On February 07, 2016 at 00:30 UTC the Democratic People's Republic of Korea launched the "Unha-3” three-stage rocket-carrier from Sohae Satellite Launching Station (also known as Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center and Pongdong-ri) in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The rocket orbited the "Kwangmyongsong-4” satellite. The DPRK National Aerospace Development Administration on Sunday issued a report on the successful launch of the “Kwangmyongsong-4” earth observation satellite. The report said: Scientists and technicians of the DPRK National Aerospace Development Administration succeeded in putting the newly developed earth observation satellite Kwangmyongsong-4 into its orbit according to the 2016 plan of the 5-year program for national aerospace development.

On February 07, 2016 at 00:21 UTC the “Soyuz-2.1b” rocket-carrier was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk region, North Russia. The launch was performed by Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The rocket equipped with the “Fregat” booster (upper stage) orbited the “Glonass-M” navigation satellite. The Russian GLONASS Global Navigation Satellite System – operated by the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces – is currently the only global alternative to the American GPS fleet in operation that has global coverage of comparable precision.

On February 5, 2016 at 13:38 UTC the "Atlas-5” rocket-carrier was launched from Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by United Launch Alliance supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The rocket orbited the GPS IIF-12 navigation satellite.

American astronaut Edgar Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the moon, died on February 4, 2016, one day before the 45th anniversary of his landing on the Moon with crewmate Alan Shepard. He was 85.

On February 3, 2016 at 12:56 UTC two Russian cosmonauts Yuri Malenchenko and Sergey Volkov began their spacewalk. The cosmonauts collected residue samples from the Pirs hatch and a window on the Zvezda command module before removing an experiment package known as EXPOSE-R, which exposed various biological and biochemical materials to the space environment. Malenchenko and Volkov then moved up to the “Poisk” module where they swapped out another set of space exposure samples and reoriented a thruster plume impingement monitor. They also attached another space exposure experiment before moving to the “Zarya” module and installing two handrails. The final task of the spacewalk was testing an applicator similar in appearance to a packing tape dispenser. Using a test panel, the cosmonauts applied specially coated tape intended to test thin films that could prove useful reconditioning exterior pa ... Read more »

On February 1, 2016 at 07:29 UTC the Chang Zheng-3C (Long March-3C) rocket-carrier was launched from Xichang Cosmodrome, Sichuan province, southwestern China. The rocket equipped with the YZ-1 booster orbited the “Beidou-3” navigation satellite.

On January 29, 2016 at 22:20 UTC (on January 30 at 01:20 Moscow time) the Russian "Proton-M” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the "Briz-M” booster orbited the “Eutelsat-9B” telecommunication satellite. A commercial satellite is designed to broadcast hundreds of television channels across Europe from the United Kingdom to the Middle East and better link European surveillance satellites and the International Space Station to scientists on the ground. The “Eutelsat-9B” satellite is designed for a 15-year mission.

On January 27, 2016 at 23:20 UTC the Ariane 5ECA” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The rocket orbited the "Intelsat-29e” telecommunication satellite. Designed for a 15-year lifetime, Intelsat 29e will support video and data distribution across South America with its C-band links, while its Ku-band covers a wide swath of the Americas, including aeronautical routes over the North Atlantic, where passengers will receive live television and broadband Internet thanks to Intelsat 29e.

On January 20, 2016 at 04:01 UTC the PSLV-C31 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket-carrier was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center on Sriharikota Island, India's primary launch site on the country's east coast. The rocket orbited IRNSS-1E navigation satellite. India’s first launch of 2016 was tasked with deploying the IRNSS-1E satellite, the fifth member of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS).

On January 17, 2016 at 18:42 UTC the "Falcon-9” rocket-carrier was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, USA. The launch was performed by SpaceX. The rocket orbited the “Jason-3” ocean research satellite. The third Jason satellite, Jason-3 joins a series of spacecraft launched under partnership between the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA, pan-European weather research organisation EUMETSAT and French space agency CNES. The attempt to land the first stage of the Falcon rocket on the ASDS in the Pacific Ocean was unsuccessful.