#HELSINKI — #China launched three low Earth orbit broadband test satellites Friday, completing a record-breaking year for launches globally.

A Long March 2C rocket lifted off from Jiuquan #Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert at 7:13 p.m. Dec. 29 (0013 UTC, Dec. 30). The China Aerospace Science and Technology Group (CASC) confirmed launch success and revealed the passengers to be three satellite Internet technology test satellites.

U.S. Space Force space domain awareness later tracked three objects in roughly 930 by 940-kilometer orbits with an inclination of 50 degrees.

#TAMPA, Fla. — Former professional baseball player Alex Rodriguez’s shell company got more time from investors to merge with Lynk Global, but has to give $176 million back to those opting to redeem shares rather than a potential stake in the direct-to-smartphone #satellite operator.

Slam Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that raised $575 million by listing shares on #Nasdaq in February 2021 to search for an investment opportunity, now has less than $99 million in its trust account following a separate batch of shareholder redemptions earlier this year

#Pentagon agencies team up in upcoming launch of #hypersonic tracking #satellites
Satellites developed by the Missile Defense Agency and the Space Development Agency will be part of a national security space mission currently projected for the second quarter of.

#SANTA FE, N.M. — Japanese Earth observation company #Axelspace has raised nearly $44 million to both expand its satellite constellation and provide smallsats for other applications.

The Tokyo-based company announced Dec. 21 that it raised 6.24 billion yen ($43.9 million) in a Series D round from several Japanese companies and venture funds. The company, which last raised 2.58 billion yen in a Series C round in 2021, has brought in 14.3 billion yen since its founding in 2008.

The company currently operates five microsatellites that provide medium-resolution imagery through a service it calls AxelGlobe. Four of those #satellites launched in 2021, three years after its first satellite. #Axelspace said the new funding will support expansion of its satellite constellation but did not provide details about the plans

#HELSINKI — #China added a new pair of satellites to its #Beidou positioning and navigation system late Monday, but spent stages from the launch landed within inhabited areas.

A Long March 3B equipped with a Yuanzheng-1 upper stage lifted off from the Xichang #Satellite Launch Center at 10:26 p.m. Eastern Dec. 25 (0326 UTC, Dec. 26), successfully delivering two Beidou satellites into medium Earth orbit (MEO).

#HELSINKI — Japan’s SLIM robotic #spacecraft entered lunar orbit Dec. 25, setting up a moon landing attempt scheduled for Jan. 19.

#SLIM completed a roughly three-minute-long lunar orbit insertion burn at 2:51 a.m. Eastern (0751 UTC), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced Christmas Day.

#SLIM is now in a 600 x 4,000-kilometer polar lunar orbit, as planned. The #spacecraft is currently in a normal condition, #JAXA stated. It will soon begin gradually lowering its orbit in preparation for landing.

#SANTA FE, N.M. — A problem with the upper stage of a Firefly #Aerospace Alpha #rocket placed a #Lockheed Martin technology demonstration satellite into the wrong orbit on a Dec. 22 launch.

The Alpha #rocket lifted off from #Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:32 p.m. Eastern on a mission called “Fly the Lightning” by Firefly. The launch was originally scheduled for Dec. 20 but postponed two days because of weather.

The #rocket’s ascent appeared to go as planned, and launch controllers reported that the upper stage had achieved a nominal transfer orbit. Firefly then said a second burn of the upper stage was planned to take place about 40 minutes later to circularize the orbit, followed by payload separation.