Space news

The expansion of Chinese ground stations in South America is generating concern regarding Beijing’s intentions in the region and in space, according to a new report.

SpaceX’s third Falcon 9 launch in a little over 31 hours was called off seconds before liftoff after the rocket’s onboard computer...

Virgin Orbit says it is technically ready for its next LauncherOne mission, and the first orbital launch from the United Kingdom, but is still waiting on a launch license from the British government.

NOAA is preparing to launch the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 on Nov. 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 B1071-5 has launched 52 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California. The Starlink 4-29 mission was targeting launch on Monday, Oct. 3; however, the target was delayed 24 hours to Tuesday “to allow more time for pre-launch checkouts” and then to its final liftoff time on Wednesday at 4:10 PM PDT (23:10 UTC) to deconflict with the Crew-5 mission.

After winning a $17.6 million Space Force contract for a 2023 mission, Firefly eyes more opportunities in the military market

More than three years after SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last blazed a path into orbit, the 28-engine launcher is finally set to fly again as soon as Oct. 28 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a long-delayed national security mission for the U.S. Space Force, a military spokesperson said.

Plans to use a part of Ku-band for 5G networks in the United States could disrupt Starlink broadband services even more than SpaceX previously estimated, the company said Oct. 4 as it released interference analysis from a third party.

Starlink is helping many people in Ukraine, including a friend of mine who is on the ground helping to train the military. Gia...

NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) will host a media briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. EDT in advance of the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) technology demonstration. The briefing will be held via WebEx.

"Whooo, that was a smooth ride uphill!"

The crew members assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission are in orbit following their launch to the International Space Station noon EDT Wednesday, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft with four people on board is on its way to the International Space Station after a successful launch Oct. 5.

Seven hours after a Falcon 9 launcher carried a four-person crew into orbit from Florida, SpaceX sent aloft another Falcon 9 from a foggy California spaceport Wednesday evening with 52 more Starlink internet satellites, setting a new record for the shortest interval between two flights of SpaceX’s workhorse rocket.

This detailed mission timeline covers major vehicle and crew activities during the Crew-5 countdown and rendezvous with the International Space Station.

"Space advertising turns out to have a potential for commercial viability."

The United Kingdom and South Korea have pledged not to conduct direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) missile testing, throwing their weight behind the U.S.-driven initiative launched in April to promote peaceful and safe use of outer space.

United Launch Alliance launched a pair of satellites for SES Oct. 4 that are vital to the operator’s bid to claim nearly $4 billion in C-band clearing proceeds.

A Sherpa tug launched a month ago is still undergoing commissioning and has yet to start maneuvers as its orbit gradually decays.

Two NASA astronauts, a veteran Japanese space flier, and the first Russian cosmonaut to launch on a U.S. spacecraft since 2002 soared into orbit Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, in what could signal a warming of relations between NASA and the new leadership of the Russian space agency.

SpaceX and NASA have launched a group of four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Crew-5 mission. The crew flew atop a Falcon 9 rocket and the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A on Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 12:00:57 PM EDT (16:00:57 UTC).

Running a few days late after a delay caused by Hurricane Ian, an Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance thundered off a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Tuesday and soared to an altitude of nearly 22,000 miles to deploy two commercial television broadcasting satellites for the commercial operator SES.

Two SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets have successfully launched a Crew Dragon carrying four astronauts and a new batch of Starlink internet satellites...

Companies in the space domain awareness market are eager to work with the Space Force but need a clearer picture of future demand

The Space Development Agency announced Oct. 4 it awarded Ball Aerospace a $176 million contract to build, operate and secure launch services for 10 experimental satellites.

AE Industrial Partners announced plans Oct. 4 to acquire a majority stake in York Space Systems, a small satellite manufacturer and turnkey mission operator based in Denver.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts will answer media questions at 11:55 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 11, about their time aboard the International Space Station. The event takes place prior to their return to Earth later this month.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) has launched the dual-manifested SES-20 & 21 telecommunication satellites on the final Atlas V 531 rocket to a near-circular geosynchronous orbit (GSO). The Atlas V launched from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) on Oct. 4 at the opening of the window at 5:36 PM EDT (21:36 UTC).

NASA will hold a community town hall meeting with Associate Administrator for Science Thomas Zurbuchen and his leadership team at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 6. The group will discuss updates to the agency’s science program and share the status of activities.

The observatory is continuing to deliver a steady stream of beautiful cosmic images.

"NASA is not able to share the number of bids."

Cosmonaut Anna Kikina will become the first Russian crew member to launch on a U.S. spacecraft since 2002 when she straps into a seat aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance capsule Wednesday for a flight to the International Space Station, opening a new chapter in the U.S.-Russian partnership in orbit that a senior Russian space agency official hopes can be extended past the current end date of 2024, despite souring relations on Earth.

British defense firm Qinetiq is selling its Belgian commercial satellite systems division to Redwire, a U.S.-based consolidator of space infrastructure.

Canada-based EnerStar Solutions, a rental company for the energy sector, said Oct. 3 it has reached a deal to add SpaceX’s Starlink broadband to the services it provides industrial workers.

Update: SpaceX says it and NASA are moving forward with plans to launch a Crew Dragon carrying US, Japanese, and Russian astronauts...

United Launch Alliance hauled an Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad Monday at Cape Canaveral on the eve of a planned blastoff with two commercial television broadcasting satellites for SES, owner of one of the largest fleets of geostationary communications spacecraft.

The orbiter most definitely exceeded expectations.

Meet Scott Person, a key member of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) guidance and navigation group, who applied his 33 years of experience to ensure the upcoming Atlas V launch successfully delivers its tandem payload of two large telecommunications s...

L3Harris Technologies has agreed to acquire Viasat’s tactical data link business for $1.96 billion, the companies announced Oct. 3.

SpaceX’s next astronaut launch for NASA, set for Wednesday from Kennedy Space Center, is one of three missions on the company’s schedule this week from launch pads in Florida and California. The crew mission will get top priority, a SpaceX official said, as managers watch downrange sea conditions and technicians try to resolve final technical issues before liftoff.

"Firefly is at the point where the only thing holding them back is execution."

As SpaceX prepares to launch a new crew to the International Space Station from one pad at the Kennedy Space Center, it is starting work to upgrade another pad at Cape Canaveral as a backup.

SpaceX teams and the four crew members set for blastoff this week to the International Space Station completed dress rehearsals Sunday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, familiarizing the astronauts with their launch day checklist and testing out the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry them into orbit.

SpaceX’s Starship program continues to march through a fluid set of milestones, ranging from a new record number of Raptor engines firing simultaneously, to the anticipated presence of a vehicle on the Starship pad at Florida’s historic LC-39A by the second quarter of 2023.

From a Delta IV factory engineer to Atlas V launch director and now managing work to ready the launch sites for Vulcan Centaur, United Launch Alliance's (ULA's) Eric Richards has a career rooted in shaping mission success.

NASA will wait until at least the middle of November before attempting another launch of the Space Launch System on the Artemis 1 mission, citing the impacts from Hurricane Ian.

The Space Development Agency was officially transferred to the U.S. Space Force, Oct. 1.