On February 2, 2021 at 20:45 UTC the “Soyuz-2.1b” rocket-carrier was launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Arkhangelsk region, North Russia. The rocket orbited the “Kosmos-2549” military spy satellite to detect, locate, and characterize foreign military radio signals.

American female astronaut Millie Elizabeth Hughes-Fulford passed away on February 2, 2021. She performed 1 space flights by Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-40) in June 1991.

On February 1, 2021 American astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover performed the spacewalk to complete solar array battery replacement work that began four years ago. They also installed three new video cameras and made preparations for upcoming work to install new roll-out solar blankets to upgrade the lab’s power system. The EVA lasted 5 hours and 20 minutes. It was the 4^th spacewalk for Michael Hopkins and the 2^nd spacewalk for Victor Glover.

On January 29, 2021, at 04:47 the “Long March –4C” (“Changzheng-4C”) rocket-carrier was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, Gansu Province, the northwest of China. The rocket orbited 3 “Yaogan-31” military spy satellites. The 3 “Yaogan-31” military satellites are believed by Western analysts to be maritime reconnaissance satellites, helping Chinese military authorities track foreign naval movements. China uses the “Yaogan” name as a cover name for military satellites.

On January 27, 2021 American astronauts Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover performed the spacewalk to install a European Space Agency data relay antenna and to connect four of six cables to partially power a new ESA experiment platform. They also removed two solar array handling fixtures to clear the way for a future power system upgrade. The EVA lasted 6 hours and 56 minutes. It was the 3rd spacewalk for Michael Hopkins and the 1^st spacewalk for Victor Glover.