On December 28, 2015 at 16:04 UTC (on December 29 at 00:04 Beijing time) the Chang Zheng-3B (Long March-3B) rocket-carrier was launched from Xichang Cosmodrome, Sichuan province, southwestern China. The rocket orbited the “Gaofen-4” satellite. The satellite will enter service over the Asia-Pacific, with its imaging telescope able to observe a swath of the planet from the Persian Gulf to Australia, centered on China and Southeast Asia.

On December 24, 2015 at 21:31 UTC (On December 25 at 00:31 Moscow time) the Russian "Proton-M” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the "Briz-M” booster orbited the Russian “Express AMU1” telecommunication satellite. This large European-built telecommunications satellite is to broadcast television, radio and other services across Russia and sub-Saharan Africa. Based on Airbus Defense and Space’s Eurostar E3000 satellite platform, Express AMU1 is designed for a 15-year mission.

On December 23, 2015 at 10:27 UTC the Upgraded Russian “Progress MS-01” unmanned supply spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was docked to the Russian “Pirs” module. The spacecraft carried 2436 kilograms of cargo for the six-member ISS crew.  The Progress MS series of cargo vehicles carry upgrades that will fly on Soyuz crew spacecraft will beginning in mid-2016.

On December 22, 2015 at 01:29 UTC the "Falcon 9 FT” rocket-carrier was launched from the Cape Canaveral US Air Force Station in Florida. The launch was performed by the "SpaceX” private company supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited 11 Orbcomm G2 communications satellites. The Falcon launch also resulted in the first return of the vehicle’s first stage to the launch site. The landing achievement is a big step toward proving the Falcon rocket can be reused, a key tenet for the company’s goal of slashing the costs of space transportation.

On December 21, 2015 American astronauts Scott Kelly and Timothy Kopra performed the spacewalk. They freed up a stalled robot arm-carrying transporter so it could be moved to a nearby anchor point and locked down, clearing the way for a Russian Progress supply spacecraft to dock on December 23. The EVA lasted 3 hours and 16 minutes. This was the 191st spacewalk since station assembly began in 1998, the third for Kelly and the second for Kopra.