MUSK CALLS FOR DEORBITING ISS “AS SOON AS POSSIBLE” - SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk said that NASA should deorbit the International Space Station “as soon as possible,” preferably in the next two years, to focus on missions to Mars. The sudden call by Musk to end the ISS years earlier than NASA currently plans, made on social media Feb. 20, t... More (Source: SpaceNews - Feb 21)
NEW TECHNOLOGY WILL HELP SATELLITES AVOID COLLISIONS IN SPACE - Space is becoming more crowded every day, with over 11,000 active satellites and nearly 40,000 pieces of debris in low Earth orbit. But Los Alamos National Laboratory has just demonstrated a new, patented technology called Extremely Low Resource Optical Identifier, or ELROI, that gives the space res... More (Source: Los Alamos National Laboratory - Feb 21)
MUSK SAYS US ASTRONAUTS ARE STRANDED ON SPACE STATION FOR ‘POLITICAL REASONS’—AS THEY REJECT CLAIM - Elon Musk suggested the two U.S. astronauts who have been on the International Space Station since June last year—due to safety issues with their return vessel, the Boeing Starliner—were left abandoned there for “political reasons,” reiterating a claim originally made by President Donald Tru... More (Source: Forbes - Feb 20)
GLOBALSTAR DETAILS NEXT-GENERATION LEO CONSTELLATION IN FCC FILING - Globalstar detailed plans for its next-generation Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation to support Apple satellite connectivity in a filing this week to the FCC. Globalstar said in the filing it has been working on the new satellite system, called C-3, since October 2023. Last week, Globalstar ann... More (Source: Via Satellite - Feb 20)
SPACEX STICKS FIRST FALCON 9 BOOSTER LANDING IN THE BAHAMAS - SpaceX notched another spaceflight record as it completed the first orbital flight that featured a liftoff in one country and one in another. A little more than eight minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the Falcon 9 rocket booster landed on the droneship, ��... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 19)
ROCKET LAB LAUNCHES BLACKSKY GEN-3 SATELLITE ON 60TH ELECTRON FLIGHT - Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) completed its second Electron rocket of the month and its 60th to date. The flight carried with it the first of BlackSky’s Gen-3 Earth imaging and analytics gathering satellites. Liftoff of the mission, dubbed ‘Fasten Your Space Belts,’ from Launch Complex 1 in Mah... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 19)
CAPELLA SPACE EYES LATE 2026 FOR NEXT-GENERATION SATELLITE DEPLOYMENT - Capella Space plans to start deploying its next-generation satellites late next year as it looks to expand from its traditional X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) collection to other missions. “We will move beyond SAR,” Capella Space CEO Frank Backes said Feb. 16 on the sidelines of the In... More (Source: Aviation Week - Feb 18)
THE SPACE STATIONS THAT COULD REPLACE THE ISS - The International Space Station (ISS) is approaching the end of its operational life. NASA has committed to operating the ISS through 2030, after which plans are in place for its decommissioning. NASA has contracted SpaceX to perform a "controlled reentry" by steering the station into a descent t... More (Source: Newsweek - Feb 17)
IRAN TO LAUNCH MICRO-CLASS SATELLITE - Iran is taking a significant step toward reaching geosynchronous orbit with the upcoming launch of its communications satellite, "Navak," which weighs 40 kilograms. Set to be launched by an upgraded Simorgh rocket, the mission is a milestone in the nation's space industry, signaling a major leap ... More (Source: Mehr News Agency - Feb 17)
'SAILING' SATELLITES OF THE FUTURE COULD PROVIDE EARLY WARNING OF DANGEROUS SPACE WEATHER - Solar sails that allow satellites to glide on the light from the sun could soon become a reality. The technology would allow scientists to provide earlier warnings of space weather events such as geomagnetic storms, which have the potential to disrupt technological systems on Earth. "A lot of ... More (Source: Space.com - Feb 17)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 rocket with 21 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on board early Saturday morning. The flight featured a first stage booster flying for a record 26th time. This was the 14th launch of 2025 with Starlink satellites onboard. Liftoff of the Starlink 12-8 mission from pad 40 at Ca... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 15)
MYRIOTA EXPANDS IOT CONSTELLATION WITH FOUR NEW SATELLITES - Myriota added four new Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) nanosatellites to its global Internet of Things (IoT) constellation through its partnership with Spire, Myriota announced Feb. 13. SpaceX launched the satellites on the Transporter-12 mission on Jan. 14. The satellites will add capacity for Myriota’s... More (Source: Via Satellite - Feb 14)
VAST SPACE STATION QUALIFICATION ARTICLE PASSES MAJOR MILESTONE - Vast is one step closer to launching its first private commercial space station. The company recently completed testing of its Haven-1 qualification article in Mojave, California, and reported that it successfully passed its tests. The company’s current goal is to launch the flight article aboard ... More (Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Feb 13)
NASA ANNOUNCES NEW LAUNCH DATE FOR CREW-10, SWAP OF SPACEX DRAGON SPACECRAFT FOLLOWING CONSTRUCTION DELAYS - NASA has a new launch date for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station. The move comes after the agency decided to replace a brand new Dragon spacecraft with a previously flown capsule. NASA astronaut and mission commander Anne McClain will lead two other astronauts and a Ru... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 13)
NASA-SPACEX CAPSULE SWITCH POISED TO BRING STARLINER ASTRONAUTS HOME DAYS SOONER - NASA on Tuesday swapped out the astronaut capsule it plans to use for an upcoming routine flight to the International Space Station, a scheduling move that will allow a slightly earlier return for two Starliner astronauts who have been on the station far longer than expected. The U.S. space agency ... More (Source: Reuters - Feb 12)
NASA, SPACEX INVITE MEDIA TO WATCH CREW-10 LAUNCH TO SPACE STATION - Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA’s 10th rotational mission of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, carrying astronauts to the International Space Station for a science expedition. The agency’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission is targeting launch on Wednesday, March 12, from La... More (Source: NASA - Feb 12)
SPACEX ROCKET LAUNCHES 21 STARLINK SATELLITES INTO ORBIT, THEN LANDS AT SEA - A SpaceX rocket launched a new batch of Starlink satellites into orbit on Tuesday (Feb. 11) as the spaceflight company's space-based internet service begins direct-to-cell service with T-Mobile. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried 21 Starlink satellites into space from Space Launch Complex 40 at t... More (Source: Space.com - Feb 12)
HOW TO WATCH NASA'S 1ST TWITCH STREAM FROM THE ISS THIS WEEK - The ISS is coming to Twitch. On Wednesday (Feb. 12), NASA will host its first Twitch stream from the International Space Station (ISS), giving viewers the chance to ask NASA astronauts questions in real time, while they orbit Earth some 250 miles (402 km) from our planet's surface.... More (Source: Space.com - Feb 11)
SPACEX LAUNCHES 23 STARLINK SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CALIFORNIA - SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket its latest batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Monday evening. The company stood down from a launch attempt on Sunday, but didn’t provide a reason for the change. Additionally, it delayed the liftoff of the Starlink 11-10 mi... More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Feb 11)
