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A Chinese launch of three broadband satellites capped off a record year. A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 7:13 p.m. Eastern Friday, placing three satellites into low Earth orbit. The three spacecraft are test satellites, likely for China's national Guowang LEO broadband megaconstellation project. The launch was the last of 2023, which saw more than 220 orbital launch attempts worldwide, eclipsing the record of 186 set in 2022. [SpaceNews]
India conducted the first launch of the new year, placing an X-ray astronomy satellite into orbit. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 10:40 p.m. Eastern Sunday, which was Monday morning, Jan. 1, in India. It deployed into low Earth orbit XPoSat, a satellite with instruments to conduct X-ray polarization observations of black holes, neutron stars and other objects. The head of the Indian space agency ISRO said after the launch that 2024 will be the "year of Gaganyaan," India's human spaceflight program, with several uncrewed test launches planned. Neither ISRO nor NASA have provided updates on a goal announced last year to fly an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024. [SpaceNews]
One of Spain's biggest defense contractors may buy a stake in satellite operator Hispasat. A Spanish newspaper reported last week that Indra is considering selling off $880 million in assets to fund a purchase of part of Hispasat, whose current majority owner is Spanish power company Red Eléctrica. Taking a stake in Hispasat would help Indra play a role in IRIS², Europe's planned sovereign broadband constellation currently out for bids. Separately, Hispasat announced last month that Pedro Duque, a former Spanish minister of science and innovation and former ESA astronaut, would take over as president of the company. [SpaceNews]
The first satellite for a second planned Chinese low Earth orbit communications megaconstellation has been produced in new facilities in Shanghai. The flat-panel satellite rolled off the assembly line at the G60 digital satellite production factory last week, Chinese media reported. The satellite is part of the G60 Starlink constellation, 108 of which are expected to launch this year out of a full constellation of 12,000. G60 Starlink is separate from the Guowang constellation, and it is unclear which, if any, megaconstellation will take primacy according to Chinese national policy. [SpaceNews]
NASA is pressing ahead with the development of a multibillion-dollar Earth science program despite budgetary concerns. At town hall sessions during the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union last month, NASA officials said the first four missions of its Earth System Observatory are moving ahead, with launches planned in the late 2020s into the early 2030s. The missions are intended to implement the five "designated observables" recommended by the Earth Science Decadal Survey in 2018. Carrying out those missions requires an increase in the agency's overall Earth science budget, which is uncertain given House and Senate bills that provide NASA will less funding than requested. [SpaceNews]
| | Other News
SpaceX conducted static-fire tests Friday of both stages of its next Starship vehicle. The company fired all 33 engines in the Super Heavy booster and a single engine in the Starship upper stage, the latter demonstrating what SpaceX called a "flight-like startup for an in-space burn." Both vehicles are being prepared for the third integrated test flight of Starship. That launch has not been scheduled and will depend not just on the technical readiness of the booster but also on the completion of the investigation into the second test flight in November. [Space.com]
North Korea plans to launch three more reconnaissance satellites this year. North Korean media announced Sunday the intent to launch those satellites after the successful launch of a reconnaissance satellite in November. That came after two failed launches earlier last year. Those reports provided no details on the capabilities of those satellites. [Yonhap]
Russia is considering developing two lunar landers for the price of one and a third. Yuri Borisov, the head of Roscosmos, said last week that he was studying a proposal by the Russian Academy of Sciences to build two Luna-27 landers rather than one to "multiply the efficiency" of the overall mission. A Russian official said that building a duplicate lander would increase the cost by only 30-35% because of savings in design and testing. Luna-27, slated for late this decade, will attempt to land in the south polar regions of the moon. [TASS]
The first coin minted in 2024 celebrates Australia's space program. The $1 coin, released Monday by the Royal Australian Mint, showcases Australia's achievements in space, from satellite launches to support for the Apollo 11 moon landing. It is also intended to highlight what Australian officials say will be a major year for space in the country. [Australian Broadcasting Corp.]
Eddie Bernice Johnson, a former congresswoman who chaired the House Science Committee, died Sunday at the age of 88. A Democrat from Dallas, Johnson spent 30 years in the House, becoming chair of the House Science Committee, whose oversight includes NASA, in 2019. She was the first Black woman to lead the committee. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called her "a champion for STEM and NASA" in a statement. [Dallas Morning News]
| | The Week Ahead
Tuesday: - Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites at 9:13 p.m. Eastern.
Wednesday: - Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled launch of a Falcon 9 carrying the Ovzon-3 communications satellite at 6:04 p.m. Eastern.
Friday: - Jiuquan, China: Projected launch of a Kuaizhou 1A carrying four Tianmu-1 commercial weather satellites at 5 a.m. Eastern.
- Online: The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies hosts a webinar with Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Operations, Cyber, and Nuclear at the U.S. Space Force, at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Saturday-Sunday: Monday, Jan. 8: - Cape Canaveral, Fla.: Scheduled inaugural launch of the Vulcan Centaur carrying Astrobotic's Peregine lunar lander at 2:18 a.m. Eastern.
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