Space news

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on May 4 issued a solicitation for proposals for the next phase of a demonstration of a nuclear powered spacecraft.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft was hoisted atop the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket today in preparation for the second Orbital Flight Test (OFT-2)which will demonstrate the crew transportation system’s ability to safely carry astr...

Astroscale said May 4 it made another close-approach rendezvous between its two ELSA-d spacecraft last month but ongoing thruster problems continue to hold up a capture demonstration delayed from January.

Ready for another try at launching on a test flight to the International Space Station, Boeing rolled a repaired Starliner crew capsule to United Launch Alliance’s seaside rocket hangar at Cape Canaveral Wednesday to prepare for a liftoff scheduled for May 19.

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 3:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 5, to discuss the status of the next wet dress rehearsal test of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA will provide live coverage of the upcoming return activities for the agency’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission.

The zoomable camera on NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars recently captured a dramatic view of Phobos, the largest of the Red Planet’s two potato-shaped moons, crossing the face of the sun in a solar eclipse lasting a little more than 40 seconds.

Ten months later, another chance at a do-over for Boeing's crewed spacecraft.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson offered a surprisingly strong endorsement of fixed-price contracts and competition at a congressional hearing May 3, calling traditional cost-plus contracts a “plague” on the agency.

For the first time in almost three years, a spacecraft meant to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket has arrived in Cape...

South Korean startup NaraSpace Technology will use the $7.88 million to pursue the development of optical remote-sensing nanosatellites.

A key official for Europe’s ExoMars mission believes that the rover’s launch will be pushed back until at least 2028 to accommodate changes after ending cooperation with Russia.

AST SpaceMobile secured an experimental license May 2 to test services in the United States from BlueWalker 3, the prototype satellite slated to launch this summer for its planned cellphone-compatible broadband constellation.

Rocket Lab used a helicopter to capture a spent Electron first stage booster and its parachute after launching satellites from New Zealand Monday, a significant step forward for the company’s rocket recovery and reuse program. The helicopter dropped the rocket a few seconds later.

NASA has recognized a new generation of potential space explorers who competed in the agency’s 28th annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge.

South Korean rocket startup Innospace announced May 3 that it will conduct its first suborbital test launch of flight hardware in December from the Alcântara Space Center in Brazil, carrying a Brazilian military payload.

The rotorcraft provided rover scientists an aerial perspective of an interesting rocky outcrop.

"You get it done with that competitive spirit. You get it done cheaper."

Two Chinese rockets, including one launched from an ocean-going platform in the East China Sea, deployed seven optical Earth-imaging satellites in a pair of successful missions last week.

"It's kind of like Ghostbusters in some way."

A NASA lunar cubesat mission is now scheduled to launch in late May on a Rocket Lab Electron after resolving issues with the rocket’s kick stage.

In a significant achievement, public launch provider Rocket Lab has – with a few caveats – successfully used a helicopter to catch...

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee pressed Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John “Jay” Raymond on the Space Force’s plans to acquire next-generation technologies and develop the future workforce.

SpaceWERX selected 125 industry teams for the initial phase of the Orbital Prime program, an effort to develop technologies for orbital debris removal and other space services.

Evidence is mounting of a need to perform an environmental review before approving SpaceX’s plans to add nearly 30,000 satellites to its Starlink constellation, satellite broadband competitor Viasat told the FCC May 2.

Russia fired a rocket into orbit Friday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the first use of an Angara launcher for a satellite mission, 30 years after starting work on the program just after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Russia successfully fired a rocket into orbit Friday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the first use of an Angara launcher for an operational satellite mission, 30 years after work started on the program just after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Now more than a third of the way through 2022, SpaceX remains firmly on track to hit CEO Elon Musk’s target of...

The Planetary Society is seeking a Chief Financial Officer. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and working with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Board of Directors, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) leads all financial and human resource functions for The Planetary Society.

After being confirmed by the Senate, Frank Calvelli will be sworn in as assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration

After announcing plans to recover and reuse the first stage of the company’s Electron rocket back in 2019, the California-based rocket company has attempted a mid-air recovery for the very first time. After a successful mid-air catch, the recovery helicopter pilot noticed different load characteristics than expected, and released the stage so it could softly splash down for an ocean recovery.

"We all need to be thinking bigger and better and really inspirationally about what we can do."

German startup Vyoma said April 28 it has partnered with European IT giant Atos to build a database of tiny space objects that it plans to track with its own satellites from next year.

"He has spent his time at Roscosmos trying to get back into Putin’s good graces."

A senator and former astronaut said he did not expect Russia to perform another test of an antisatellite weapon because of the debris that posed a risk to that country’s own satellites as well as others.

Rocket Lab declared success in its effort to catch an Electron booster in midair after launch May 2, even though the helicopter had to release the booster moments later.

The U.S. Space Force plans to request nearly $8 billion over the next five years to scale up development of classified communications satellite networks

SpaceX had its busiest month yet in April in terms of launches as the company emphasizes the value of a high flight rate.

The United Arab Emirates will fly an astronaut on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station through an agreement with Axiom Space.

Sierra Space says it is making good progress on its first Dream Chaser spaceplane as the company looks ahead to versions of the vehicle that can carry crews and perform national security missions.

SpaceX has successfully launched and landed the same Falcon 9 booster twice in three weeks, smashing the current record for orbital-class rocket...

Rocket Lab called off the planned launch and recovery of an Electron booster Friday, preferring to wait for better wind and cloud cover conditions a few days from now. The next opportunity to launch the mission from New Zealand is Sunday.

SpaceX made its seventeenth launch of the year on Friday to put another batch of Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. A Falcon 9 rocket carried out the Starlink Group 4-16 mission, lifting off at 5:27:10 pm EDT (21:27 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Saudi Arabian fleet operator Arabsat has ordered its first fully software-defined geostationary satellite to provide flexible coverage across the Middle East, Africa and parts of Europe.

NASA is requesting public comment on the scope of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the agency’s proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign.

New ways of looking at the star that graces our skies, plus this week’s space news.

“For those that know rockets, this is a ridiculously hard thing."