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The James Webb Space Telescope team successfully deployed the telescope’s 6.4-metre long gold-coated primary mirror, completing the final stage of deployments. Science operations are due to start this summer. The two wings of Webb’s primary mirror had to folded to fit inside Ariane 5’s fairing.

In this Space Café Radio – our Review 2021 series, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Alex Fielding. CEO and Co-Founder of Privateer Space about his vision, his mission and his space highlights in 2021 and what to watch out for the upcoming year in space.

In this Space Café Radio – our Review 2021 series, SpaceWatch.Global publisher Torsten Kriening spoke with Ken Hodgkins,  President of International Space Enterprise Consultantsabout his space highlights in 2021 and what to watch out for the upcoming year in space.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 27 Dec - 2 January 2022 ”. Hello and welcome to the first episode of the Dongfang Hour China Space News Roundup, in 2022!

Lockheed Martin, Amazon and Cisco announced they have teamed up to integrate Callisto, a unique human-machine interface technology into NASA's Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I uncrewed mission around the Moon. They will demonstrate how astronauts could benefit from far-field voice technology, AI and video calls during deep space missions.

This Space Café WebTalk will feature Peter Hulsrøj, legal consultant for intergovernmental organisations, in conversation with Torsten Kriening, publisher of SpaceWatch.Global. Space and the Fundamental Questions. Peter Hulsrøj is, with Marco Aliberti, the author of the book ‘Essays on the Optional Society – and a Letter Concerning Inclusion’ just out on Ex Tuto.

SpaceX is aiming to start the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket flight this Thursday deploying the company’s next cluster of Starlink satellites. The company’s 34th dedicated Starlink launch is carrying an undisclosed number of flat-panel satellites into orbit. The quarter-ton spacecraft use their krypton-fueled ion thrusters to maneuver to their operating orbits 540 km above Earth.

2021 finished strong, with another SPAC merger with a space-related (albeit not originally a space) company (Tomorrow.io), more fundraising by SpaceX, a few major private rounds, a couple of investments by Virgin Orbit (and hence yet further examples of a de-SPAC’d company deploying part of its cash towards investments) and even a small IPO (Sidus).

Elon Musk said during an interview on the Lex Fridman podcast that SpaceX could be transporting people to Mars in five years. According to the SpaceX CEO, the worst case scenario is that the Starship rocket is ready for taking humans to the planet in 10 years.  Starship, “the most complex and advanced rocket” as per Musk, has already undergone static fire tests.

The U.S. committed to extend the operations of the International Space Station (ISS) through 2030, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced. The Biden-Harris Administration wants to continue to work with its international partners “to enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this unique orbiting laboratory through the rest of this decade”.