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Launch Spotlight: Virgin Orbit’s first 2022 launch of its LauncherOne vehicle

After becoming a publically traded company last week, Richard Branson’s commercial launch provider, Virgin Orbit, is preparing for its first launch of 2022. Onboard will be four payloads from both civil and commercial entities. Continuing on with fun names Virgin Orbit has given its mission, this one is called “Above the Clouds.”

Launch Date: Wednesday, January 12, ~5:00 p.m. EST (Takeoff: ~4:00 p.m. EST)

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX set to launch third Transporter mission

Thursday morning SpaceX is preparing to launch another Transporter rideshare mission. This will take off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will feature a booster landing at Landing Zone 1, also located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Launch Date: Thursday, January 13, 10:25 a.m. EST

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Sierra Space shows off full-size Dream Chaser mockup at CES 2022

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has officially begun today, and alongside the electric snowmobiles and smart home gadgets is a display product that is unlikely to enter your home any time soon.

Sierra Space is at CES 2022 showing off the company’s Dream Chaser space plane and LIFE habitat, which will both be vital to the company’s Orbital Reef space station.

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How to track James Webb Space Telescope, mission timeline

Currently, more than 35,000 miles away, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is cruising through space on the way to its 1 million mile parking spot above the Earth. It will take the space telescope almost a month to complete orbital insertion. Here’s how you can track its way there.

FINAL UPDATE (1/31): James Webb is now fully deployed and orbiting in L2. The space telescope will spend the next few months commissioning and testing before taking its first photograph. Last week, NASA announced that Webb will point at HD 84406, a sun-like star 241 light-years away, to focus and align its mirrors in preparation for the moment we’ve been waiting for. Don’t hold your breath though, the mirror alignment process is very slow and tedious. We don’t expect James Webbs to take its first shot of the cosmos until around May 2022.

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SpaceX Falcon 9 booster & octograbber damaged during recovery

SpaceX’s CRS-24 mission seemingly went off without a hitch. The company launched a cargo Dragon Capsule to the International Space Station for NASA, and the new booster, B1069, landed on Just Read the Instructions out in the Atlantic Ocean for the 100th successful landing of an orbital rocket booster. The booster sitting on JRTI seemed as if it took a slightly heavier-than-normal landing, but otherwise, all seemed well. It was known that the ocean weather wasn’t ideal, with a moderate rating, but there were still no major signs of issues… yet.

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Interview with KSC director of center planning on Starship at LC-49

starship launch

Space fans have long anticipated SpaceX’s next rocket, Starship. While, to this point, most of the early development and testing has taken place in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX intends to launch Starship from Florida. We recently learned that, in addition to the LC-39A, SpaceX would like to use LC-49 to launch and land Starship Super Heavy vehicles.

We had the opportunity to speak with Tom Engler, the director of center planning & development at Kennedy Space Center.

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Launch Spotlight: Arianespace to launch NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on an Ariane 5 rocket

This weekend Arianespace will be entrusted to launch NASA’s most expensive and new flagship space telescope. The James Webb Space Telescope launch will be one of the biggest butt-puckering events of Webb’s deployment. The feeling will stay for the following months as the rest of the systems come online and parts of the telescope attempt to deploy. Learn everything about the launch below.

Launch Date: Saturday, December 25, 7:20 a.m. EST

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Crypto-entrepreneur won Blue Origin auction: Could you be 1 of 5 to join his flight to space?

Back in June, Blue Origin’s auction for a seat on the first crewed flight of New Shepard ended with a $28 million bid. Yet as the first flight came around the winner was not announced. Instead, 18 year old Oliver Daemon joined the first flight and became the youngest person to fly in space.

Blue Origin only said that ‘scheduling issues’ stopped the auction winner from participating in the flight, but did not reveal the winner’s identity. Now the winner has been revealed as H.E. Justin Sun, and five people will be invited to join him on his journey to space.

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Launch Spotlight: SpaceX to launch 24th resupply mission to the International Space Station

This week SpaceX is preparing for its next mission to space, this time a cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s CRS-24 will launch the company’s Dragon 2 spacecraft to the ISS and take additional food, experiments, and other supplies to the current crew. Two notable studies will be a protein crystal growth study for possible future cancer treatments drugs and a handheld bioprinter that could one day heal wounds.

Date: Tuesday, December 21, 5:06 a.m. EST

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