IO Group: https://groups.io/g/DARCskynet/topics
Facebook Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.
Discussion Topic of the Evening.
40 Years Later: A New Look at Lessons from the Challenger Disaster
Artemis II Crew
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/53206112789-e5e932c583-o.jpg?resize=2000,1334
Mission Milestones
AII Rolling Out to the Launch Pad
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Christa McAuliffe
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Challenger Crew
Explosion
Burn Through
Mission Control Reaction
O-Ring Schematic
https://clearthinking.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/challenger-SRBs.gif
O-Ring Cross Illustration
https://clearthinking.co/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/challenger-space-shuttle-4-638.jpg
Feynman Demonstration
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/976/cpsprodpb/46DB/production/_87993181_o-ring.jpg.webp
Challenger Recovery
https://www.spaceline.org/spacelineorg/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/word-image-6.jpeg
Waz Up
Space Exploration and Space History
Space Exploration News
New Map of Dark Matter Reveals Universe’s Structure
https://www.astronomy.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Low-Res_contour_map.jpg
Perseverance Rover’s First AI-Planned Drive on Mars
https://www.webpronews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/article-8694-1769802801.jpeg
NASA Conducts Artemis II Fuel Test, Eyes March for Launch Opportunity
Strong Solar Flare Observed
NASA Gets the Green Light for New Authorization Bill
Texas A&M’s TAMU-SPIRIT: A New Orbital Research Platform for the ISS
https://stories.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/News-COE-TamuSpirit-6Feb2025.jpg
Space-Related Birthdays
| Name | Birthday | Born | Flights | Notes |
| Jonny Kim | February 5 | 1984 | Expedition 72/73 (upcoming) | Jonny Kim is a former Navy SEAL who was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2017. He is scheduled for his first spaceflight in April 2025 for Expedition 72/73 aboard the International Space Station. |
| Andrew R. Morgan | February 5 | 1976 | Expedition 60/61/62 | Andrew R. Morgan served as a flight engineer on the International Space Station for Expeditions 60, 61, and 62. During his time on the station, he conducted seven spacewalks, four of which were to repair the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. |
| Mary L. Cleave | February 5 | 1947 | STS-61-B, STS-30 | Mary L. Cleave flew on two Space Shuttle missions, STS-61-B and STS-30. On STS-30, she was the first woman to fly after the Challenger disaster and deployed the Magellan Venus probe. |
| Alfred Worden | February 7 | 1932 | Apollo 15 | Alfred Worden was the Command Module Pilot for Apollo 15, becoming one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. He performed the first deep-space EVA during the return trip to Earth. |
| Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper | February 7 | 1963 | STS-115, STS-126 | Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper is a former NASA astronaut who flew on two Space Shuttle missions, STS-115 and STS-126. Across her two missions, she completed five spacewalks to help with the assembly of the International Space Station. |
This Week in Space History
Luna 9 Lands on the Moon (February 3, 1966)
https://media.sciencephoto.com/image/c0461583/800wm/C0461583-Luna_9_lander_on_the_Moon.jpg
Mariner 10 Flies by Venus (February 5, 1974)
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/mariner_trajectory.jpg
Skylab’s Final Crew Returns (February 8, 1974)
https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/skylab_crewondeck.jpg
Miss Carolyn’s Constellation of the Week
Constellation “Lepus, the Hare”
Space Launches For This Week
Space Flight Now Launch Schedule
NET February 11 Falcon 9 • Crew-12
Launch time: 6:01 a.m. EST (1101 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a four-person crew to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew-12 flight. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir will command the mission alongside pilot and fellow NASA astronaut, Jack Hathaway. They are joined by mission specialists Sophie Adenot, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Andrey Fedyaev, a Roscosmos cosmonaut. This will be the second flight for Meir and Fedyaev and the first flight for both Hathaway and Adenot. The quartet will conduct a long-duration mission onboard the ISS. Following stage separation, the first stage booster supporting this mission will return to Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40), adjacent to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Updated: February 07
February 11 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-34
Launch time: Window opens at 6:07 a.m. PST (9:07 a.m. EST / 1407 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1081, launching for a 22nd time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Delayed from Feb. 10.
Updated: February 04
NET February 12 Vulcan • USSF-87
Launch time: Window opens at 3 a.m. EST (0800 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-41, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket will launch the USSF-87 multi-manifest mission to geosynchronous orbit. The rocket will fly in a VC4L configuration, which means that there will be four solid rocket boosters attached to the first stage and it will sport a 70-foot-long (21.3 m) payload fairing. Among the payloads onboard is the Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSSAP) system. Delayed from Feb. 2 as “the team is continuing processing and working around weather and constraints prior to launch.”
Updated: February 06
NET February 12 Ariane 6 • LE-01
Launch time: Window opens at 1:45 p.m. local time (11:45 a.m. EST / 1645 UTC)
Launch site: Europe’s Spaceport, Kourou, French Guiana
An Arianespace-built Ariane 6 rocket, flying in a 64 configuration, will launch 32 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit. This will be the first flight of an Ariane 64 rocket, which features four boosters. The mission is designated as VA267 by Arianespace and Leo Europe 01 (LE-01) by Amazon. This is the first in a series of 18 Ariane 64 launches procured by Amazon to launch its Amazon Leo satellites.
Updated: February 06
NET February 14 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-103
Launch time: Window opens at 12 a.m. EST (0500 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1090, launching for a 10th time, will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Booster previously listed as B1095. Delayed from Jan. 30. Delayed from Feb. 1 and 4. Delayed from Feb. 5.
Updated: February 04
February 14 Falcon 9 • Starlink 17-13
Launch time: Window opens at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST / 2200 UTC)
Launch site: SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a batch of 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. More than eight minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1100, launching for a third time, will land on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean.
Updated: February 05
February 17 Falcon 9 • Starlink 10-36
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1092, launching for a 10th time, will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Updated: February 05
NET February 20 Falcon 9 • Starlink 6-104
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage booster, tail number 1077, launching for a 26th time, will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from Feb. 3. Delayed from Feb. 4. Delayed from Feb. 7. Delayed from Feb. 8. Delayed from Feb. 16. Moved up from Feb. 21.
Updated: February 07
Late February New Glenn • BlueBird 7
Launch time: TBD
Launch site: Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket will launch AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7satellite into low Earth orbit. This is the second satellite in AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation satellite constellation and is designed to support space-based cellular broadband for commercial and government customers. This will be the third launch of a New Glenn rocket to date. As of Jan. 22, Blue Origin hasn’t stated if it intends to attempt a booster recovery on this mission.
Visible satellite passages over the next couple of days.
You can use the http://www.heavens-above.com website to find out what’s in orbit and
where to look during fly-overs
All times are “local” (Dallas) time.
International Space Station
| Date | Duration of Pass | Brightness in magnitude | Start of Pass Direction | End of Pass and End of Pass Direction |
| 9 Feb | 3m 58s | -0.7 | SE | SE |
| 11 Feb | 6m 35s | -3.2 | SE | SE |
| 12 Feb | 3m 52s | -2.0 | SE | SE |
| 13 Feb | 0m 19s | -0.3 | E | E |
| 13 Feb | 4m 52s | -3.1 | NW | NW |
| 14 Feb | 2m 27s | -3.0 | NNE | NNE |
Tiangong Space Station
| Date | Duration of Pass | Brightness in magnitude | Start of Pass Direction | End of Pass and End of Pass Direction |
| 6 Feb | 1m 28s | 0.0 | SSE | SSE |
| 7 Feb | 1m 31s | -0.1 | SW | SW |
| 8 Feb | 4m 18s | -1.2 | SE | SE |
| 9 Feb | 3m 7s | -1.8 | NNW | NNW |
| 10 Feb | 6m 9s | -2.1 | SSE | WNW |
| 10 Feb | 0m 49s | 0.9 | WNW | WNW |
| 11 Feb | 4m 9s | -0.9 | NNW | NNW |
| 12 Feb | 1m 33s | 0.3 | NNW | NNW |
| 13 Feb | 4m 50s | -0.3 | NNW | NNW |
| 14 Feb | 2m 12s | 0.0 | N | N |