The Columbia space shuttle lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003. This month is going to be 20 years since its breakup, as it returned to Earth killed all seven crew members on board.
F. has been approaching Earth for the first time in 50,000 years. The comet will make its closest approach to our planet on Thursday, February 2, and its green-hued ice ball and tail will be visible from the Earth's surface. Even if weather foils opportunities to see the comet that day, there will be more chances to spot it, including on February 10, when its proximity to Mars in the night sky may make it easy to find.
Two spacecraft could pull up to the International Space Station late in the month, each with important missions. The first will be an empty Russian Soyuz capsule, as early as February 20. The mission of the spacecraft is to provide a trip home for a trio of Russian and American astronauts whose original ride was damaged during a micrometeoroid strike in December. The crew of astronauts was expected to return to Earth in March, but could stay in orbit for several more months.
The progress of the flight could affect the timing of Crew 6, a launch of four astronauts to the I.S. S. aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vessel that is to replace the four astronauts of Crew 5. Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg of NASA, Andrey Fedyaev of Russia and Sultan Alneyadi are on board the crew - 6 aircraft and will be the second astronaut from the United Arab Emirates to visit the station. January had a mixed start on this front. The company Rocket Lab had its first flight from Wallops Island in Virginia after earlier trips from its New Zealand home base. An attempt to launch the first orbital rocket from England failed, according to an attempt by Virgin Orbit. ABL Space Systems had an energetic explosion during its first launch. There are other rockets to keep an eye on in February. SpaceX completed a fueling test of its next generation orbital rocket prototype at the end of January. The rocket is central to SpaceX's ambitions of getting to Mars and NASA's plans to get astronauts back on the moon. The company may conduct a static fire next month - where the 33 engines on the booster stage fire are held in place while the ship itself is held in place. If that succeeds, it could launch the first flight of the rocket to orbit in March.
Other launchers are making progress. The United Launch Alliance is preparing for the first flight of its new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which could fly from Florida during the first quarter of the year. Another company, Relativity Space, has also been on the launchpad in Florida with its Terran 1 rocket, and its first flight is expected soon.