2025 WILL BE A YEAR OF SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS FOR CLIMATE MONITORING SATELLITES - As satellite technology rapidly evolves and new uses for satellite data emerge, its promise to transform environmental management grows. Today, several key trends are shaping how satellite data is used to tackle environmental challenges. Yet, as promising as they appear, they still face significant hurdles. The road to broader adoption of satellite data to yield meaningful environmental impact is more complex than it seems, and industry insiders remain cautious about the immediate potential of these technologies.   More
(Source: SpaceNews - Dec 31)

SPACEX TO LAUNCH ITS LAST FALCON 9 ROCKET OF 2024 ON NEW YEAR'S EVE - SpaceX is preparing to launch its last mission of the year. A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 21 Starlink broadband internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, is poised to lift off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday (Dec. 31). The one-hour launch window opens at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT). A live webcast of Tuesday's mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on SpaceX’s website and on the social media network X.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 31)

ASTRANIS LAUNCHES 4 MICROGEO SATELLITES ON DEDICATED FALCON 9 MISSION - Four Astranis MicroGEO satellites are on their way to orbit after a dedicated SpaceX launch early Sunday. SpaceX launched the four satellites to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:00 a.m. ET on Dec. 29. Astranis confirmed post-launch that it has control of all four spacecraft.   More
(Source: Via Satellite - Dec 31)

WATCH INDIA LAUNCH 2 SATELLITES ON A SPACE DOCKING TEST FLIGHT ON DEC. 30 - India will launch an ambitious space docking test flight on Monday (Dec. 30) that could set the stage for a future mission to the moon. The India Space Research Organisation will launch the two small satellites of its Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) atop an Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on Monday. Liftoff is set for 11:30 a.m. EST (10 p.m. IST, 1628 GMT) from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 30)

SPACEX LAUNCHES 4 ASTRANIS SATELLITES ON FALCON 9 ROCKET FROM CAPE CANAVERAL - Following a rare pad abort on Dec. 21, SpaceX launched four satellites to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at midnight on Sunday morning. Prior to the mission moving forward, the company had to swap the first stage booster for another. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) happened at 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC) on Sunday, Dec. 29.   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 30)

SPACEX LAUNCHES FINAL 2024 MISSION FROM VANDENBERG - SpaceX completed its first of three planned Falcon 9 launches before the end of year. The trio began with a Starlink mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The Starlink 11-3 mission added another 22 V2 Mini satellites to the megaconstellation in low Earth orbit. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 5:58:30 p.m. PST (8:58:30 p.m. EST, 0158:30 UTC).   More
(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Dec 29)

WATCH SPACEX ATTEMPT TO LAUNCH 4 ASTRANIS SATELLITES FOR THE 2ND TIME TONIGHT AFTER ABORT - SpaceX will make a new attempt to launch a miniature fleet of communications satellites overnight tonight and you'll be able to watch it live online. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch four "MicroGEO" satellites for the company Astranis from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is set for 12 a.m. EST (0500 GMT) on Sunday. You can watch the launch on SpaceX's X account and mission page starting about 15 minutes before liftoff.   More
(Source: Space.com - Dec 29)

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FINISHES CHALLENGING YEAR AS PLANS ARE MADE FOR ITS RETIREMENT - The International Space Station continues to act as humanity’s outpost in low-Earth orbit, a role that began at the turn of this century. However, the ISS is showing its age and plans are being advanced for its retirement around 2030. Several events on the Station in 2024 underlined just how the ISS program was dealing with several challenges.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Dec 28)

CHINA BUILDS LARGE COMMERCIAL RADAR SATELLITE CONSTELLATION - The large-scale application of a Chinese commercial radar remote sensing constellation composed of 12 satellites began on Monday, according to PIESAT, a Beijing-based satellite firm. The announcement came after four PIESAT-2 satellites, which were launched into a 528-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit last week, were calibrated and successfully transmitted high-resolution images and data back to Earth.   More
(Source: Space Daily - Dec 28)

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