Space news

China added a new experiment module to its space station Sunday, following a high-profile launch from the country’s coastal spaceport.

Continuing a record-breaking launch cadence, SpaceX sent a Falcon 9 rocket aloft Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida with 53 more satellites for the company’s Starlink internet network, the sixth Falcon 9 launch in 17 days and 33rd overall this year.

The person tapped to be the next head of NASA’s astrophysics division says his top priority is to keep the agency’s next large space telescope on schedule and within its budget.

During SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Starlink mission on July 22, SpaceX captured an incredible video of the rocket flying over the moon. Perhaps...

SpaceX launched the Starlink 4-25 mission Sunday, at 9:38 AM EDT (13:38 UTC). A Falcon 9 rocket carried another 53 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation, each with a mass of approximately 300 kilograms. The satellites were deployed into an initial orbit of about 230 by 340 kilometers in altitude at an inclination of 53.2 degrees, separating from the second stage of the launch vehicle slightly more than 15 minutes after liftoff.

China’s heavy-lift Long March 5B rocket launched Sunday with the second major element of the Chinese Tiangong space station, sending the 25-ton Wentian science module on course for docking at the orbiting outpost.

China has launched the Wentian Laboratory Cabin Module on Sunday, July 24 at 06:22 UTC out of the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. The module is one of two planned for launch this year to China’s Tiangong space station, with the second being the Mengtian module which is slated to launch in October.

SpaceX has rounded out its busiest July ever with a pair of Falcon 9 Starlink launches, simultaneously breaking its annual launch record...

Vaya Space, a developing small satellite and technology company (formerly Rocket Crafters), is deep into the development of their STAR-3D vortex hybrid engine that will be used on the company’s Dauntless rocket.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently shared that Starlink internet is available in 36 countries. This isn’t just an incredible milestone for SpaceX,...

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) Saturday in preparation for liftoff Sunday with the company’s next batch of Starlink internet satellites.

SpaceX is preparing for a test-firing of a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) Saturday in preparation for liftoff Sunday with the company’s next batch of Starlink internet satellites. The rocket’s nine Merlin engines will fire for about seven seconds while hold-down clamps keep the Falcon 9 firmly on the ground at pad 39A. The Falcon 9 is set to lift off Sunday at 9:38 a.m. EDT (1338 GMT) with 53 Starlink internet satellites, marking SpcaeX’s 33rd launch of the year, and the 53rd dedicated launch for the Starlink network. Email the author. Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

SpaceX and Mattel are partnering to create new rocket ship toys for children. Fast Company noted that the announcement came on the...

The U.K. announced a public consultation July 22 to assess the environmental impact of the country’s first space launch, as part of the licensing process for clearing Virgin Orbit’s mission this year.

Startup SCOUT Space won a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Space Force to augment military systems with commercial data from space-based sensors

SpaceX broke several records on the Starlink Group 3-2 mission. Launching from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the Falcon 9 Block 5 placed 46 Starlink internet communication satellites into the third shell of the constellation.

Sample the best tidbits from space exploration this week, including news from across the Solar System and beyond, and personal insights from leaders of exploration.

With the 2022 barely half over, SpaceX launched its 32nd mission of the year Friday from California’s Central Coast, breaking the company’s record for most launches in a year and delivering 46 more Starlink internet satellites into polar orbit to provide global broadband service.

"EcoRocket Heavy is an ecological, reusable, unprecedentedly low-cost rocket."

NASA’s safety advisers warn that the agency’s efforts to transition from the International Space Station to commercial space stations without a gap are on a “precarious trajectory.”

Finding asteroids that threaten the Earth requires a combination of tools, not to mention money. Are we spending enough to avert disaster?

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti headed outside the International Space Station on a rare joint spacewalk Thursday. They continued outfitting a European robotic arm and deployed 10 nanosatellites for radio technology experiments.

SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 launch attempt Thursday less than a minute before liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the company’s first terminal countdown abort in more than 18 months for reasons other than bad weather or range safety.

NASA is delaying the next commercial crew mission to the International Space Station by nearly a month after the Falcon 9 booster that will launch it was damaged during transport across the country for testing.

Ahead of the Artemis I flight test, NASA is inviting media to its Johnson Space Center in Houston Friday, Aug. 5, for a detailed mission briefing and a behind-the-scenes look at facilities that will enable a long-term human presence at the Moon.

Northrop Grumman ignited a full-scale booster for NASA’s Space Launch System Thursday on a hillside firing stand in Utah, completing a two-minute test designed to demonstrate a new motor ignitor and steering system for use on future versions of the giant moon rocket.

NASA has awarded Draper of Cambridge, Massachusetts a contract to deliver Artemis science investigations to the Moon in 2025.

In its proposed 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, the Senate Armed Services Committee directs the Pentagon’s outside business advisors to review the acquisition process for space programs

British Earth observation startup Satellite Vu has ordered a second satellite from Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) for its planned thermal imaging constellation.

NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 27, to discuss the architecture for its Mars Sample Return campaign.

China’s launch vehicle makers appear to be designing a fully reusable version of the Long March 9 super heavy-lift rocket needed for future megaprojects.

The Planetary Society is resuming in-person events for our members. Here's a brief look back at some of our recent events.

The fourth of nine sections for SpaceX’s Starship launch pad gantry was moved to Launch Complex 39A Wednesday night for stacking, following the emplacement of the tower’s first three segments last month.

Contact remains a unique movie due to its representation of science. It remains a great film due to the treatment of doubt and faith as a universal aspect of human existence.

European small launch vehicle developer Isar Aerospace has signed an agreement with the French space agency CNES to launch its Spectrum rocket from French Guiana.

NASA awarded a contract to Draper to send three science instruments to the far side of the moon through a commercial payload delivery program.

The U.K. sees satellite servicing, debris removal and orbital sustainability as an opportunity to emerge as a major global space power.

NASA is tentatively targeting Aug. 29 for the long-awaited maiden flight of the agency’s huge Space Launch System moon rocket, officials said Wednesday. But they cautioned major challenges remain for the oft-delayed mega rocket and an official date will not be set until later this summer.

The Senate is moving forward with a revised version of a NASA authorization bill that formally authorizes the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration effort and extends operations of the International Space Station.

Spire Global said July 20 it plans to improve its weather forecast services by fitting future smallsats in its fleet with microwave sounders from RAL Space, the British government’s national laboratory.

As the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket prepares for its first flight as soon as late August, Northrop Grumman conducted the program’s Flight Support Booster-2 test firing on Thursday at its facility in Promontory, Utah.

NASA has reserved three days in late August and early September for the first launch of its Space Launch System rocket to send the Orion spacecraft to orbit around the moon and back.

On Monday, SpaceX was spotted loading some of the first Starlink V2 satellite prototypes into a custom mechanism designed to refill Starship’s...

The major remaining task? Arming the rocket's flight termination system.

The Planetary Society is looking for a host/producer of Planetary Radio.

Planetary Radio host Mat Kaplan has an announcement for listeners.

The DARPA-funded Red-Eye experiment demonstrated capabilities such as on-board data processing, inter-satellite communications and software-defined radios.