2026-003: LAUNCH at 2141 UTC Jan 9 of Starlink Group 6-96 from Canaveral
January 9, 2026 at 9:47 PM
2026-003: LAUNCH at 2141 UTC Jan 9 of Starlink Group 6-96 from Canaveral
It appears that the Soyuz launch on Dec 28 had a problem on the 6th Fregat burn. The Marafon payloads were deployed in the wrong orbit, and the Fregat did not complete its deorbit burn. There was also some kind of issue with the deployment of Iran's Paya sat.
January 9, 2026 at 8:13 PM
It appears that the Soyuz launch on Dec 28 had a problem on the 6th Fregat burn. The Marafon payloads were deployed in the wrong orbit, and the Fregat did not complete its deorbit burn. There was also some kind of issue with the deployment of Iran's Paya sat.
Reposted by Jonathan McDowell
Now that I can take a breath, I'm SUPER EXCITED we can share that NASA's first Pioneer-class mission, Pandora, is launching this weekend, January 11, at 5:19am!!! I was the Mission Archive Scientist on the proposal, and the NASA Exoplanet Archive will host the mission data.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/
NASA Scientific Visualization Studio | NASA’s Pandora Satellite to Explore Exoplanets and Stars
Artist’s concept of NASA’s Pandora mission, which will help scientists untangle the signals from exoplanets’ atmospheres — worlds beyond our solar system — and their stars.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space...
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov
January 9, 2026 at 7:10 PM
Now that I can take a breath, I'm SUPER EXCITED we can share that NASA's first Pioneer-class mission, Pandora, is launching this weekend, January 11, at 5:19am!!! I was the Mission Archive Scientist on the proposal, and the NASA Exoplanet Archive will host the mission data.
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14945/
V1.2 of my 2025 report at planet4589.org/space/papers... has enhanced Appendix 2 with the 'don't know which sat is which catalog number' cases indicated by a '?'; updated to mention there's an issue with launch 2025-313
planet4589.org
January 9, 2026 at 8:11 PM
V1.2 of my 2025 report at planet4589.org/space/papers... has enhanced Appendix 2 with the 'don't know which sat is which catalog number' cases indicated by a '?'; updated to mention there's an issue with launch 2025-313
Some questions at the press conference were not answered very clearly by NASA:
- did the affected astronaut agree that return was sensible, or did they get all right-stuffy and want to soldier on?
- does 'stable' mean working as normal doing regular duties on ISS, or are they on floaty bed rest?
- did the affected astronaut agree that return was sensible, or did they get all right-stuffy and want to soldier on?
- does 'stable' mean working as normal doing regular duties on ISS, or are they on floaty bed rest?
January 8, 2026 at 11:22 PM
Some questions at the press conference were not answered very clearly by NASA:
- did the affected astronaut agree that return was sensible, or did they get all right-stuffy and want to soldier on?
- does 'stable' mean working as normal doing regular duties on ISS, or are they on floaty bed rest?
- did the affected astronaut agree that return was sensible, or did they get all right-stuffy and want to soldier on?
- does 'stable' mean working as normal doing regular duties on ISS, or are they on floaty bed rest?
And actually there's one other case: on Mir EO-2 in 1987, Aleksandr Laveykin had a minor cardiac issue, later dismissed as not really a problem; he was transferred from the long stay crew and returned to Earth aboard a scheduled visiting crew ferry
January 8, 2026 at 11:16 PM
And actually there's one other case: on Mir EO-2 in 1987, Aleksandr Laveykin had a minor cardiac issue, later dismissed as not really a problem; he was transferred from the long stay crew and returned to Earth aboard a scheduled visiting crew ferry
As pointed out to me - there was one other case: Soyuz-21 came home early in 1976 when Vitaliy Zholobov got ill aboard the Almaz OPS-3 (Salyut-5) military space station.
In 1985, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Vasyutin got sick aboard the Salyut-7 space station and the Soyuz T-14 crew were brought home early. This was the only time something like this happened prior to the current Crew-11 incident.
January 8, 2026 at 11:01 PM
As pointed out to me - there was one other case: Soyuz-21 came home early in 1976 when Vitaliy Zholobov got ill aboard the Almaz OPS-3 (Salyut-5) military space station.
Takeways from the presser: a 'serious medical condition' in which 'crew came to the aid of their colleague right away'. Now stable. 'Not enough equipment to diagnose'. 'Emergency deorbit' is one option available, but instead chose 'controlled med. evac.' on a less rushed timeline.
January 8, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Takeways from the presser: a 'serious medical condition' in which 'crew came to the aid of their colleague right away'. Now stable. 'Not enough equipment to diagnose'. 'Emergency deorbit' is one option available, but instead chose 'controlled med. evac.' on a less rushed timeline.
In 1985, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Vasyutin got sick aboard the Salyut-7 space station and the Soyuz T-14 crew were brought home early. This was the only time something like this happened prior to the current Crew-11 incident.
January 8, 2026 at 10:48 PM
In 1985, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Vasyutin got sick aboard the Salyut-7 space station and the Soyuz T-14 crew were brought home early. This was the only time something like this happened prior to the current Crew-11 incident.
My take: if space is going to be a place where humans live and work, they will sometimes get sick. This incident is a feature, not a bug.
January 8, 2026 at 10:23 PM
My take: if space is going to be a place where humans live and work, they will sometimes get sick. This incident is a feature, not a bug.
Isaacman makes the technical distinction between an 'emergency deorbit', which this is not, and an early return, "controlled medical evacuation". The point being this isn't like a 'damn, there's a hole in the spaceship, get in your suits and undock NOW!' There's time to proceed deliberately.
January 8, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Isaacman makes the technical distinction between an 'emergency deorbit', which this is not, and an early return, "controlled medical evacuation". The point being this isn't like a 'damn, there's a hole in the spaceship, get in your suits and undock NOW!' There's time to proceed deliberately.
NASA administrator Isaacman has announced that Crew-11 will return to Earth early because of a medical issue experienced by one of the crew (Cardman, Fincke, Yui, Platonov)
January 8, 2026 at 10:09 PM
NASA administrator Isaacman has announced that Crew-11 will return to Earth early because of a medical issue experienced by one of the crew (Cardman, Fincke, Yui, Platonov)
Reposted by Jonathan McDowell
12-month Space Security Fellowship with @unidir.org - deadline Jan 31 to apply. Signal boost @spacenukesam.bsky.social @dburbach.bsky.social @planet4589.bsky.social @nktpnd.bsky.social
Research Fellow (Space Security) – 10 positions → UNIDIR
UNIDIR's Space Security Fellowships train future experts in legal, technical and policy aspects of outer space governance.
unidir.org
January 7, 2026 at 9:13 PM
12-month Space Security Fellowship with @unidir.org - deadline Jan 31 to apply. Signal boost @spacenukesam.bsky.social @dburbach.bsky.social @planet4589.bsky.social @nktpnd.bsky.social
The orbital decay of Starlink 35956, which failed in mid-Dec, continues:
January 7, 2026 at 7:52 PM
The orbital decay of Starlink 35956, which failed in mid-Dec, continues:
Jonathan's Space Report No. 852 published at planet4589.org/jsr.html - now completed 37 years of these reports!
Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue
Jonathan's Space Report | Current Issue
planet4589.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Jonathan's Space Report No. 852 published at planet4589.org/jsr.html - now completed 37 years of these reports!
Illustration that the shift to lower altitudes of the Starlink constellation has beein going on for over a year now:
January 4, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Illustration that the shift to lower altitudes of the Starlink constellation has beein going on for over a year now:
LAUNCH of Starlink 6-88 at 0648 UTC Jan 4 from Canaveral
January 4, 2026 at 6:49 AM
LAUNCH of Starlink 6-88 at 0648 UTC Jan 4 from Canaveral
North Korea launched two small ballistic missiles at 2254 and 2305 UTC Jan 3 from near Pyongyang to the Sea of Japan, reaching apogees of 50 km and ranges of 900 and 950 km.
January 4, 2026 at 3:04 AM
North Korea launched two small ballistic missiles at 2254 and 2305 UTC Jan 3 from near Pyongyang to the Sea of Japan, reaching apogees of 50 km and ranges of 900 and 950 km.
2026-001: The Cosmo-Skymed SG FM3 sat has been cataloged in a 622 x 627 km x 97.9 deg sunsync orbit with 1746 local time descending node. The F9 second stage was deorbited over the N Pacific with reentry around 0350 UTC Jan 3.
January 4, 2026 at 2:24 AM
2026-001: The Cosmo-Skymed SG FM3 sat has been cataloged in a 622 x 627 km x 97.9 deg sunsync orbit with 1746 local time descending node. The F9 second stage was deorbited over the N Pacific with reentry around 0350 UTC Jan 3.
LAUNCH at 0209 UTC Jan 3 of Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base with the Italian COSMO-Skymed Second Generation FM3 satellite, an X-band-radar satellite
January 3, 2026 at 2:09 AM
LAUNCH at 0209 UTC Jan 3 of Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base with the Italian COSMO-Skymed Second Generation FM3 satellite, an X-band-radar satellite
The Soviet electronic intelligence sat Ikar No. 42L (cover name Kosmos-1606), launched in 1984, reentered at 1717 UTC Jan 2 over Baja California
January 2, 2026 at 10:48 PM
The Soviet electronic intelligence sat Ikar No. 42L (cover name Kosmos-1606), launched in 1984, reentered at 1717 UTC Jan 2 over Baja California
My annual report, Space Activities in 2025, is now available at planet4589.org/space/papers...
planet4589.org
January 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM
My annual report, Space Activities in 2025, is now available at planet4589.org/space/papers...
0000 UTC: Happy 2026, everyone!
January 1, 2026 at 12:01 AM
0000 UTC: Happy 2026, everyone!
Two objects cataloged from the SJ29 launch in 218 x 35817 km x 19.5 deg and 170 x 34419 km x 19.8 deg geotransfer orbits. My guess is they are SJ29A and the CZ-7A upper stage respectively, and that SJ29B hasn't been tracked yet - quite possibly it won't separate from 29A until the later reaches GEO
December 31, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Two objects cataloged from the SJ29 launch in 218 x 35817 km x 19.5 deg and 170 x 34419 km x 19.8 deg geotransfer orbits. My guess is they are SJ29A and the CZ-7A upper stage respectively, and that SJ29B hasn't been tracked yet - quite possibly it won't separate from 29A until the later reaches GEO
LAUNCH at 2240 UTC Dec 30 of Shi Jian 29A and 29B by Chang Zheng 7A from Wenchang; likely to geotransfer orbit but not yet confirmed
December 31, 2025 at 1:22 AM
LAUNCH at 2240 UTC Dec 30 of Shi Jian 29A and 29B by Chang Zheng 7A from Wenchang; likely to geotransfer orbit but not yet confirmed