TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
February 7, 2026
Crescent Enceladus
Peering from the shadows, the Saturn-facing hemisphere of tantalizing inner moon Enceladus poses in this Cassini spacecraft image. North is up in the dramatic scene captured during November 2016 as Cassini's camera was pointed in a nearly sunward direction about 130,000 kilometers from the moon's bright crescent. In fact, the distant world reflects over 90 percent of the sunlight it receives, giving its surface about the same reflectivity as fresh snow. A mere 500 kilometers in diameter, Enceladus is a surprisingly active moon. Data and images collected during Cassini's flybys have revealed water vapor and ice grains spewing from south polar geysers and evidence of an ocean of liquid water hidden beneath the moon's icy crust.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5w6sbMRqtY
other NASA
https://x.com/astro_Pettit/status/2019925076595122213
Plasma Penetration Event, Quake Watch, Green Arctic | S0 News and frens
Feb.7.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqtC5wvmJi4
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ionospheric-disturbances-earthquakes.html
https://see.news/scientists-warn-of-possible-geomagnetic-storms-following-powerful-solar-flares
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGU-V-hoXQU (MrMBB333: Pressure Is Building — Yellowstone, Lake Powell, Solar Activity)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSGdUa4AvWs (Global Crisis: COLD FRONT | 2026 Began With a Climate Impact on the Planet)
https://x.com/SchumannBotDE
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2019958569307894269
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2019836907098894487
https://www.spaceweather.gov/communities/aurora-dashboard-experimental
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
https://spaceweather.com/
CSIRO eyes hidden magnetic anomaly in Northern Territory
06 February, 2026
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) reveals fresh geological insights into one of the Northern Territory’s geophysics features – the Australia magnetic anomaly.
Researchers describe the outline of the anomaly to echo the shape of the Australian coastline and represents an example of how magnetic data can illuminate the unseen world beneath.
CSIRO’s Dr Clive Foss says magnetic data allows researchers to see through the ground and understand geological architecture that would otherwise remain completely hidden.
“By improving how we process and model these datasets, we can extract more geological information than ever before,” Foss says.
Applying advanced analytical techniques to model the area, CSIRO produced a map that could identify the tops of magnetic bodies with unprecedented precision.
Together, these insights provide a much clearer understanding of the region’s structural evolution, hinting at the pathways that may have influenced mineral systems over geological time.
Australia’s anomaly
CSIRO reports the anomaly was imaged using regional aeromagnetic data collected during the Northern Territory Government’s Bonney Well survey.
The open-access dataset, curated by Geoscience Australia in a national geoscience database, provided the foundation for CSIRO’s advanced modelling of the phenomenon.
Earlier maps of the region were hampered by artefacts – visual distortions that blurred important details, particularly where magnetic structure aligned closely to fightlines, as reported by CSIRO.
An innovative gridding algorithm refined CSIRO’s dataset and produced cleaner, more consistent images.
With the improved clarity, CSIRO was able to uncover features long hidden from view, including distinct geological boundaries, subtle magnetic layers, and magnetic signatures revealing the shapes and orientations of buried structures.
CSIRO reports that most of the Australia anomaly is buried, but parts of its western margin host rare windows into the past through outcrops of the paleoproterozoic Hatches Creek Formation.
The rocks tell a story of sandstones forming ridges and elevated terrain, interspersed with volcanic layers rich in magnetic minerals.
The sandstones were laid down in shallow seas and river deltas, while the volcanic material originated from eruptions through fissures and vents over 1.5 billion years ago, according to the organisation.
Over time, the formations folded, refolded and reshaped – leaving a deep and complex geological tapestry that the new magnetic models have begun to unravel.
https://mining.com.au/csiro-eyes-hidden-magnetic-anomaly-in-northern-territory/
https://www.csiro.au/
NASA space telescope sees interstellar visitor comet 3I/ATLAS flare up while exiting the solar system
February 5, 2026
New infrared observations reveal the rare interstellar visitor comet 3I/ATLAS dramatically brightening during its farewell tour of the solar system.
NASA's SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) space telescope captured views in December 2025 of the comet releasing a surge of gas, dust and complex molecules two months after the object's closest approach to the sun — a surprising outburst that's giving scientists their clearest chemical look yet at material formed around another star, according to a statement from NASA.
The SPHEREx images were taken as the comet was already heading back out of the inner solar system.
Instead of fading quietly into the dark, 3I/ATLAS flared with activity, developing a glowing coma rich in water vapor, carbon dioxide and organic compounds.
Observations also show a pear-shaped dust tail, created by rocky material being ejected as the comet's activity increases.
"Comet 3I/ATLAS was full-on erupting into space in December 2025, after its close flyby of the sun, causing it to significantly brighten," Carey Lisse, lead author of the study, said in the statement.
"Even water ice was quickly sublimating into gas in interplanetary space."
Discovered in July 2025 by the ATLAS asteroid survey, 3I/ATLAS is only the third confirmed interstellar object ever spotted passing through our solar system, following 1I/'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov detected in 2019.
Unlike its predecessors, however, 3I/ATLAS put on an extended chemical show that SPHEREx was uniquely equipped to observe.
SPHEREx studies the universe in infrared light, allowing scientists to identify not just dust, but also a detailed mix of molecules streaming off the comet — including water ice, carbon dioxide, methane, methanol and cyanide, which are substances that serve as key ingredients in planetary formation.
While comets typically become most active near perihelion, when solar heat causes surface ices to vaporize, the SPHEREx data shows that 3I/ATLAS intensified well after that point.
This suggests sunlight slowly penetrated beneath the comet's surface before triggering a delayed release of buried, ancient ices, according to the statement.
"Since comets consist of about one-third bulk water ice, it was releasing an abundance of new, carbon-rich material that had remained locked in ice deep below the surface," Lisse said in the statement.
"We are now seeing the usual range of early solar system materials, including organic molecules, soot, and rock dust, that are typically emitted by a comet."
Because 3I/ATLAS originated beyond our solar system, its chemistry offers a rare chance to compare our local comets with icy bodies formed around other stars.
The similarities and differences could help scientists determine whether the raw materials for planets and potentially life are common throughout the Milky Way.
"The comet has spent ages traversing interstellar space, being bombarded by highly energetic cosmic rays, and has likely formed a crust that's been processed by that radiation," Phil Korngut, co-author of the study, said in the statement.
"But now that the sun's energy has had time to penetrate deep into the comet, the pristine ices below the surface are warming up and erupting, releasing a cocktail of chemicals that haven't been exposed to space for billions of years."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/nasa-space-telescope-sees-comet-3i-atlas-dramatically-flare-as-interstellar-visitor-exits-solar-system
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/spherex/2026/02/04/nasas-spherex-mission-tracks-brightening-of-interstellar-comet/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae3f95
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/
https://medium.com/@davidsereda/dating-the-pyramids-and-finding-their-master-stars-using-upper-culmination-68a5920125dc
https://projectcamelotportal.com/2026/02/05/ice-grey-human-hybrids-greenland-epstein-files-3iatlas-with-typical-skeptic-and-kerry-cassidy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kgfUG1-PUY (Ray's AstrophotographyComet 3I ATLAS - STRANGE STRUCTURE — I Took a Picture)
https://x.com/Defence12543/status/2020086785699893360
https://x.com/Ammar1176708/status/2020040862143570414
other Avi Loeb
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/the-amazingly-fast-meteor-over-new-zealand-on-january-30-2026-is-not-interstellar-in-origin-8e64912a7dcd
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/timoth%C3%A9e-chalamet-appeared-next-to-the-galileo-project-observatory-on-top-the-las-vegas-sphere-8cb281d5fe57
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 ‘Go’ For Launch
February 6, 2026 8:51PM
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission has been cleared to proceed with launch preparations following a Flight Readiness Review with NASA, SpaceX, and the agency’s international partners.
Liftoff of Crew-12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remains on track for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on their eight-month science mission.
Already in quarantine, the Crew-12 crew members arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday night to begin their final preparations ahead of launch.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, SpaceX will roll the rocket and spacecraft to pad 40 where it will be raised into its launch position.
The crew also will take questions during a virtual news conference from Astronaut Crew Quarters at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, available on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube channel.
This will be the crew’s final media opportunity before launch. The four crew will perform a full rehearsal of launch day activities on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9, including putting on their spacesuits, going to their launch pad, and strapping into the Dragon spacecraft.
Mission managers from NASA and SpaceX also will discuss the preparations and launch status at 11 a.m. on Feb. 9 from Kennedy.
As part of the agency’s Flight Readiness Review, NASA evaluated the findings from SpaceX’s review of a Starlink mission where a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an issue during preparations for its deorbit burn.
NASA and SpaceX have determined, since the Falcon 9 second stage flies a different deorbit profile for NASA’s crewed missions, there is no increased risk to crew safety during ascent. The agency and SpaceX are “go” for Crew-12 to launch to the International Space Station.
Crew-12 is the 12th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 13th flight with astronauts for NASA, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/06/week-ends-with-dragon-preps-space-physics-and-human-research/
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-sets-coverage-for-agencys-spacex-crew-12-launch-docking/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/06/nasas-spacex-crew-12-go-for-launch/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/06/nasas-spacex-crew-12-flies-to-nasa-kennedy/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/commercialcrew/2026/02/06/nasas-spacex-crew-12-arrives-in-florida/
https://asgardia.space/en/news/Exploration-of-the-Moon-60-Years-Since-the-First-Landing
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacexs-next-astronaut-launch-for-nasa-is-officially-on-for-feb-11-as-faa-clears-falcon-9-rocket-to-fly-again
A Grand, Snow-Rimmed Canyon
Feb 07, 2026
A sunny day in early 2026 revealed the remnants of a winter storm on Arizona’s high desert—and produced a striking, if somewhat puzzling, display of light and shadow in the Grand Canyon.
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured these photographs of the distinct topography on January 26, 2026.
Snow flurries were flying in the area the previous two days, as they were across much of the central and eastern U.S. Hazardous conditions within Grand Canyon National Park prompted officials to close Desert View Drive, which runs along a portion of the South Rim shown in the photo above, and to issue warnings about icy trails.
(The North Rim is closed to traffic in winter and early spring.) When the road reopened around the time of these photos, a layer of white remained on both the South Rim, at an elevation of around 7,000 feet (2,100 meters), and the North Rim, at about 8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
Snow is typical at these high elevations in winter. The South Rim and North Rim see average season totals of 58 inches and 142 inches, respectively. At lower, warmer elevations, precipitation tends to fall as rain.
On January 24, for example, snow fell on the plateau, while a weather station at Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor recorded 0.06 inches of rain.
If these photos make the iconic feature of the American West look more like a mountain range than a vast chasm, the effect is likely due to a visual illusion called relief inversion.
Many people have an unconscious expectation that a light source should come from the top of an image. In these images, however, the Sun is shining from the south, or the bottom of the photos.
Though the shadows on the canyon walls may be visually deceiving, the presence of snow helps to signal that the flat areas sit at higher elevations.
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-grand-snow-rimmed-canyon/
https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/nasa-announces-a-new-directive-but-wont-let-you-read-it/
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2019823962465923366
https://x.com/SpcPlcyOnline/status/2019855583990489505
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R2H0rcP2vg
Workforce Directive: Restoring NASA’s Core Competencies
February 6, 2026
Marcia Smith just tweeted a screengrab of part of the Directive – I got several copies of the full thing
Workforce Directive: Restoring NASA’s Core Competencies
Background
NASA’s ability to deliver on its mission has become increasingly dependent on external vendors and contractors for core functions and workforce talent—from engineering and operations to manufacturing and repair.
While partnerships remain vital, this trend has eroded internal capabilities, increased program risk, reduced flexibility in addressing emergent technical challenges, and added well more than a billion dollars in annual overhead—diverting resources from science and discovery.
Factors contributing to this reliance include concerns over exceeding artificial civil servant hiring ceilings, and assumptions that outsourcing would provide greater workforce flexibility.
Even if these assumptions hold in some cases, the overall effect deprives NASA of critical institutional knowledge, and limits resources essential for mission success.
As a result, it is not surprising that multiple programs have experienced suboptimal outcomes in cost and schedule.
Multiple prime contractors, hundreds of sub-contractors, tens of thousands of contract employees, and duplicative layers of management create complexity and inefficiency.
Variances in policies, tools, and systems across this spectrum further challenge budgets, timelines, and outcomes.
To achieve the President’s national space policy and maintain U.S. leadership in space exploration, NASA must urgently restore and retain in-house engineering, operational, and scientific excellence, and reclaim technical autonomy.
This directive establishes actions to rebuild internal talent, strengthen contractual provisions, and foster a culture of technical resilience.
Vision
NASA will expand with a strong core of civil servants, staffed and equipped to lead the most complex engineering and operational challenges, ensuring expertise, resilience, agility, and innovation in every mission.
This includes the ability to build and repair critical components to reduce external dependencies when necessary.
Restoring and sustaining these core competencies is essential to steward taxpayer resources, align investments with agency priorities, and ensure mission success.
This foundation will be strengthened by contractors in non-core areas and for surge requirements, complemented by our extensive network of international and commercial partners.
Together, we will deliver on NASA’s world-changing mission of science, exploration, and discovery.
(1) Directive Actions
NASA recognizes that contractors have and will continue to play a vital role in achieving mission objectives.
This directive focuses on correcting over-reliance on outsourced engineering and staffing that diminishes NASA’s core competencies and resources essential to agency priorities.
The future state aims to use contracted workforce primarily for limited-term assignments, surge staffing, and specialized functions outside NASA’s core competencies.
1/2
Within 30 days, Center Directors, Mission Directorate leadership, and the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer shall:
Conduct a Work Assessment: Identify engineering, operational, scientific, manufacturing, and other mission-critical work currently outsourced, and provide a proposal for what should be brought in-house, aligned with the workforce assessment.
Conduct a Workforce Assessment: Identify outsourced or missing technical and operational expertise and provide a proposal to convert core roles to civil service.
Categorize proposal by priority, mapping to core competency and current contracting mechanisms. Emphasize solutions that enable mission execution without introducing additional redundant layers of management.
Within 60 days, the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Procurement, and Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall:
Develop Transition Strategy: Consolidate workforce assessments and create an implementation plan to convert or add targeted roles to civil service, addressing contract changes, renegotiations or terminations, timelines, and cost implications.
Establish Rapid Onboarding Process: Implement streamlined process that ensures candidates can be rapidly brought into civil servant positions without disrupting operational capacity, minimizing gaps in mission-critical support.
Strengthen the Talent Pipeline: In collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management, develop strategies to attract industry and academic talent and embed civil servants with industry partners to accelerate learning and knowledge transfer aligned with national space policy objectives.
Enhance Training Programs: Assess and develop internal training and mentorship initiatives to ensure continuity of knowledge and technical depth across generations of NASA engineers, operations personnel, and technicians.
Focus Internship Opportunities: Develop a plan to expand the current internship program with a focus on standardizing and enhancing experience, to develop in-house technical talent focused on the highest priority agency requirements.
(2) Strengthen Framework for Technical Autonomy
Within 30 days, the Office of Procurement shall:
Ensure Repair and Operation Autonomy: Incorporate right-to-repair provisions in all future and applicable existing contracts, guaranteeing NASA access to specifications, parts, tools, schematics, software, and technical documentation necessary for internal manufacturing, repair, and operations.
Remove Restrictive Clauses: Eliminate contract language requiring NASA-fabricated replacement hardware to be returned to vendors for inspection after delivery of out-of-spec hardware.
Address Intellectual Property Barriers: To the extent reasonable under existing and ongoing procurements, review and propose modifications to eliminate IF restrictions that prevent NASA from performing internal repairs or redesigns, as needed to meet urgent Presidential space policy objectives.
Within 60 days, center directors shall:
Propose Makerspaces at Each Center: develop plan to create a makerspace at each center to enable rapid prototyping and proposal development.
Include an assessment of potential funding mechanisms, such as sponsorships from partners and critical vendors, to support implementation and sustainability.
This Directive does not reflect any intent or commitment, implied or otherwise, to take any action regarding any particular existing or future contract with the agency.
Jared Isaacman
NASA Administrator
2/2
Boreal Forests Are Shifting North
Feb 06, 2026
The boreal forest—the world’s largest terrestrial biome—is warming faster than any other forest type.
To understand the changing dynamics of boreal forests, Feng et al., 2026 analyzed the biome from 1985 to 2020, leveraging the longest and highest-resolution satellite record of calibrated tree cover to date.
The study, published in February in Biogeosciences with four co-authors from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, confirms a northward shift in boreal forest cover over the past four decades.
Landsat imagery played a central role in this study: the researchers applied machine learning to process 224,026 scenes collected by Landsats 4, 5, 7, and 8 to create annual, 30-meter resolution maps of tree cover across the entire boreal biome.
They downscaled and extended calibrated MODIS Vegetation Continuous Fields data to 30-meter resolution, creating a 36-year time series (1984-2020) that provided unprecedented spatial detail for tracking forest changes.
The analysis revealed that boreal forests both grew in size and moved northward. The forests expanded by 0.844 million km² (a 12% increase) and shifted northward by 0.29° mean latitude, with gains concentrated between 64-68°N.
Their work also showcased the capacity of new growth to act as a carbon sink. Young boreal forests (up to 36 years) hold an estimated 1.1-5.9 petagrams of carbon (Pg C) with potential to sequester an additional 2.3-3.8 Pg C if allowed to mature.
Landsat’s long time series of highly calibrated data allows researchers to study how ecosystems shift over decades, a crucial insight into our changing world.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/landsat/boreal-forests-are-shifting-north/
https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/23/1089/2026/
NASA Study: Non-biologic Processes Don’t Fully Explain Mars Organics
February 6, 2026
In March 2025, scientists reported identifying small amounts of decane, undecane, and dodecane in a rock sample analyzed in the chemistry lab aboard Curiosity.
These were the largest organic compounds found on Mars, with researchers hypothesizing that they could be fragments of fatty acids preserved in the ancient mudstone in Gale Crater.
On Earth, fatty acids are produced mostly by life, though they can be made through geologic processes, too.
It was not possible to determine from Curiosity’s data alone whether or not the molecules they found were made by living things, which led to a follow-on study that evaluated known non-biological sources of these organic molecules — such as delivery by meteorites smashing into the Martian surface — to see if they could account for the amounts previously found.
Reporting on Feb. 4 in the journal Astrobiology, researchers say that as the non-biological sources they considered could not fully explain the abundance of organic compounds, it is therefore reasonable to hypothesize that living things could have formed them.
To reach their conclusion, scientists combined lab radiation experiments, mathematical modeling, and Curiosity data to “rewind the clock” about 80 million years — the length of time the rock would have been exposed on the Martian surface.
This allowed them to estimate how much organic material would have been present before being destroyed by long-term exposure to cosmic radiation: far more than typical non-biological processes could produce.
The team says more study is needed to better understand how quickly organic molecules break down in Mars-like rock under Mars-like conditions — and before any conclusions can be reached about the absence or presence of life.
https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/science-news/2026/02/06/nasa-study-non-biologic-processes-dont-fully-explain-mars-organics/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/15311074261417879
This Week in DOW: Arsenal of Freedom Tour Looks to Space, Protecting VMI, Scouting Under Scrutiny, Air Force Recruiting Up
Feb. 6, 2026
This week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth continued the War Department's Arsenal of Freedom tour by paying a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 2.
While there, he visited with defense industry leaders, met with senior NASA leadership and delivered remarks to members of the Blue Origin space program workforce alongside company founder Jeff Bezos, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson explained today during the department's Weekly Sitrep video.
"You are the men and women who pour your lives and careers into building these incredible launch systems that we need that give us that advantage; whether it's in Iran, whether it's in Venezuela [or] whether it's halfway around the world — that's the advantage our warfighters need," Hegseth told the crowd.
He added that private-sector companies are crucial to ensuring the U.S. military dominates in space.
"We welcome those partners, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with you in these critical efforts," Hegseth said.
Prior to arriving in Cape Canaveral, Hegseth administered the oath of enlistment to a group of military recruits in Titusville, Florida.
On Feb. 3, the War Department announced that it is monitoring Virginia House Bill 1374 with "significant concern."
Introduced in January of this year, the bill seeks to restructure governance of the Virginia Military Institute with an aim toward bringing VMI under the management of Virginia State University's Board of Visitors.
"For generations, the unique military environment at VMI has made the institute a vital source of commissioned officers for the armed forces," Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said via a social media statement.
"The stability of this proven leadership pipeline is a matter of direct national security interest and any action that could disrupt the ecosystem requires our full attention," the statement continued.
Parnell added that the War Department "reserves the right to take extraordinary measures" to protect VMI's integrity, and that the department's commitment to the students attending VMI remains steadfast.
Also this week, the Pentagon announced that it has spent the past several months reviewing its relationship with Scouting America — formerly the Boy Scouts of America — regarding the organization's embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as other "social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances," according to another social media post by Parnell.
On Jan. 21, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that called for terminating DEI in federal contracting, and all of DOW's affiliations must meet that standard, according to Parnell's statement.
"Our review of the DOW's financial assistance and partnership with Scouting America, including its quadrennial National Jamboree celebration, has been rigorous and ongoing.
Scouting America remains far from perfect, but they have firmly committed to a return to core principles," the statement continued.
Parnell added that the Pentagon and Scouting America are nearing a final agreement to continue their ongoing partnership.
"We will have more to announce soon," Wilson said.
Lastly this week, the department learned that the Air Force fiscal year 2026 recruiting goals are off to an outstanding start, with roughly 20,000 recruits in the service's delayed entry program.
The Air Force is aiming to take on 32,750 recruits this fiscal year, which is a 9% increase over fiscal year 2025.
Wilson said the 20,000 recruits represent a 50% increase in the number of recruits who were in the program at this time last year, and that the Air Force currently has the biggest backlog in 10 years of young men and women who are waiting to ship to basic training.
"As the deputy commander of Air Force recruiting [Col. Layne D. Trosper] puts it, '2026 is looking good,'" Wilson added.
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4398892/this-week-in-dow-arsenal-of-freedom-tour-looks-to-space-protecting-vmi-scouting/
https://twitter.com/DOWResponse/status/2019881941936341444
https://x.com/KingsleyCortes
FeChina launches reusable spaceplane on fourth secretive orbital mission
February 7, 2026
HELSINKI — China launched its experimental reusable spacecraft for the fourth time late Friday, once again maintaining strict secrecy around the mission.
State media Xinhua announced the launch of reusable experimental spacecraft via a Long March 2F rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center Feb. 7 local time without providing a time for liftoff.
Airspace close notices with drop zones matching those of the three previous flights were published early February, suggesting a launch window of between 10:50 and 11:10 p.m. Eastern, Feb. 6 (0350–0410 UTC, Feb. 7).
“The experimental spacecraft will conduct technological verification for reusable spacecraft, providing technical support for the peaceful use of space,” Xinhua reported, similar to statements for the spacecraft’s earlier missions. No further details were released.
U.S. Space Force catalog tracking will later reveal the orbit of the spaceplane. The mission will attract interest and scrutiny, particularly in terms of future maneuvers, the release of subsatellites and any subsequent rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs).
The launch comes approximately 519 days after the previous mission ended with a landing at Lop Nur landing site in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, northwestern China. The gap between mission 1 and mission 2 was 697 days, and 220 days between missions 2 and 3.
All three earlier missions involved releasing a small satellite or object into orbit. The second and third missions involved the main spacecraft appearing to conduct RPOs with the object it released.
China has not provided images or information about its reusable spaceplane project. The Long March 2F launcher has a payload capacity of just over eight metric tons to low Earth orbit.
This suggests that the spacecraft could be somewhat similar in size and function to U.S. Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane. Images of an apparent payload fairing for an earlier launch further this notion. Amateur optical imagery has also revealed images of the spacecraft in orbit.
The launch used a Long March 2F T variant rocket, a modified payload variant of the human-rated Long March 2F used to launch Shenzhou spacecraft.
The mission was prepared and launched despite a temporary gap in emergency launch capabilities to Tiangong, namely a standby Long March 2F and Shenzhou spacecraft, in the wake of the Shenzhou 20 debris strike crisis triggered in early November.
The orbital reusable spacecraft may be intended to work in conjunction with a reusable suborbital first stage. This suborbital craft, which uses vertical takeoff and horizontal landing, was first tested in 2021. A second mission flew in August 2022.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which developed the spacecraft, announced plans for a fully reusable, two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) space transportation system before the first launch.
In 2022, CASC’s spaceplane project received national funding from the Natural Science Foundation of China.
The system’s development fits into a broader trend of China pushing to increase its access to space and developing reusable solutions for spaceflight, including recent tests of vertical takeoff, vertical landing Zhuque-3 and Long March 12A launchers.
Friday’s was China’s ninth orbital launch attempt of 2026, which includes two failures. CASC is preparing for an in-flight abort test of its Mengzhou crew spacecraft from Wenchang no earlier than Feb. 11.
https://spacenews.com/china-launches-reusable-spaceplane-on-fourth-secretive-orbital-mission/
https://twitter.com/CNSAWatcher/status/1558709527930818560
China develops microwave weapon to attack satellites in space
February 07, 2026
China has gained a major edge over the United States (U.S.) and Russia in the space-weapons race as it has developed the world’s smallest driver for a high-power microwave (HPM) weapon.
The driver could be used in high-power microwave weapons that could potentially disrupt the hostile satellite networks such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink.
According to a recent study published by researchers at the Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology (NINT), a facility linked to the Chinese military, they have developed a device named TPG1000Cs which makes microwave attacks harder to detect and attribute than conventional anti-satellite weapons.
TPG1000Cs is a four-meter-long, five-ton device, smaller than comparable systems developed elsewhere.
The study claimed, “The system has demonstrated stable operation over continuous one-minute durations, accumulating approximately 200,000 pulses with consistent performance.”
The development could mark a major breakthrough in space-weapon technology as previously known systems could hold stable operations for only a few seconds and they were much larger in size as well.
Only one gigawatt power is needed for a ground-based microwave weapon to disrupt low-Earth-orbit satellite networks, while China was able to generate electric pulses reaching 20 gigawatts using the TPG1000Cs.
Great powers such as the U.S., China and Russia have long been looking to develop high-power microwave technology as it is far superior to conventional weapons which pose the risk of large clouds of orbital debris.
Whereas, microwave weapons could disable the electronics of hostile satellites without creating a significant amount of space debris.
https://www.geo.tv/latest/649559-china-develops-microwave-weapon-to-attack-satellites-in-space
Butterfly Emerges From Chrysalis in Zero Gravity
Feb 7, 2026 9:00 AM EST
Like their neighbors on the International Space Station, the taikonauts orbiting the planet in China’s Tiangong space station brought some mementos from home.
In past months, the crew aboard the Tiangong have treated themselves to succulent BBQ wings, fresh veggies, and even moon cakes. Their latest consignment isn’t for eating, however: it’s a butterfly, which hatched from a chrysalis in zero gravity.
According to the English-language publication People’s Daily, the chrysalis was brought aboard via a Kuaizhou 11Y8 cargo spacecraft back in December.
The butterfly pupa was encased in a self-sustaining capsule heated to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, which contained plants and microorganisms to provide a stable environment.
After it emerged from its cocoon, the 14.2-liter chamber sustained the butterfly for “several days.” Though the researchers who prepared the experiment on the ground weren’t sure how the insect would adapt to a zero-gravity environment, it fared surprisingly well.
As the researchers explained to People’s Daily, the butterfly had no problem navigating the chamber freely, fluttering its wings and resting on leaves, just as it would on Earth.
“Many people thought the butterfly wouldn’t be able to fly in microgravity, but what we observed was that it quickly adapted to the new environment,” said Xie Gengxin, director of Chongqing University’s Space Science and Technology Research Institute and chief designer of the experiment.
Though it’s not the first butterfly to undergo metamorphosis in space — that honor belongs to a monarch aboard the ISS in 2009 — it could probably win the superlative “most stressed.”
According to Xie, the experiment was designed to maximize the chrysalis’ exposure to the harsh reality of space; unlike previous attempts, this butterfly pod had no radiation shielding, temperature control, or full-spectrum lighting, let alone interference from humans.
“The transformation process was entirely unmanned, unlike previous experiments (of other countries) aboard the International Space Station,” Xie said.
If Xie sounds a little proud, he’s certainly earned the right to be. He was also the lead designer behind the first-ever plants to grow leaves on the Moon, as part of the Chang’e 4 robotic mission.
In the future, he imagines both experiments could be used to inform the construction of space farms, where butterflies act as pollinators.
“True ‘space farming’ aims to utilize space resources for agricultural production,” Xie said. “Lunar and Martian farms will become a reality in the future.”
https://futurism.com/space/butterfly-chrysalis-tiangong-space
Vandenberg Hosts Annual Gala
Feb. 6, 2026
Space Launch Delta 30
Vandenberg hosts annual gala at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Jan. 31, 2026.
The Vandenberg Gala is an annual event held at Vandenberg SFB to commemorate the achievements of the year.
The gala emphasized key base events and accomplishments from 2025, showcasing Vandenberg SFB’s contributions to enhancing our nation’s space capabilities and readiness.
U.S. Space Force Col. James T. Horne III, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, delivered closing remarks, giving thanks to the base’s personnel, highlighting their professionalism to Vandenberg’s mission of maintaining a strategic advantage in space during 2025.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4399593/vandenberg-hosts-annual-gala/
Vandenberg Hosts Honorary Commanders Breakfast
Feb. 6, 2026
U.S. Space Force Col. James T. Horne III, Space Launch Delta 30 commander, gave remarks to Vandenberg Space Force leadership and honorary commanders during the annual Honorary Commanders Breakfast.
The Honorary Commanders Breakfast provides an opportunity for military and community leaders to engage in discussion, strengthen partnerships and support public awareness of Vandenberg’s unique Space Force and Air Force mission sets.
Dr. Scott Roberston, 337th Test and Evaluation Group honorary commander and Col. Dustin Harmon, 377th Test and Evaluation Group commander, share a moment of conversation during the breakfast.
The honorary commanders program serves as a bridge between Vandenberg leadership and the local community, supporting collaboration and communication.
U.S. Space Force Col. Keith Morris, Delta 5 deputy commander, explains Vandenberg’s global satellite command and control mission during the breakfast.
The Honorary Commanders Breakfast provided an opportunity for military and community leaders to engage in discussion, strengthen partnerships and support public awareness of Vandenberg’s unique Space Force and Air Force mission sets.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4399840/vandenberg-hosts-honorary-commanders-breakfast/
Beale Military Liaison Council visits Vandenberg Space Force Base
Feb. 6, 2026
Space Launch Delta 30
Members of the Beale Military Liaison Council receive a mission briefing during a base tour at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., Jan. 27, 2026.
The base tour was conducted with industry professionals to receive key program activities explaining base operations though mission, people and future.
U.S. Space Force Col. Dylan Monaghan showcased the priorities of the installation, explaining Vandenberg's key relationship to space launch and test operations, global command and control of satellites, orbital tracking and the training of the next generation of space operations career field Guardians.
The council visited the installation to discuss and compare Beale Air Force Base and Vandenberg, discovering new ways to enhance and modernize their respective mission sets.
https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4399838/beale-military-liaison-council-visits-vandenberg-space-force-base/
SpaceX Starlink Mission
February 7, 2026
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is targeting the launch of 25 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.
This is the 13th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx, NROL-57, and eight Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-33
https://www.space.com/entertainment/space-games/halo-campaign-evolved-release-date-rumors-platforms-and-everything-else-we-know-about-the-halo-remake
US wants Ukraine conflict to end by summer – Zelensky
7 Feb, 2026 15:54
The US wants the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be resolved by summer before focusing on domestic issues, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said.
The remarks come after the second round of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the US in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
Like the first round in January, the negotiations were held behind closed doors, with no details shared by either side, other than Russia and the US calling the talks “productive” and “constructive.”
The latest negotiations have yielded an exchange of 314 prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Zelensky said Washington is ready to push both sides to speed up the settlement process.
“The Americans are proposing that the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will likely pressure them to adhere to this timetable,” he claimed.
The Ukrainian leader suggested that Washington’s desire to speed up the settlement process stems from “domestic issues” that are becoming “more pressing for it,” apparently referring to the upcoming US midterm election.
The American side has offered to host a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian sides in Miami, he said, adding that it could occur within a week.
Zelensky also reiterated his refusal to withdraw Ukrainian forces from the parts of Donbass it still controls, confirming that Kiev’s stance on territorial concessions remains unchanged.
Both Russia and the US have said that territorial issues remain the main sticking point in the peace process.
Russia has insisted that a settlement must include Ukraine’s withdrawal from the areas within the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics that are still under its control.
The republics, which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup, overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in late 2022. Kiev has refused to recognize the referendums and ruled out any territorial concessions.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632147-us-ukraine-pressure-deal/
Ukrainian generals exposed in multimillion-dollar corruption scheme
6 Feb, 2026 21:00
Ukrainian anti-graft agencies have announced the results of a major investigation of former senior military officials, including two generals, suspected of running a multimillion-dollar embezzlement scheme.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry reportedly signed a contract for a key command and control system in 2016 with a commercial company that had no experience in creating software.
Over four years of development, the technical specifications were changed 13 times, increasing the cost by $7 million. The Dzvin-AS troop command-and-control system only entered into service in 2022.
On Friday, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), said the investigation had moved to the legal disclosure phase that typically precedes formal indictments.
The alleged ring included a deputy head of the Ukrainian General Staff, a deputy commander of Communications Troops, the head of the General Staff’s automation department, and a businessman whose firm won the contract to develop the Dzvin-AS.
Investigators say delays and cost overruns that plagued the project helped the group embezzle $5.7 million.
Reports of problems with the Dzvin-AS surfaced in the media as early as 2021, citing a 2020 contract audit.
In December 2022, months after the conflict with Russia escalated, then-Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov ordered the system’s deployment. NABU said in 2024 the Defense Ministry considered funding expansion for the system rather than fixing or scrapping it.
Reznikov resigned in 2023 over a separate corruption scandal involving inflated food procurement contracts but was never charged with any crime. NABU called the two investigations the agency’s most important efforts to fight military graft.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632110-ukraine-generals-embezzlement-nabu/
Russia launches large-scale ‘retaliatory’ strikes on Ukraine – MOD
7 Feb, 2026 10:14
The Russian military has conducted a large-scale missile and drone strike on Ukraine in response to “terrorist attacks” by Kiev on civilian infrastructure in Russia, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
Russia has struck Ukrainian defense-related facilities for months, including power plants; it maintains that it never targets civilians.
In a statement on Saturday, the ministry reported a “concentrated strike” using long-range sea- and air-launched precision weapons, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and drones.
It said that the attacks targeted energy and transport infrastructure used by Ukrainian forces, as well as facilities producing and storing drones.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets have been hit,” the Defense Ministry said.
The statement noted that over the past 24 hours, Russian air defenses shot down 168 Ukrainian drones.
Ukrainian officials confirmed the strikes on energy infrastructure. Vladimir Zelensky said more than 400 drones and around 40 missiles of various types were used in the attack, with the main target being the country’s energy system.
Zelensky added that generation facilities and substations were damaged in the regions of Volhynia, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lviv, and Rivne, with additional strikes reported in Kiev and Kharkov Regions.
Ukraine’s state power operator (Ukrenergo) said energy facilities were hit in a total of eight regions, prompting emergency shutdowns across the country.
Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said high-voltage substations and 750 kV and 330 kV transmission lines, which form the backbone of Ukraine’s power grid, had also sustained damage.
The strikes also hit generation facilities, including the Burshtyn and Dobrotvir thermal power plants in western Ukraine.
According to Stanislav Ignatyev, the head of the Ukrainian Association of Renewable Energy, Russia struck for the first time the Western Ukraine 750 kV substation, the largest in Europe, which is the centerpiece of the regional power grid and handles electricity imports from abroad.
Shmigal said emergency blackout schedules have been applied nationwide, with nuclear power plant units temporarily unloaded to stabilize the system. He added that Kiev has requested emergency power assistance from Poland.
The new wave of Russian attacks comes after Ukrainian strikes severely damaged energy infrastructure in the border Belgorod Region on Wednesday, causing widespread power and heating outages, affecting schools and kindergartens.
That day, the authorities in the neighboring Bryansk Region reported that Ukrainian forces also used US-made HIMARS rockets to strike residential buildings, injuring one woman.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632143-russia-strikes-ukraine-power-grid/
Ukraine hits 'important' Russian cruise missile fuel plant in Tver Oblast, drones spark 'massive fire'
February 7, 2026 2:01 pm
Ukrainian drones struck a Russian factory that manufactures fuel components for Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles in Tver Oblast, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) familiar with the operation told the Kyiv Independent on Feb. 7.
The strike targeted the Redkino Experimental Plant, which produces components of Decilin-M rocket fuel, as well as fuel additives for diesel and aviation kerosene, the source said.
Russia routinely uses the missiles to attack Ukrainian cities, including during a mass strike on Feb. 7 that involved 21 Kh-101 missiles aimed at Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Drones operated by the SBU's Alpha special forces unit hit the facility, triggering a large fire.
"After successful strikes by SBU drones, a massive fire broke out on the factory premises, with a column of black smoke rising above the facility," the source said.
Local authorities in Tver Oblast confirmed the attack, saying a fire erupted after a drone crashed at the site. Governor Vitaly Korolev said there were no casualties and claimed the plant's production was not affected, despite images circulating online showing flames.
The Redkino Experimental Plant is under sanctions imposed by the U.S., the U.K., and several other countries. Data from the FIRMS satellite monitoring service, which tracks fires worldwide in near real time, showed active burning on the plant's territory following the strike.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces shot down four drones over Tver Oblast.
"The SBU continues to systematically strike key facilities of the Russian military-industrial complex," the source said, adding that the plant plays an "important" role in producing cruise missiles.
"Even a temporary halt to (the plant's) operations complicates rocket fuel production and reduces the enemy's ability to maintain the intensity of attacks on our cities."
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-hits-important-russian-cruise-missile-fuel-plant/
other Russia and Ukraine
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4088755-energy-infrastructure-damaged-in-lviv-region-due-to-missile-and-drone-attack.html
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4088671-vinnytsia-region-is-under-massive-missile-and-drone-attack-by-russians-explosions-reported.html
https://caspianpost.com/regions/missile-drone-strikes-trigger-explosions-in-western-ukraine
https://112.ua/en/rosijski-bezpilotniki-atakuvali-kiiv-poskodzeni-budinki-ale-postrazdalih-nemae-138504
https://english.nv.ua/nation/unidentified-drone-found-in-moldova-in-third-incident-since-start-of-2026-50581828.html
https://united24media.com/latest-news/russian-gerbera-war-drone-found-in-northern-moldova-near-ukraine-border-15712
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4088885-syrskyi-ukrainian-drone-units-eliminate-more-russian-troops-in-january-than-russia-mobilizes.html
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/38149519/putins-drones-bigger-british-army/
Eisenkot accuses Netanyahu of ‘fabricated defense’ in Oct. 7 probe response
February 7, 2026 8:19 am
Former IDF chief of staff and ex-Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot wrote a letter to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman on Friday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of submitting a “fabricated defense” in response to the comptroller’s investigation into the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
On Thursday night, Netanyahu released the full 55-page document of his answers given to the state comptroller as part of the ombudsman’s investigation into the October 7, Hamas-led atrocities, pinning the failure to prevent the onslaught on political rivals and security chiefs while presenting himself in a positive light and deflecting his responsibility for the attack.
Netanyahu earlier in the day presented lawmakers on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee with materials he had previously submitted to the state comptroller from the years preceding the October 7 attack, the most devastating in Israel’s history and the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
The prime minister has the authority, subject to proper procedure and legal challenge, to release and redact such materials.
In his answers to Englman, Netanyahu sought to build the case, with partial, curated quotes from cabinet protocols, that he had repeatedly pushed for assassinating Hamas leaders, but security chiefs consistently argued against the idea.
That assertion contradicted reports that he actually rejected assassinating then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on several occasions.
Subsequently, Eisenkot charged in the letter to Englman that Netanyahu “constructed and published a fabricated defense adapted to his needs from confidential minutes, while abusing his exclusive authority to see and publish minutes from sensitive meetings.”
“The situation in which one of the main responsible parties, if not the main and foremost one, can publish misleading and false statements and gain an advantage over all the other witnesses, is unacceptable,” continued Eisenkot, who, since leaving Benny Gantz’ National Unity party, has formed his own political party to run in elections later this year.
Continuing, Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of using secretive documents deliberately in an election year “out of a desire to improve his image, distance himself from blame and harm the other candidates facing him.”
Eisenkot requested that the State Comptroller’s Office allow the relevant people to review the full minutes of the meetings referenced by the premier in his “partial and manipulative” response, and told Englman that he will be happy to “set the record straight” regarding his own actions during his time as IDF chief.
Eisenkot’s letter came after similar criticisms from opposition figures, including from Netanyahu’s own defense minister on October 7, Likud colleague Yoav Gallant, who had publicly warned in March 2023 that the national rift over the coalition’s planned judicial overhaul had come to pose a tangible threat to Israel’s security.
“Even today, Netanyahu doesn’t miss a chance to lie and incite, as well as harm the IDF and Shin Bet,” Gallant said Thursday after the release of the document, adding, “It is no surprise that Netanyahu is opposed to a state commission of inquiry, which would surely expose his lies.”
Former defense minister and leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party Avigdor Liberman responded to the document by reposting a video from September 28, 2023, of him touring the Gaza border area and slamming the response to recent violence along the frontier.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that “in contrast to his claims, Netanyahu was again and again warned before October 7, including by me, and ignored all the warnings.”
MK Elazar Stern, a lawmaker from Lapid’s Yesh Atid party who is a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he wrote a letter to Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, the committee chair, demanding that committee members receive full access to the security cabinet protocols quoted by Netanyahu in the premier’s response to the state comptroller.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/eisenkot-accuses-netanyahu-of-fabricated-defense-in-oct-7-probe-response/
other Israel
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-885868
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/infiltration-alert-detected-karmei-tzur-231636679.html
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-dispatches-troops-to-west-bank-settlement-after-2-suspects-seen-approaching-fence/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-gives-west-bank-settlement-all-clear-after-telling-residents-to-shelter-in-place/
https://www.jns.org/idf-nabs-60-terrorists-in-judea-and-samaria/
LIVE: Gaza struggles for clean water, Hamas says ceasefire ‘meaningless’
7 Feb 2026
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Palestinians in Gaza still struggle to find clean water despite four months of so-called “ceasefire”, waiting hours per day to obtain mere litres.
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Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem says continued talk of a “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip is “meaningless” as long as Israel continues its escalating killing and destruction operations across the enclave.
5m ago (18:00 GMT)
Netanyahu to meet Trump next week, discuss Iran
The Israeli prime minister is expected to meet Trump next Wednesday in Washington, according to his office.
During the meeting, the two leaders will discuss the US’s ongoing negotiations with Iran.
“The Prime Minister believes that any negotiations must include limiting ballistic missiles and halting support for the Iranian axis,” his office said in a post on X.
On Friday, the US and Iran met in Oman for indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear programme in a bid to de-escalate tensions and the prospect of war.
However, Iran has ruled out discussing its ballistic missiles as part of its talks with the US, referring to them as an internal matter of defence and not subject to outside interference.
21m ago (17:45 GMT)
WATCH: ‘Israel killed international law in Gaza’, Palestinian official tells Al Jazeera
Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, said that the steadfastness of Palestinians in Gaza despite genocide shows “the failure of Israel”.
Barghouti is at the Al Jazeera Forum, an event focusing on geopolitical shifts in the Middle East.
36m ago (17:30 GMT)
Israeli warplanes destroy residential building in Zeitoun neighbourhood
Israeli warplanes have destroyed a residential building outside the areas controlled by Israel in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, in the southeast of Gaza City.
Israeli forces gave the residents of the targeted building and neighbouring houses only one hour to evacuate immediately before it was destroyed.
According to our correspondent on the ground, this is the second building that Israeli forces have destroyed outside of their areas of control since dawn today, after another building was destroyed in Khan Younis.
cont.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/2/7/live-irans-top-diplomat-set-to-address-al-jazeera-forum-in-doha
https://www.iranintl.com/en/liveblog/202602011665
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/iran-eastern-states/artc-iran-fm-zero-enrichment-ballistic-missile-program-are-outside-scope-of-negotiations-with-u-s
other Iran
https://www.newsonair.gov.in/iran-cautions-against-us-attacks-threatens-military-action-in-west-asia/
Iran says ready to lower enrichment purity but won’t give up uranium stocks
February 7, 2026
Summary
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Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran opposes transferring uranium abroad but is ready to reduce the level of enrichment.
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Trump said the US is in no “rush” for a deal and has plenty of time, adding however that Tehran knows the consequences will be “very steep” if they fail to reach a deal with Washington.
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President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that imposes secondary sanctions against Iran through tariffs on countries importing Iranian goods and services, citing ongoing threats to US national security, foreign policy, and economic interests.
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Iran stuck to its refusal to end uranium enrichment during Friday talks with the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported. Neither Iran nor the US moved much from their initial position, the report said.
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The US Treasury on Friday imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting two individuals, 15 entities, and 14 vessels, shortly after "nuclear" talks in Muscat.
18 minutes ago
No education for Iran in second kick of a mule, US envoy to Israel warns
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he hopes Iran chooses a negotiated path but warned that Tehran may face another “kick of a mule” if it refuses President Donald Trump’s demands.
“You would think they'd learned something” from the US June strikes on their nuclear facilities, Huckabee told PBS.
“In the South, where I grew up, we say there's no education in the second kick of a mule. They got a real kick of a mule last summer. I'm wondering, did they get any education from that one?”
“If not, they may stand behind the mule again,” he added. “And there probably won't be much education in the second kick of a mule.”
29 minutes ago
US forces are on constant alert, Witkoff says aboard aircraft carrier
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff who was visiting USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday said the United States is showing the world the meaning of readiness and determination, and its forces are in a state of constant alert.
"We defend our interests and deter our adversaries," he said.
34 minutes ago
Netanyahu to meet Trump on Wednesday, Israeli PM's office says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on Wednesday, the Israeli premier's office said on Saturday.
The office said Netanyahu believes any negotiation with Iran must include its ballistic missiles and stop its support for proxy groups.
41 minutes ago
Iran, US agree to hold follow-on discussions after Muscat talks - CNN
Iran and the United States have agreed to hold follow-on discussions after chief negotiators held consultations with their capitals, CNN reported citing a source familiar with the negotiations.
1/2
50 minutes ago
Reformist says Iranian security forces staged violence to justify crackdown
A senior Iranian reformist has accused security bodies of deliberately escalating and even staging violence including alleged killings among their own ranks to legitimize a sweeping crackdown on protests, sharply disputing the official narrative blaming foreign actors.
Ali Shakouri-Rad said the protests on January 8 and 9 were a predictable outcome of years of accumulated social discontent, even if the scale of the response surprised political factions and security institutions alike.
Shakouri-Rad rejected remarks promoted by official media that foreign intelligence services or opposition networks orchestrated the violence.
“I do not believe this, and I think many people do not believe it either,” he said, referring to claims that Israel’s Mossad or networks associated with exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi were responsible for the violence.
Shakouri-Rad said the breadth of demonstrations across almost 400 cities exceeded expectations across Iran’s political spectrum.
“Reformists, conservatives and the security institutions did not think this many people would respond to Reza Pahlavi’s call,” he said.
1 hour ago
Witkoff, Kushner visit aircraft carrier in apparent message to Iran
"President Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited on Saturday together with CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper the USS Abraham Lincoln which is stationed in the Arabian sea not far from Iran," Axios reported on Saturday citing two sources with knowledge of the matter.
The two officials were invited to visit the carrie by the commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper, CNN reported citing a senior US official.
The intention of the trip was to express gratitude for the American service members in the region, according to the official speaking to CNN.
2 hours ago
Iranian negotiator meet Russian, Chinese envoys after US talks
Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi met with the Russian and Chinese ambassadors in Tehran on Saturday one day after attending Muscat talks with the US.
3 hours ago
Iranians rally in Berlin and Malmö against Islamic Republic
Iranians living in Berlin, Germany and Malmö, Sweden held protest gatherings on Saturday in solidarity with their compatriots against the Islamic Republic.
cont.
2/2
Drone attack by paramilitary group in Sudan kills 24, including 8 children, doctors' group says
07 February, 2026
A drone attack by a notorious paramilitary group hit a vehicle carrying displaced families in central Sudan Saturday, killing at least 24 people, including eight children, a doctors’ group said.
The attack by the Rapid Support Forces occurred close to the city of Rahad in North Kordofan province, said the Sudan Doctors Network, which tracks the country’s ongoing war.
The vehicle transported displaced people who fled fighting in the Dubeiker area of North Kordofan, the doctors’ group said in a statement. Among the dead children were two infants, the group said.
The doctors’ group urged the international community and rights organizations to “take immediate action to protect civilians and hold the RSF leadership directly accountable for these violations.”
There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been at war against the Sudanese military for control of the country for about three years.
The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, said she came across the aftermath of the strike, including burning aid trucks, after visiting El-Obeid- a city under army control but encircled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces for a year.
She said she was "deeply concerned" by the attack and called for the protection of humanitarian personnel, assets and supplies.
Emergency Lawyers, an independent organisation documenting war crimes in Sudan, also said the convoy, contracted by the World Food Programme, had been attacked, and accused the RSF of carrying out the strike.
More than 21 million people nearly half of Sudan's population face high levels of acute food insecurity, according to the United Nations.
Fighting in Sudan is now concentrated in the Kordofan region, after the RSF took control of Darfur to the west. El-Obeid lies on the main road linking Darfur with the capital Khartoum.
https://www.newarab.com/news/sudan-drone-attack-kills-24-including-eight-children
Yale lab identifies dozens of suicide drones in RSF-controlled Nyala
7 February 2026
The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL), which uses satellite imagery to monitor the nearly three-year war in Sudan, published a report on Friday disclosing the identification of at least 85 objects consistent with loitering munitions across two sites in Nyala.
The findings, released in a situation report on February 6, 2026, indicate a significant expansion of aerial weaponry in the key transport hub controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
As of February 4 2026, at least 40 of these “suicide drones” were visible at the Nyala airport, while another 51 were previously identified at a newly discovered launch site nearby.
These munitions are consistent with Shahed-style UAVs, specifically the Sunflower-200 or ZT-180 models, which have a reported strike range of 1,500 to 2,500 kilometres.
The new launch point is located approximately 2.5 kilometres east of the former UNAMID Sector South Headquarters, also known as Super Camp.
While the drones themselves were absent from the new site by late January, the majority of the launch platforms remained visible in satellite imagery.
Yale HRL also detected a mobile anti-aircraft unit near the former UNAMID headquarters.
The system, which measures approximately 10 meters in length, features a rotating apparatus similar to units such as the Pantsir or the FK-2000.
This weapon system was first observed in the area in August 2025 and shifted its orientation to face westward between October 2025 and January 2026.
The report detailed a surge in drone activity throughout January 2026, including several strikes resulting in high civilian casualties.
On January 6, UAV strikes in the Al-Jaballiya neighbourhood of El Obeid killed at least 12 people.
Less than a week later, on January 12, an attack on the 17th Division Command in Singa reportedly killed dozens, including government leadership and civilians.
Other attacks were documented in the states of North Kordofan, Gezira, and White Nile.
The RSF has significantly expanded its arsenal since the conflict began, supported by supply lines through Nyala airport, which are reportedly bolstered by the United Arab Emirates.
In response, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have acquired advanced Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 and Akinci drones.
The SAF has also received support from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt, including a $1.5 billion deal for weaponry and air defence capabilities.
Researchers warned that the proliferation of these weapons poses a direct threat to human security, noting the RSF’s history of targeting markets, hospitals, and mosques.
The report called on all parties to the conflict to uphold the principle of distinction and take necessary precautions to limit civilian casualties.
https://sudantribune.com/article/310353