening were the first six that will feature direct-to-cell capabilities.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Jan 3)

NASA AND RUSSIA WILL KEEP LAUNCHING EACH OTHER'S ASTRONAUTS TO ISS UNTIL 2025 - NASA and Russia have agreed to keep launching American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts on each other's spacecraft, media reports suggest. Roscosmos announced both it and NASA will continue the International Space Station launches with each other's crew members through at least 2025, "to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole," according to multiple reports including the Moscow Times.   More
(Source: Space.com - Jan 3)

INDIA LAUNCHES X-RAY ASTRONOMY SATELLITE - India launched an astronomy satellite to start a year that will feature key tests for its human spaceflight program and a potential joint crewed mission with NASA. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 10:40 p.m. Eastern Dec. 31 (9:10 a.m. local Jan. 1) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It deployed its primary payload, the XPoSat spacecraft, into a 650-kilometer orbit about 22 minutes later.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Jan 2)

ISRO TO USHER IN 2024 WITH LAUNCH OF DEDICATED SCIENTIFIC SATELLITE TO STUDY BLACK HOLES - ISRO is set to welcome the new year with the launch of its first X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite that would offer insights into celestial objects like black holes, onboard a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket on Monday. The launch comes after the success of its Gaganyaan Test Vehicle D1 mission in October. The PSLV-C58 rocket, in its 60th mission, would carry primary payload XPoSat and 10 other satellites to be deployed in low earth orbits.   More
(Source: The Indian Express - Jan 1)

CHINA LAUNCHES TEST SATELLITE FOR SATELLITE INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES - China on Saturday launched a test satellite for satellite internet technologies from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The satellite was launched by a Long March-2C carrier rocket at 8:13 a.m. (Beijing Time), and successfully entered its preset orbit. It was the 505th flight mission of the Long March carrier rocket series.   More
(Source: Xinhua - Dec 31)

FIRST SATELLITE FOR CHINESE G60 MEGACONSTELLATION ROLLS OFF ASSEMBLY LINE - The first satellite for a second planned Chinese low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has been produced in new facilities in Shanghai. A new generation flat-panel satellite rolled off the assembly at the G60 digital satellite production factory in Shanghai’s Songjiang District Tuesday, Dec. 27, according to Chinese press reports. The satellite is the first for the G60 Starlink low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation. An initial 108 satellites of a total of around 12,000 G60 Starlink satellites are to be launched across 2024.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 31)

NORTH KOREA TO LAUNCH NEW SATELLITES, BUILD DRONES AS IT WARNS WAR INEVITABLE - North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said U.S. policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday. Kim lashed out at Washington in lengthy remarks wrapping up five days of ruling party meetings that set economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.   More
(Source: Reuters - Dec 31)

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