Space News for Saturday, December 23, 2023

In this episode, we aggregate and summarize today's top space news stories. Enjoy!(00:10) Podcast Introduction(00:25) Rocket Lab wins $515 million contract to build 18 satellites for U.S. government agency(00:57) Firefly Alpha upper stage malfunction puts payload into wrong orbit(01:26) NASA report studies options for a future national laboratory in orbit after ISS(01:58) To win the new space race, NASA and the DoD need to shift their collaboration into high gear(02:28) Shenzhou-17 astronauts conduct first spacewalk to repair solar array(02:57) Month: (03:22) SpaceX launches Falcon 9 first-stage booster on record-breaking 19th flight(03:56) Kennedy Space Center Looks Ahead to Busy 2024(04:32) NASA’s Deep Space Network Turns 60 and Prepares for the Future(05:02) Meet the Infrared Telescopes That Paved the Way for NASA’s Webb(05:31) 1,000 sols into their mission, Perseverance and Ingenuity continue to investigate Jezero Crater