TYB
https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/02/09/weather-delays-nasas-spacex-crew-12-flight-to-the-international-space-station/
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/2020879038802239827
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/what-you-need-to-know-about-nasas-spacex-crew-12-mission/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/09/nasas-spacex-crew-12-completes-dry-dress-rehearsal/
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/space-station-research-contributes-to-artemis-ii/
Weather delays NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 flight to the International Space Station
February 9, 2026
The launch of the next crew rotation mission to the International Space Station will have to wait at least another day after NASA and SpaceX leadership determined weather along the flight path would be unacceptable.
Leaders moved the launch of Crew-12 from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 12.
That would place liftoff at 5:38 a.m. EST (1038 UTC) for NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway along with European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
During a prelaunch briefing on Monday, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich said weather along the ascent corridor for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket would’ve been unacceptable, if the Crew Dragon spacecraft needed to abort following liftoff.
“We could see high winds along a lot of that track, up to 24 to 28 knots, especially in what we would consider our higher risk areas, the staging area,” Stich said.
“There’s a low pressure system that’s kind of moving in and setting over that staging area and it’s driving those winds up. And we can really see the models agreeing over the last 24 hours.”
Stich noted that while Feb. 12 is the current target date, that too doesn’t look great from a weather perspective. Teams will further evaluate after getting the latest weather models on Tuesday morning.
“The good news is we have good opportunities for the remainder of the week and so, we’ll go ahead and launch when we’re ready, when we have favorable weather,” Stich said.
The launch preparations come as United Launch Alliance (ULA) is preparing for its first flight of 2026. A Vulcan rocket is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 41, just down the road from where Crew-12 is set to depart, during a two-hour window that opens at 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC).
Because of the close timing between the two, Stich said Crew-12 has priority on the Eastern Range and if the weather permits, ULA would have to stand down from attempting a launch on Thursday.
But if NASA waives off a launch attempt on Thursday prior to getting into launch day work, ULA would be able to launch its Vulcan rocket on the USSF-87 mission for the U.S. Space Force.
Stich said the other big obstacle on the range is the upcoming wet dress rehearsal tanking test for the Artemis 2 launch campaign. As of Monday afternoon, NASA hasn’t announced a date for that fueling demonstration.
“Right now, we don’t see conflicts this week, but we continue to talk to them all the time,” Stich said, referring to the Artemis 2 launch and ground teams.
“They’ve made progress at changing out a few seals and they’re doing some testing on those seals and we’ll make sure we have an integrated operation where we can go fly on Crew-12, since we have a vehicle at the pad that’s ready to go and Dragon fueled with hypergols, and then we’ll work them in as well when they’re ready to go do their wet dress.”
If NASA decides that a launch on Thursday, Feb. 12, is not possible, the agency has a backup on Friday. Feb. 13, which would see a liftoff at 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 UTC).
In that scenario, the Dragon spacecraft — nicknamed Freedom — would dock with the ISS about 3:15 a.m. EST (0815 UTC) on Saturday, Feb. 14.
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Stich said a launch attempt on Saturday would be tricky since it creates a longer than ideal transit time from liftoff to the Dragon catching up with the ISS and docking, also referred to as “long phasing.”
“It takes quite a number of hours to get to ISS. It’s around 42 to 44 hours,” Stich said. “We would look at that one very carefully because the Dragon is a great spacecraft, but it has a limited, finite ability to be in space.
And so, we want to make sure we optimize the amount of time we spend on the front versus the time we could spend on the back end.”
He noted that they also have viable launch options on Feb. 15-17 as well, if those dates become needed.
Launch preparations
Over the weekend, SpaceX conducted a static fire test of its Falcon 9 rocket at SLC-40 to ensure the health of its vehicle before proceeding to a launch attempt.
During his remarks on Monday, William Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of Build and Flight Reliability, said they did have to replace a component following the engine burn demonstration.
“We found one check valve that was a little sluggish and held back a little bit of pressure. It’s on a transfer tube seal,” Gerstenmaier said. “We typically see that with static fires. We haven’t done many static fires lately, but in this case, we saw that.
“We removed the check valve, put a new one in. We boroscoped the line. We saw a little bit of moisture in the line. That’s probably indicative of what caused the problem.
There’s likely some ice formation that may have caused a slight pressure rise, but again, that’s part of the diligence we go through to make sure everything is absolutely ready to go fly.”
Following that work on Sunday, on Monday morning, NASA and SpaceX went through a launch day rehearsal with the flight team of Crew-12 along with the rest of the launch support team.
The so-called dry dress rehearsal went smoothly, according to Gerstenmaier.
“This is only our second launch from pad 40 with crew, so this is a chance for us to make sure things were really ready and that activity went extremely smooth this morning.”
Part of the reason why Crew-12 and future Dragon flights are set to launch from SLC-40 is because of work towards future Starship flights at Launch Complex 39A and also focusing on Falcon Heavy missions at that pad as well.
Additionally, teams are working to remove the crew access arm at LC-39A to do some repair work.
“We’re going to do some maintenance on some bearings on the crew arm.
I think the general plan is we’ll keep the crew arm on the ground after we do those repairs, but we’re ready to put the crew arm back up again, if we need to go back and launch crew from pad 39A,” Gerstenmaier said.
“It doesn’t say we’re backing away from 39A for crew flights. We’ll just have it in reserve when it’s needed and we need to do this repair of the bearings on the arm.”
Gerstanmaier said the crew access arm needs to come down from the tower in order to get to the bearings. SpaceX attached a crane to the arm last week and has been doing some work from cherry pickers in preparation for its removal.
“These are the bearings that actually hold the arm to the tower. They’re unique to 39A. They’re very different than they are for the arm that’s on 40 and to physically get access to those, the arm needs to be removed,” Gerstenmaier said.
“Those bearings have to come out and they have to be reinstalled. We’ll do that work at the Kennedy Space Center. And the intent there is, we don’t need to put the arm back up because, again as I described […] when we get a call up for a mission and we have to go fly a mission, if it requires that, we have plenty of time to get the arm back up. That’s the easy piece.”
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NASA’s Hubble Captures Light Show Around Rapidly Dying Star
Feb 10, 2026
This stunning image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals a dramatic interplay of light and shadow in the Egg Nebula, sculpted by freshly ejected stardust.
Located approximately 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the Egg Nebula features a central star obscured by a dense cloud of dust — like a “yolk” nestled within a dark, opaque “egg white.”
Only Hubble’s sharpness can unveil the intricate details that hint at the processes shaping this enigmatic structure.
It is the first, youngest, and closest pre-planetary nebula ever discovered.
(A pre-planetary nebula is a precursor stage of a planetary nebula, which is a structure of gas and dust formed from the ejected layers of a dying, Sun-like star. The term is a misnomer, as planetary nebulae are not related to planets.)
The Egg Nebula offers a rare opportunity to test theories of late-stage stellar evolution. At this early phase, the nebula shines by reflecting light from its central star, which escapes through a polar “eye” in the surrounding dust.
This light emerges from a dusty disk expelled from the star’s surface just a few hundred years ago.
Twin beams from the dying star illuminate fast-moving polar lobes that pierce a slower, older series of concentric arcs.
Their shapes and motions suggest gravitational interactions with one or more hidden companion stars, all buried deep within the thick disk of stardust.
Stars like our Sun shed their outer layers as they exhaust their hydrogen and helium fuel. The exposed core becomes so hot that it ionizes surrounding gas, creating the glowing shells seen in planetary nebulae such as the Helix, Stingray, and Butterfly nebulae.
However, the compact Egg Nebula is still in a brief transitional phase — known as the pre-planetary stage — that lasts only a few thousand years. This makes it an ideal time to study the ejection process while the forensic evidence remains fresh.
The symmetrical patterns captured by Hubble are too orderly to result from a violent explosion like a supernova.
Instead, the arcs, lobes, and central dust cloud likely stem from a coordinated series of poorly understood sputtering events in the carbon-enriched core of the dying star.
Aged stars like these forged and released the dust that eventually seeded future star systems, such as our own solar system, which coalesced into Earth and other rocky planets 4.5 billion years ago.
Hubble has turned its gaze towards the Egg Nebula before.
A first visible-light image from the telescope's WFPC2 (Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2) was complemented in 1997 by a near-infrared NICMOS (Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer) image, giving a closer look at the light given off by the nebula.
In 2003, Hubble's ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys) yielded a new view of the Egg, showing the full extent of the ripples of dust around it. A further image from WFC3 (Wide Field Camera 3) in 2012 zoomed in on the central dust cloud and dramatic gas outflows.
This new image combines the data used to create the 2012 image with additional observations from the same program to deliver the clearest look yet at this intricate cosmic egg.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/nasas-hubble-captures-light-show-around-rapidly-dying-star/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/team-atomic/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/team-sulphur/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/team-gas/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/team-carb/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/planetary-analogs/nasas-goddard-instrument-field-team-iceland-2025/team-lava/
NASA Fieldwork Spotlight: Iceland
February 10, 2026
It's a bright, summery June afternoon in southern Iceland.
The wind rips across Lake Kleifarvatn.
Two scientists in cheetah-print waders with pink piping wade into the crystal-clear, 40-degree water, sample tube at the ready.
Their eyes are trained on the orange, blue, and brown deposits lining the submerged rocks. From the shore, the rest of their team watches quietly, huddled against the icy wind.
A head breaks the surface 100 feet away — another scientist returning from a dive more than 50 feet down. The diver has collected a sample from the lake floor: a goldmine of data that, to the untrained eye, looks like plain old dirt.
Elsewhere on the island, scientists hike through hail and haul equipment across miles of rugged terrain.
Iceland’s diverse volcanic environments and geothermal sites are stand-ins for other worlds. These are analog environments, places on Earth whose geology, chemistry, and conditions resemble those of other planets and moons.
NASA's Goddard Instrument Field Team (GIFT) is spread out across the island, inspecting Europa-like underwater vents shimmering just beyond their scuba masks, detecting buried ice that can train us for Moon exploration, looking for clues about Mars’ watery past in a muddy riverbed, and more.
Because to understand distant worlds, sometimes you have to start by getting your boots (and wetsuits) dirty here on Earth.
“Team Lava” | Fagradsfjall
Team Lava traverses the rugged slopes of Fagradalsfjall, near Grindavík, where fresh volcanic vents and lava flows tell a story only a few years old.
The team set out to study how these vents form and change over time, with an eye toward comparing them to similar volcanic features spotted on Mars and the Moon.
"Team Ice"
Climb along with Team ICE as they persevere through five days of hail to find the ice motherlode on Hekla.
"Team Atomic" | Lake Kleifarvatn, Engjahver
Can we find out if Martian landscapes are derived from ancient hot springs just by looking at minerals from orbit?
Team Atomic aims to use their Icelandic samples to understand how the minerals and chemistry of hydrothermal vent deposits evolve over time.
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“Team SulpHur” | Seltún, Engjahver
The SulpHur team has set their sights on a curious Martian mystery: native sulfur, a pure version that is uncombined with any other elements.
This bright yellow mineral, discovered on Mars for the first time in 2024 by NASA’s Curiosity rover, was never expected to turn up in Gale crater, and scientists are still puzzling over how it formed there.
"Team M&M"
Follow Team M&M ("Mud and Mars") to the Stóra Laxá river as it carves through the Icelandic hills, revealing basalt rock deposited by volcanoes.
"Team Carb" | Lake Kleifarvatn
Team Carb takes their work below the surface of Lake Kleifarvatn, a freshwater lake with a volcanic and mineral composition strikingly similar to Martian terrains including Gale and Jezero craters.
The team is hunting for preserved organic molecules and specific mineral patterns that only form in the presence of water and heat —the same conditions that might have sparked life on early Earth.
"Team Gas" | Lake Kleifarvatn, Lake Grænavatn
The Gas team's work began with one large, inflatable, logistical challenge: carrying a very heavy boat, motor and all, to the water’s edge.
Lake Grænavatn is a remnant of a maar-type volcanic explosion, which leaves behind a crater and is typically filled and transformed into a lake. As its name hints, the water at Grænavatn is green, a result of its high sulfur content.
Diving Lake Kleifarvatn
Explore the depths of Lake Kleifarvatn and learn about our solar system's icy ocean worlds.
Eight teams. One island. Countless worlds.
In Iceland’s volcanic landscapes, GIFT’s scientists practice a fundamental truth of planetary exploration: where you stand changes what you see.
From a distance, we can make out the general geologic patterns of other planets, but things really come into focus with the lessons we learn in places like Iceland.
Iceland won’t tell us everything about worlds beyond Earth, but it can teach us how to look.
This is the power of fieldwork, and what makes it irreplaceable. You can’t recreate this kind of science in a lab or from satellite images alone.
You need teams willing to wrap instruments in sweaters, to get stuck in knee-deep clay, and to spot something unexpected that changes your whole mission plan.
The cold shock of lake water, the acrid smell of sulfur, and the weight of equipment across miles of lava are all part of the process.
As NASA moves forward with the exploration of the Moon, Mars, and worlds we’ve barely begun to understand, this collaborative, adaptable spirit is what transforms distant mysteries into discoveries.
The path to understanding other worlds starts with fieldwork.
Our planet isn't the only place with volcanoes, impact craters, quakes, and erosion. Similar environments on different worlds are called planetary analogs.
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https://www.nasa.gov/missions/roman-space-telescope/core-survey-by-nasas-roman-mission-will-unveil-universes-dark-side/
Core Survey by NASA’s Roman Mission Will Unveil Universe’s Dark Side
Feb 10, 2026
The broadest planned survey by NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will reveal hundreds of millions of galaxies scattered across the cosmos.
After Roman launches as soon as this fall, scientists will use these sparkly beacons to study the universe’s shadowy underpinnings: dark matter and dark energy.
“We set out to build the ultimate wide-area infrared survey, and I think we accomplished that,” said Ryan Hickox, a professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and co-chair of the committee that shaped the survey’s design.
“We’ll use Roman’s enormous, deep 3D images to explore the fundamental nature of the universe, including its dark side.”
Roman’s High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey is one of the mission’s three core observation programs. It will cover more than 5,000 square degrees (about 12 percent of the sky) in just under a year and a half.
Roman will look far from the dusty plane of our Milky Way galaxy (that’s what the “high-latitude” part of the survey name means), looking up and out of the galaxy rather than through it to get the clearest view of the distant cosmos.
“This survey is going to be a spectacular map of the cosmos, the first time we have Hubble-quality imaging over a large area of the sky,” said David Weinberg, an astronomy professor at Ohio State University in Columbus, who played a major role in devising the survey.
“Even a single pointing with Roman needs a whole wall of 4K televisions to display at full resolution. Displaying the whole high-latitude survey at once would take half a million 4K TVs, enough to cover 200 football fields or the cliff face of El Capitan.”
The survey will combine the powers of imaging and spectroscopy to unveil a goldmine of galaxies strewn across cosmic time.
Astronomers will use the survey’s data to explore invisible dark matter, detectable only via its gravitational effects on other objects, and the nature of dark energy — a pressure that seems to be speeding up the universe’s expansion.
“Cosmic acceleration is the biggest mystery in cosmology and maybe in all of physics,” Weinberg said. “Somehow, when we get to scales of billions of light years, gravity pushes rather than pulls.
The Roman wide area survey will provide critical new clues to help us solve this mystery, because it allows us to measure the history of cosmic structure and the early expansion rate much more accurately than we can today.”
Weighing shadows
Anything that has mass warps space-time, the underlying fabric of the universe. Extremely massive things like clusters of galaxies warp space-time so much that they distort the appearance of background objects — a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
“It’s like looking through a cosmic funhouse mirror,” Hickox said. “It can smear or duplicate distant galaxies, or if the alignment is just right, it can magnify them like a natural telescope.”
Roman’s view will be large and sharp enough to study this lensing effect on a small scale to see how clumps of dark matter warp the appearance of distant galaxies.
Astronomers will create a detailed map of the large-scale distribution of matter — both seen and unseen — throughout the universe and fill in more of the gaps in our understanding of dark matter.
Studying how structures grow over time will also help astronomers explore dark energy’s strength at various cosmic stages.
“The data analysis standards required to measure weak gravitational lensing are such that the astronomy community as a whole will benefit from very high-quality data over the full survey area, which will undoubtedly lead to unexpected discoveries,” said Olivier Doré, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, who leads a team focused on Roman imaging cosmology with the High-Latitude Wide-Area Survey.
“This survey will accomplish much more than just revealing dark energy!”
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While NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes both also study gravitational lensing, the breakthrough with Roman is its large field of view.
“Weak lensing distorts galaxy shapes too subtly to see in any single galaxy — it’s invisible until you do a statistical analysis,” Hickox said.
“Roman will see more than a billion galaxies in this survey, and we estimate about 600 million of them will be detailed enough for Roman to study these effects.
So Roman will trace the growth of structure in the universe in 3D from shortly after the big bang to today, mapping dark matter more precisely than we’ve ever done before.”
Sounding out dark energy
Roman’s wide-area survey will also gather spectra from around 20 million galaxies.
Analyzing spectra helps show how the universe expanded during different cosmic eras because when an object recedes, all of the light waves we receive from it are stretched out and shifted toward redder wavelengths — a phenomenon called redshift.
By determining how quickly galaxies are receding from us, carried by the relentless expansion of space, astronomers can find out how far away they are — the more a galaxy’s spectrum is redshifted, the farther away it is.
Astronomers will use this phenomenon to make a 3D map of all the galaxies measured within the survey area out to about 11.5 billion light-years away.
That will reveal frozen echoes of ancient sound waves that once rippled through the primordial cosmic sea. For most of the universe’s first half-million years, the cosmos was a dense, almost uniform sea of plasma (charged particles).
Rare, tiny clumps attracted more matter toward themselves gravitationally. But it was too hot for the material to stick together, so it rebounded. This push and pull created waves of pressure—sound — that propagated through the plasma.
Over time, the universe cooled and the waves ceased, essentially freezing the ripples (called baryon acoustic oscillations) in place.
Since the ripples were places where more matter was collected, slightly more galaxies formed along them than elsewhere. As the universe expanded over billions of years, so did these structures.
These rings act like a ruler for the universe. Today, they are about 500 million light-years wide. Roman will precisely measure their size across cosmic time, revealing how dark energy may have evolved.
Recent results from other telescopes hint that dark energy may be shifting in strength over cosmic time.
“Roman will be able to make high precision tests that should tell us whether these hints are real deviations from our current standard model or not,” said Risa Wechsler, director of Stanford University’s KIPAC (Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology) in California and co-chair of the committee that shaped the survey’s design.
“Roman’s imaging survey combined with its redshift survey give us new information about the evolution of the universe — both how it expands and how structures grow with time — that will help us understand what dark energy and gravity are doing at unprecedented precision.”
Altogether, Roman will help us understand the effects of dark energy 10 times more precisely than current measurements, helping discern between the leading theories that attempt to explain why the expansion of the universe is speeding up.
Because of the way Roman will survey the universe, it will reveal everything from small, rocky objects in our outer solar system and individual stars in nearby galaxies to galaxy mergers and black holes at the cosmic frontier over 13 billion years ago.
“Roman is exciting because it covers such a wide area with the image quality only available in space,” Wechsler said. “This enables a broad range of science, from things we can anticipate studying to discoveries that we haven’t thought of yet.”
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Winter Grips Japan
Feb 10, 2026
Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world.
Sapporo, the island's largest city and host of an annual snow festival, typically sees more than 140 days of snowfall, with nearly 6 meters (20 feet) accumulating on average each year.
The ski resorts surrounding the city delight in the relatively dry, powdery "sea-effect" snow that often falls when frigid air from Siberia flows across the relatively warm waters of the Sea of Japan.
However, despite the region’s familiarity with heavy snowfall, winter 2026 got off to a disruptive start.
A series of intense storms in January and February repeatedly paralyzed transportation systems, closing airports, snarling roadways, and suspending trains.
Following storms that dropped more than 2 meters (7 feet) of snow in Aomori, a city on the island of Honshu just south of Hokkaido (out of frame), authorities deployed troops to help clear roofs, according to news reports.
The snow has caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
On February 5, 2026, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image of snow-covered landscapes across Hokkaido.
With more than 31 active volcanoes, the island features several large caldera lakes, including at least five that are visible in the image. (Calderas are large depressions formed by volcanic eruptions.)
In the east, forested windbreaks around Nakashibetsu form a checkerboard pattern, while to the north, swirls of drifting sea ice adorn the Sea of Okhotsk.
The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea that routinely hosts large amounts of sea ice.
Although this winter brought unusually cold weather, long-term observations indicate that the amount of ice observed there each year has declined significantly in recent decades.
One 2026 analysis noted a 3.4 percent per decade decline in the maximum extent of its winter sea ice since the 1970s.
These changes could have implications for the region's marine ecosystems, which are known for being highly productive and producing massive phytoplankton blooms each spring after the ice melts.
Disruptive snowstorms are also striking elsewhere in Japan. In February, a storm blanketed western Japan in snow, leading to more travel disruptions and the early closure of some polling stations during national elections.
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/winter-grips-japan/
New PACE Imagery Services in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World
Feb. 9, 2026
PACE in EGIS
NASA is now offering 11 new Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) data products – including imagery services to study ocean, land, and atmosphere with global, 8-day image composites at varied spatial resolutions (from 2 to 11 km) – geared for geographic information system (GIS) users.
The products include ocean chlorophyll-a concentration (chl-a) and the terrestrial normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data as well as new, advanced products only from PACE.
Read descriptions of each of these imagery services and visually explore all imagery services together as map layers.
PACE imagery services are useful for applications in water resources, land monitoring and management, and air quality.
For example, aquatic products help users identify and track regional phytoplankton blooms and monitor changes in water optical properties continuously over weeks to months.
With the PACE land vegetation indices, it is possible to track monthly and seasonal changes in vegetation growth and photophysiology, which are metrics related to plant primary productivity and health.
Air quality indicators, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) and nitrogen dioxide concentration, provide first-order metrics of regional-scale air quality.
PACE Data
PACE was launched in February 2024 and is the first platform to provide near-daily, hyperspectral coverage of Earth’s surface, plus multi-angular polarimetry.
These data benefit society by expanding foundational knowledge of our planet and enabling novel, space-based science and application tools across many Earth science disciplines.
The Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), PACE's primary instrument, collects observations at moderate spatial resolution, enabling a relatively frequent revisit time of 1-2 days.
This combination of continuous, global coverage and spectral capabilities is unmatched by any other public or private satellite platform.
https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/news/new-pace-imagery-services-arcgis-living-atlas-world
NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,186 6 February 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)
February 9, 2026
The abstract in PubMed or at the publisher’s site is linked when available and will open in a new window.
In case you missed it: NASA’s National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) funded SonoMotion’s Break WaveTM lithotripsy device to fragment kidney stones, which are a considerable risk in spaceflight, has recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance.
To view the press release, go to: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sonomotion-announces-fda-clearance-for-its-break-wave-lithotripsy-device-for-treatment-of-kidney-stones-302666229.html.
https://astrobiology.com/2026/02/nasa-spaceline-current-awareness-list-1186-6-february-2026-space-life-science-research-results.html
Black aurora mission launches from Poker Flat
February 09, 2026
A second NASA sounding rocket launched from Poker Flat Research Range at about 3:30 a.m. today in a mission to study a form of northern lights known as black aurora.
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat, located at Mile 30 Steese Highway, and operates it under a contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is part of Goddard Space Flight Center.
The Black and Diffuse Aurora Science Surveyor mission, led by Marilia Samara of Goddard Space Flight Center, launched 10 days after Poker Flat’s first launch of the season.
The launch window for a third mission, consisting of two rockets, closes Feb. 20.
That experiment, led by Dartmouth College physics and astronomy professor Kristina Lynch, aims to gather information about how disturbances in Earth’s middle and upper ionosphere distort auroral curtains.
The two-stage rocket of Samara’s mission flew north on the second day of the two-week launch window. The mission was on the launchpad at Poker Flat in early 2025, but the necessary aurora conditions didn’t materialize before the launch window closed.
Black auroras form when streams of auroral particles temporarily thin or shut off in small regions of the upper atmosphere, creating well-defined dark shapes within the broader glow of a diffuse aurora.
Diffuse auroras themselves are typically faint and spread over large areas. Black auroras look as though pieces of the aurora have been erased. These dark structures drift and evolve along with the surrounding aurora.
https://www.gi.alaska.edu/news/badass-mission-launches-poker-flat
NASA built a $144,000,000 vehicle to transport rocket ships in Florida and almost no one knows it exists
Last updated on Feb 10, 2026 at 1:24 PM (UTC+4)
Before liftoff, NASA relies on its giant crawler-transporters to haul rocket ships on a journey that is even slower than the pace most people walk.
These massive machines look like something out of a sci-fi movie, yet they have been quietly doing the heavy lifting behind America’s biggest space missions for decades.
While rockets get the glory, these slow, steel giants handle the first critical miles of every journey to space.
And a new video shows exactly how important these vehicles are to NASA’s mission.
This is the largest self-powered land vehicle on Earth
Meet the crawler-transporter, a $144 million behemoth that carries NASA’s Space Launch System and its mobile launcher.
The transporter carries these all-important parts from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The trip is only about four miles, but it can take more than 10 hours.
That is because the crawler creeps along at roughly 1 mile per hour while supporting a combined load that can reach up to 18 million pounds after upgrades.
Suffice to say, you won’t be seeing the crawler on your local highway anytime soon.
Calling it a vehicle almost feels unfair.
It is large enough to fit nearly a professional baseball infield on top, and is considered the largest self-powered land vehicle on Earth.
Built in the 1960s by adapting mining equipment, NASA’s two crawlers have transported every launch vehicle from the Apollo era through the space shuttle and now the Artemis program.
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Running the slow-crawler is a complex operation
Operating one of these crawler-transporters is a team sport.
Around 25 to 30 engineers and technicians are involved, including drivers, system operators, and ‘walkers’ who move alongside the crawler watching for issues.
YouTube/Business Insider
Drivers sit in cabs at opposite corners, and instead of backing up, they switch cabs when direction changes.
One of the trickiest parts is steering.
The crawler can only turn its massive tracked ‘trucks’ by a few degrees, so drivers have to anticipate curves well in advance.
A special jacking, equalizing, and leveling system keeps the rocket perfectly level, even when the crawler climbs slopes or rolls over uneven ground.
Under the hood, the crawler is a blend of old and new.
Some of its giant engines date back to the original build, while modern upgrades like new roller bearings have boosted its carrying capacity.
Ahead of each trip, crews inspect thousands of components because they are responsible for billions of dollars of hardware riding on top.
https://supercarblondie.com/tech/nasa-built-a-144000000-crawler-transporter-to-transport-rocket-ships-in-florida/
Matching Veterans with NASA Citizen Science
February 10, 2026 at 3:00am ET
Since after World War II, the military has been involved in space activities, with more than half of astronauts having served in the Armed Forces.
Space studies and exploration inspire the future but also lead to innovative breakthroughs for life on earth. You do not have to work directly for space industries, like NASA, or join the U.S. Space Force to learn and contribute to space science.
In fact, you can do it from the comfort of your home. If you are curious, keep reading.
NASA Citizen Science
NASA provides fun and unique opportunities for anyone to join their Citizen Science Projects, which currently include 38 projects covering a wide range of topics for discovery such as planetary or biological sciences.
What makes these projects interesting is that you can participate in projects like classifying images of galaxies or help identify objects via images from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft that launched back in 2009.
As a volunteer, each project outlines the objective and how you can contribute simply using a smartphone or computer. For example, if you want to hunt for new planets and planet-like objects, there’s a project for that!
Currently, more than 3,800 new brown dwarfs (called “failed stars”) have been discovered, and more than 40 citizen scientist volunteers have become co-authors of published scientific papers.
The projects are a global collaboration of effort.
For education students, NASA also provides internship programs through the Office of STEM Engagement.
These opportunities are not just reserved for undergraduate students either. The academic levels go as high as post-doctoral research.
Be sure to check out the Expanding the Reach of NASA Citizen Science project, which offers the opportunity to work with the leadership to expand the educational materials and projects.
The registration deadline is at the end of this month for the summer 2026 term.
Why Veterans Are a Great Fit
Many of the opportunities are well-suited for military veterans as they are closely related to military job fields like materials, data analytics, LiDAR technology, propulsion, air traffic management, flight testing, strategic communications, and so much more.
Veterans understand the mission mindset and work well with structured objectives. Furthermore, veterans are no stranger to quickly adapting to new information, efficiently training, and working with others in distributed work environments across different time zones.
For veterans transitioning from service or looking for another community with purpose, citizen science provides it.
The space mission via citizen science projects provides a familiar feel of transferrable skills from military service such as attention to detail, teamwork, and pattern recognition through observation.
These projects may involve identification, monitoring, and mapping, which correlate to military jobs like intelligence analysis.
The best part is that whether volunteering your time or participating in an internship, veterans can engage in real-world applications of space science projects that lead to new discoveries and recognition.
https://www.military.com/feature/2026/02/08/matching-veterans-nasa-citizen-science.html
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
Grateful to join Director @mkratsios47 and the NSTC team today - representing top science and technology leadership from across the Administration.
NASA is all in on executing @POTUS’s agenda: returning to the Moon, building a lunar base, igniting the orbital economy, increasing the rate of world changing science and discovery, and securing American leadership in the ultimate high ground.
Quote
WHOSTP47
@WHOSTP47
Today, Director @mkratsios47 convened the National Science and Technology Council, bringing together @POTUS's S&T leadership from across the Administration.
This team is charging full speed ahead with executing the President's agenda and ushering in a new Golden Age of American Innovation 🇺🇸
5:20 PM · Feb 9, 2026
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2021031486665916647
https://x.com/WHOSTP47/status/2021011330845569072
other Isaacman
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
@NASAAdmin
It will never get old seeing Kennedy Space Center from the air–especially with two human-rated rockets standing vertical on Pads 39B and 40 for Artemis II and Crew-12.
It was an honor to share the skies with @AFThunderbirds Thunderbird 7, Lt. Col. Tyler Keener, Thunderbird 8, Maj. Samuel Larson, and NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya.
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2020983926022602849
https://x.com/NASAAdmin/status/2020984085754282078
https://secom.es/mars-time-dilation-discovery-forces-nasa-rewrite-mission-timelines/
Mars time dilation discovery quietly forces NASA to rewrite every future mission timeline
February 10, 2026
Sarah checked her smartwatch one more time before heading to bed. It was 11:47 PM in California, but she knew her husband wouldn’t get her “goodnight” message for another 14 minutes.
Not because of poor cell service or internet delays – but because he was working on Mars mission control, where time itself runs just a little bit differently.
It sounds like science fiction, but it’s becoming science fact.
After decades of theoretical predictions, we’re finally measuring something Einstein warned us about over a century ago: time doesn’t flow the same way everywhere in the universe.
And Mars just proved it in the most practical way possible.
When NASA’s atomic clocks aboard Mars orbiters started showing tiny but consistent discrepancies with Earth-based timekeeping, mission engineers initially thought they had a calibration problem.
The differences were microscopic – just a few billionths of a second per day.
But those billionths add up. Over months and years of Mars missions, the time dilation effect becomes impossible to ignore.
“We always knew this would happen theoretically,” explains Dr. Maria Rodriguez, a relativistic physics consultant for NASA’s Mars program.
“But seeing it play out in real mission data? That’s when theory becomes your daily operational challenge.”
Mars time dilation occurs because of two main factors Einstein predicted: gravitational time dilation and velocity-based time differences.
Mars has about 38% of Earth’s gravity, which means time moves slightly faster there. Meanwhile, Mars orbits the Sun at a different speed than Earth, creating additional relativistic effects.
The combined result? A Martian clock runs approximately 2.4 × 10⁻⁹ faster than an identical Earth clock.
That might sound insignificant, but when you’re coordinating billion-dollar space missions across 140 million miles, every nanosecond matters.
What this means for Mars exploration missions
The discovery of measurable mars time dilation is reshaping how space agencies plan future missions. Here are the key implications:
The effects become more pronounced with longer missions. A six-month Mars surface operation could accumulate timing errors of several microseconds without proper correction.
“It’s like trying to conduct an orchestra where the musicians are on different planets,” notes Dr. James Chen, mission timing coordinator for the Mars Sample Return program.
“Everyone needs to stay in sync, but the fundamental beat is different.”
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Navigation systems must account for relativistic effects when calculating trajectories
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Communication protocols need built-in time drift corrections
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Scientific instruments require recalibration to maintain accuracy across planetary time zones
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Emergency response procedures must factor in time dilation when coordinating with Earth
How this changes the game for future Mars colonies
When humans finally establish permanent settlements on Mars, mars time dilation will affect daily life in unexpected ways. Imagine video calling your family on Earth and gradually falling out of sync – not just with time zones, but with time itself.
Banking systems, medical records, and legal documentation will all need to account for the fact that Mars literally experiences time differently than Earth. A contract signed “simultaneously” on both planets won’t actually be simultaneous in any absolute sense.
“We’re going to need a new kind of universal time standard,” explains Dr. Rachel Kim, who studies interplanetary timekeeping systems. “Something that accounts for relativistic effects while still allowing coordination between worlds.”
The implications extend beyond logistics into philosophy and human experience. Martian colonists will age at a slightly different rate than their Earth-bound relatives. A person born on Mars will accumulate time differently throughout their entire life.
Medical monitoring becomes particularly complex. A heart rate measured on Mars needs relativistic correction before comparison with Earth-based medical standards.
Drug dosing schedules designed on Earth might require adjustment for Martian physiology operating on a different temporal foundation.
Future Mars cities will likely develop their own timekeeping systems, creating the first truly interplanetary time zones.
The Martian day, or “sol,” already runs about 39 minutes longer than Earth days. Combined with relativistic effects, Mars will develop its own unique relationship with time.
Communication delays between Earth and Mars already range from 4 to 24 minutes depending on orbital positions. Add time dilation effects, and long-distance relationships across planets become even more challenging to maintain.
“My grandmother always said time flies when you’re having fun,” jokes Dr. Chen. “But on Mars, time literally flies at a different speed. We’re going to have to rewrite all the old sayings.”
The economic implications are staggering too.
Financial markets operating across Earth and Mars will need to synchronize not just for time zones, but for the fundamental flow of time itself. Stock trades, currency exchanges, and contract executions will require unprecedented precision in relativistic calculations.
Space agencies are already developing new training protocols for astronauts and mission controllers. Understanding mars time dilation isn’t just academic knowledge anymore – it’s a practical skill required for mission success.
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Power outages reported near Space Center Houston amid rescue operation
February 10, 2026 10:27am CST
HOUSTON - A power outage has been reported near Space Center Houston after a rescue operation.
Rescue, power outage near Houston space centers
What we know:
A rescue operation happened near Saturn Lane and Second Street, between Space Center Houston and the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
Views from Sky FOX show construction equipment near downed power lines.
CenterPoint Energy confirmed that a third-party contractor struck "electric infrastructure" in the area, causing an outage that impacted about 1,300 customers.
FOX 26 confirmed a person was trapped in this incident. That person has since been rescued.
As of about 10 a.m. Tuesday, CenterPoint Energy's tracker map reported outages impacting about 30 customers near the Johnson Space Center. Estimated restoration times vary between 12:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, according to the tracker.
FOX 26 confirmed both space centers near the area are not impacted by the outages.
School closure
Why you should care:
Space Center Intermediate School confirms that classes have been canceled due to the campus' power being out.
The district is telling parents to pick up their students if they're already on campus.
What we don't know:
Other details are not available at this time.
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-space-center-power-outage-2026-february
UK Space Agency offers young people launchpad to space career with new internship programme
10 February 2026
The new programme is a UK-wide initiative designed to give students their launchpad into the space sector through structured internships with the space industry.
The initiative comes as the sector faces significant recruitment challenges. According to the most recent Space Skills Survey, 80% of space organisations faced recruitment difficulties – up from 61% in 2020.
More than half of organisations reported skills gaps in their current workforce, with 61% identifying gaps in job applicants. Nearly every organisation surveyed (95%) reported experiencing skills-related challenges.
Skills for Space will offer placements across a range of disciplines and locations, providing participants with practical experience in one of the UK’s fastest-growing industries.
Dr Paul Bate, CEO of the UK Space Agency, said:
The UK space sector is growing rapidly, and we need talented, diverse people to help us seize the opportunities ahead. Skills for Space will give young people from all backgrounds the chance to gain real-world experience and develop the skills our industry needs.
These 50 internships are an investment in the future of UK space – helping us build a workforce that is innovative, inclusive and ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
Running for eight weeks in July and August 2026, the programme provides undergraduates and Further Education students with hands-on experience of real-world projects that contribute directly to the UK space economy.
Skills for Space is a strategic investment in the UK’s future workforce.
By embedding practical skills and industry exposure, the programme helps close critical skills gaps in engineering, software, data science and professional competencies, while promoting equity, diversity and inclusion.
Ben Stern, UKspace Vice Chair and Chair of the Space Skills Advisory Panel said:
The space sector employs people from a variety of backgrounds in diverse roles across the whole of the country - but it is not always easy for students to realise that there are exciting opportunities open to them to follow a career in the space sector.
This scheme will help to raise awareness of the fantastic roles available in the UK space sector and break down barriers to entry.
Experience shows that successful internships can be an opening to longer term employment as companies and the intern already know each other.
We welcome the UK Space Agency’s support through this new scheme. Applications for internship candidates are now open, with placements being announced in May.
The UK space sector already employs more than 55,000 people and generates £18.6 billion for the economy. Internships are one of many routes into a space career.
The sector offers opportunities through apprenticeships, graduate schemes and direct entry roles across a range of areas.
David Edwards FRAeS, Chief Executive, Royal Aeronautical Society said:
The Royal Aeronautical Society welcomes the UK Space Agency’s Skills for Space internship programme and strongly supports its ambition to widen access to careers across the UK space sector.
The Society has a long-standing commitment to tackling the skills shortage across the aerospace sector.
Initiatives like Skills for Space will help to inspire the next generation of talent, and give young people practical experience and support pathways for a future career in space.
The Society looks forward to continuing its work with partners across government, industry and academia to strengthen the future space workforce.
Through this initiative, the UK Space Agency is strengthening the talent pipeline, supporting SMEs and larger organisations, and driving innovation and growth across the UK space sector – ensuring the UK remains globally competitive and inclusive.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-space-agency-offers-young-people-launchpad-to-space-career-with-new-internship-programme
Ex-SpaceX engineer plans to fly satellite using water-powered propulsion system
Feb 10, 2026 08:44 AM EST
Space startup General Galactic aims to fly a satellite using only water for in-orbit propellant.
The 1,100-pound satellite could validate two separate methods for water propulsion when it flies to space later this year.
If the General Galactic team, led by a pair of engineers in their 20s, succeeds, they could unlock a new form of space travel.
Trinity: General Galactic’s water propulsion mission
General Galactic’s CEO, Halen Mattison, is a former SpaceX engineer, while its CTO, Luke Neise, is a Varda Space veteran.
Both are co-founders of the company, which has scheduled a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission, expected to take flight in October this year.
Once its satellite is in space, the company aims to demonstrate water propellant for both chemical and electrical propulsion systems.
For the former, it will use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, then burn the hydrogen with oxygen as the oxidizer.
For electrical propulsion, it will split water and then apply sufficient electrical energy to convert the oxygen into plasma. It will then use a magnetic field to guide the plasma out of a thruster.
Using water provides several benefits when compared to traditional fuels like liquid methane.
Unlike liquid methane, operators don’t need to worry about keeping water cooled to -260 degrees Fahrenheit or about boil-off when the spacecraft absorbs too much sunlight. Accidental explosions would also no longer be a concern.
The mission, called Trinity, could validate water propulsion as a low-cost method for rapidly maneuvering satellites in space.
This is increasingly important, given the rising number of satellites orbiting our planet. The electric propulsion method, meanwhile, would provide a highly efficient system for deep space travel.
The future of propulsion
Ultimately, General Galactic’s system could prove to be a versatile, low-cost solution. The company is far from the only one to have highlighted the potential benefits of water propulsion.
NASA has long stated it eventually aims to harvest water ice on the moon and extract oxygen for propellant. In 2023, meanwhile, Japanese firm Pale Blue flew a nano-satellite using water vapor propulsion for the first time.
In an interview with Wired, Niese said General Galactic aims to show “we can provide both the long-efficiency maneuver, but also sometimes folks need to get somewhere fast or respond really quickly to a dramatic event in the orbital environment.”
According to Mattison, General Galactic’s water propulsion system could provide 5-10 times the Delta-V of traditional systems. This refers to the total change in velocity and direction that a spacecraft is capable of achieving over time.
The company eventually aims to build a propellant station on Mars and also build the refueling infrastructure needed to support flights to the Red Planet.
Firstly, though, they will have to prove their water propulsion system is capable of powering a satellite with their Trinity mission.
https://interestingengineering.com/space/satellite-using-water-powered-propulsion-system
https://www.wired.com/story/general-galactic-water-rocket-fuel-test/
China claims first successful test of wireless brain-computer interface in space
Feb 10, 2026 07:59 AM EST
A China-based team of researchers has reportedly completed the “world’s first in-orbit verification” of a wireless implantable brain-computer interface (BCI).
Global Times reported that the BCI device, a Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) creation, reached orbit this past December via a dedicated space experiment platform.
Notably, a system designed to read the brain has survived and thrived in the extreme environment of space.
Astronaut brain health monitoring
The goal of the experiment was to see if this tech could work in space conditions. In this experiment, a functioning BCI was placed within a simulated body-fluid environment.
Interestingly, the device maintained a stable electroencephalogram (EEG) signal collection despite the harsh rigors of space. This test provided vital data on hardware durability and noise interference.
The device filled a “critical international gap,” proving that sensitive neural electronics don’t have to degrade or short-circuit once they leave Earth’s atmosphere.
The team says that apart from proving the hardware works in space, these results offer insights into how the human brain adapts to the void.
It offers the first-of-its-kind metrics on electrode durability in space. The data allows scientists to map the precise ways microgravity alters neural firing patterns. More details about this experiment and the kind of platform have not been disclosed.
Space does strange things to the human mind. When humans leave Earth’s gravitational pull, the brain undergoes a series of physical and functional transformations. It is an incredibly adaptable organ, but microgravity pushes it to the limit.
The primary driver of these changes is the cephalad fluid shift — the upward movement of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that is normally pulled toward our feet by gravity.
Recent studies have shown that long-term missions can actually enlarge the brain’s ventricles, potentially impacting cognitive speed and waste removal.
With this BCI technology, neural activity can be monitored in real time, and scientists can finally see how microgravity rewires an astronaut’s brain. A
As a result, astronauts’ cognitive health can be protected during the demanding, multi-year missions required to reach Mars.
15th Five-Year Plan
Existing rigid electrodes often fail due to poor flexibility, metal corrosion, and the risk of damaging delicate brain tissue.
The NPU team, led by Professors Chang Honglong and Ji Bowen, took a different route.
To solve this, they developed a flexible electrode array that mimics the brain’s natural contours, ensuring a snug, non-invasive fit against the brain tissue.
This “soft” design prevents long-term degradation and allows for the capture of exceptionally clear neural data without harming the organ’s surface.
In animal trials, this new electrode reportedly outperformed standard metal versions, with signal stability metrics improving by several hundredfold.
Beyond just recording data, the system enables safe, long-term neural stimulation and remains functional and safe even within ultra-high-field MRI machines.
Reportedly, this development was prestigious enough to earn the Outstanding Student Paper Presentation Award at the 39th International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS).
Both the US and China have been actively involved in developing Brain-Computer Interface technology. But China isn’t treating BCI as a side project.
The government has officially labeled it one of six “industries of the future.” It is also integrated into the national 15th Five-Year Plan to accelerate technology development.
The ultimate goal is to weave BCI into healthcare and manufacturing by 2027, with the long-term goal of establishing a globally dominant industrial ecosystem by 2030.
It could transform terrestrial neurorehabilitation while simultaneously protecting astronauts’ cognitive health during multi-year deep-space missions.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/china-tests-wireless-bci-space
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbtaF9-X02k
Space Base Delta 3 Command Team Attends Diplomatic Reception, Underscoring Indo Pacific Commitment
01.13.2026
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Space Force Col. Andrew Dermanoski, commander of Space Base Delta 3, joined distinguished guests at a diplomatic reception hosted at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan.
The event commemorated the anniversary of Operation Tomodachi (friendship) and the Japan Self‑Defense Force’s 71st birthday, highlighting the enduring partnership between the United States and Japan.
Japan’s Defense Minister, Shinjirō Koizumi, delivered remarks emphasizing the strength of the Japan‑U.S. alliance and Japan’s renewed focus on national defense amid evolving challenges in the Indo‑Pacific region.
Japan faces a most severe and complex security environment of the post‑war era,” Minister Koizumi said, noting the nation’s efforts to secure resources, expand funding, and enhance missile capabilities. “As a result, next year’s budget exceeds $60 billion dollars, our highest ever.
Col. Dermanoski highlighted the strategic importance of Los Angeles Air Force Base in fostering international collaboration.
“Los Angeles is the historic heart of the aerospace industry; with new defense tech start-ups that continue to push the frontiers, this is the place our allies come to see innovation at work,” he said.
Dermanoski also reflected on the deepening ties between allied commands and Japan’s diplomatic community.
“The Operation Tomodachi event at the Consulate General’s residence reminded us of the amazing work we can accomplish together, and we look forward to building the future of space with our friends.”
Guests described the reception as a meaningful demonstration of unity and shared resolve, underscoring the importance of cooperation, readiness, and collective security in an increasingly complex global environment.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/557130/space-base-delta-3-command-team-attends-diplomatic-reception-underscoring-indo-pacific-commitment
Ukrainian assassination plot suspects monitored multiple Russian MOD officials – FSB
10 Feb, 2026 11:48
The suspects in an assassination attempt on Russian General Vladimir Alekseyev had monitored several other high-ranking Defense Ministry officials, the country’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has said.
Alekseyev, the first deputy chief of Russia’s military intelligence agency GRU, was shot on Friday in the corridor of his apartment building in Moscow.
The prime suspect in the case is 65-year-old Ukrainian-born Russian citizen Lyubomir Korba. He was arrested in the United Arab Emirates at Russia’s request and transferred to Moscow over the weekend. Kiev has denied any involvement in the attack.
A third suspect in the attempt on Alekseyev’s life has been detained, the FSB said in a statement on Tuesday.
The agency identified him as Pavel Vasin, a Russian citizen in his mid-40s and the son of Korba’s other alleged accomplice, Viktor Vasin, who had been arrested earlier.
The younger Vasin’s confession “helped identify two more high-ranking officials in the Russian Defense Ministry who had been monitored by Korba and Viktor Vasin on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, with the aim of carrying out further acts of sabotage and terrorism,” the statement read.
According to the FSB, Pavel Vasin purchased surveillance equipment for his father and Korba, while also providing vehicles that they used to surveil Russian Defense Ministry officials and pick up the gun used in the attack on Alekseyev from a cache.
He also assisted the other suspects in collecting data online about the targets that had been “selected by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU),” it said.
Korba earlier told investigators that he had been recruited by the SBU last August and promised $30,000 for killing the general.
Alekseyev, who had four shots fired at him, remains in hospital in stable condition. He is conscious and is able to talk, TASS reported on Monday, citing medical sources.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that the attack on the general was an attempt by the Ukrainian government to sabotage the peace process.
Representatives of Moscow, Kiev, and Washington held a second round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi aimed at settling the Ukraine conflict last Wednesday and Thursday, with the Russian delegation being headed by Alekseyev’s boss, Admiral Igor Kostyukov, who heads the GRU.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632250-ukraine-assassination-alekseyev-fsb/
‘Avalanche’ of complaints against Ukrainian forced mobilization – ombudsman
10 Feb, 2026 07:37
Complaints against Ukrainian conscription officers have risen 340-fold since 2022, the country’s human rights ombudsman, Dmitry Lubinets, told lawmakers on Wednesday. The “avalanche” signals a “systemic crisis” the government must address, Lubinets said.
According to the ombudsman, his office received only 18 complaints in 2022, when the military still had a steady flow of volunteers after the escalation of the conflict with Russia.
Numbers surged in 2024 after Ukraine’s costly failed counteroffensive required mass conscription to replace losses. There were 3,312 complaints that year and 6,127 in 2025, he said, predicting another doubling or tripling in 2026.
He noted that some Ukrainians die after being seized by recruiters. Last week in Dnepr, a 55-year-old man was pronounced dead after three officers allegedly fractured his skull while grabbing him in the street.
The slang term ‘busification’, for harsh draft enforcement, was named 2024’s word of the year by a leading Ukrainian language monitor. The practice has also strained relations with Budapest, which has protested the mistreatment of ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine.
For years, Ukrainian authorities have downplayed the issue, calling most online videos of conscription brutality Russian fabrications. However, last month Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky ordered new Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov to “deal with busification.”
Moscow has long warned that manpower shortages, worsened by draft evasion and desertions, are the Ukrainian military’s greatest weakness, beyond the reach of Western aid to fix.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632237-ukraine-busification-complaints-skyrocket/
Terror attacks prove somebody in Kiev not ready for peace – Fyodor Lukyanov
9 Feb, 2026 23:14
Russia is demonstrating notable restraint in the face of constant attempts to undermine peace talks, Fyodor Lukyanov has said, commenting on the latest developments around negotiations to settle the Ukraine conflict.
Speaking to RT on the sidelines of the Valdai International Discussion Club on Monday, the research director suggested that attacks – such as an assassination attempt on a senior military intelligence general in Moscow last week – often coincide suspiciously with moments when progress in negotiations is expected.
“It’s quite interesting to follow that somebody tries to make demonstrative terror attacks exactly at the point when something is expected,” Lukyanov said.
“Whether it is a consolidated decision on the side of the Ukrainian leadership or whether the leadership there is more or less split and there are different factions, I don’t know.
But, of course, we see that at least somebody on that side is not interested in a successful end of talks.”
Lukyanov, who is also editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs and chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, outlined what he described as two parallel tracks in the current negotiation process.
One involves technical discussions, such as those held during recent talks in Abu Dhabi, focusing on what can and should be done once a political settlement is reached.
According to Lukyanov, this track may prove relatively successful because negotiators on both sides understand the process.
However, the more decisive political track remains uncertain.
He pointed to contacts involving Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev and figures close to US President Donald Trump as an example of efforts aimed at achieving a broader political settlement.
“Sometimes we hear positive statements, sometimes more skeptical ones… The main positive development is that we still see this process going,” Lukyanov stressed, noting that media leaks about the talks may be misleading or inaccurate.
Commenting on Moscow’s response to provocations, Lukyanov said Russia has so far exercised significant restraint.
“As far as the Russian reaction is concerned, I think that Russia demonstrates a very, very high degree of patience,” he said.
This, he explained, stems from Moscow’s desire to achieve a stable, long-term settlement despite attempts to sabotage the process.
https://www.rt.com/russia/632231-ukraine-talks-provocations-lukyanov/