Space news

Axiom Space’s second private astronaut mission is on its way to the International Space Station after a launch May 21.

As NASA faces both short-term and long-term uncertainty about its funding, the agency is turning to its most powerful advocates: its astronauts.

Vancouver-based EarthDaily Analytics is offering access to the French-Israeli Vegetation and Environment monitoring on a New Micro-Satellite (VENµS) mission through Amazon Web Services.

Iceye plans to develop a five-satellite constellation for Bayanat, a United Arab Emirates geospatial analysis firm, and Emirati fleet operator Yahsat.

Planet is working with partners to “get value out of our data,” said Kevin Weil, Planet’s president of product and business.

Satellite operator Umbra and satellite data analytics specialist Ursa Space announced a strategic partnership to pursue more advanced applications of synthetic aperture radar imagery.

Axiom Space launched the second-ever all-private crew to the International Space Station (ISS). The international crew of Axiom-2 (Ax-2) flew onboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff was on May 21 at 5:37 PM EDT (21:37 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center, before docking with the ISS on Monday.

The Axiom-2 mission is heading to the International Space System after a launch earlier this evening, courtesy of SpaceX. As it launched...

Three U.S. government agencies are undertaking studies to examine the safety issues associated with a new generation of launch vehicles that use liquid oxygen and methane propellants.

May has been a big month for scientific discoveries on Mars, as NASA’s Perseverance rover has continued to find more convincing evidence of what could have once been a “deeper and faster-moving” river than data initially suggested. New images taken by the rover’s main camera show two mosaics of course sediment grains and tall, curving layers of rock that suggest the river once flowed powerfully through the region.

SpaceX launched a technology demonstration satellite for OneWeb’s second-generation broadband constellation May 20, along with spares for the British firm’s current low Earth orbit network and another that U.S.-based Iridium Communications operates.

NASA has awarded Blue Origin $3.4 billion dollars for its Human Landing System (HLS), Blue Moon. Blue Moon will launch atop their...

Reviewing the week in spaceflight and upcoming events, it’s been another busy period, including NASA announcing a second lunar lander for Artemis, SpaceX’s Raptor breaking records, and Stratolaunch drop testing Talon-A.

NASA has awarded a contract extension to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore for the support services required for the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Science Operations.

NASA selected Blue Origin to develop a second Artemis lunar lander because of technical strengths such as an aggressive schedule of test flights as well as its lower cost.

The chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) is wading into the contentious battle over the proposed relocation of U.S. Space Command.

Following a couple of weather-related delays, the Falcon 9 successfully lifted off at 2:19 AM ET (06:19 UTC) and pitched down range...

NASA has announced eight winning teams and awarded $750,000 in prizes in the second phase of the agency's Deep Space Food Challenge. The winning teams will move on to compete in the third and final phase of the challenge.

“It’s an incredible moment in spaceflight history."

NASA has selected Blue Origin to develop a lunar lander to transport astronauts on Artemis missions starting at the end of the decade.

Payloads: Airborne Particulate Monitor (APM): The crew checked the APM hardware and display, and notified the ground team of the status. Air quality in crewed spacecraft is important for keeping astronauts healthy and comfortable. Although requirements exist for maximum allowable concentrations of particulate matter, currently no measurement capability verifies whether these requirements are met. APM …

U.S. regulators voted May 18 to protect Starlink’s access to 12 GHz spectrum, which Dish Network had hoped to use for terrestrial 5G in a plan SpaceX warned would deny its satellite broadband network to most Americans.

To develop a human landing system for the agency’s Artemis V mission to the Moon, NASA has selected Blue Origin of Kent, Washington. Through Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, uncovering more scientific discoveries, and preparing for future astronaut missions to Mars.

WASHINGTON — Jeff Bezos has his NASA moon ticket.

NASA has selected Blue Origin's new version of Blue Moon for the 2nd Human Landing System contract.

Inmarsat has ordered three small geostationary satellites from 3D printing specialist Swissto12 for a launch in 2026 to fortify its L-band safety services.

With increasing activity pushing Florida’s launch sites to their limits, the Space Force is studying ways to move some of that activity elsewhere, including to California.

"I fell to my knees, sobbing, from witnessing such an incredible feat."

Spanish launch startup PLD Space plans to conduct a suborbital launch before the end of the month to test technologies for its small orbital launch vehicle.

On the two main coasts of the United States, SpaceX is preparing to launch a number of low Earth orbit communications satellites for three different networks, with both launches were scheduled to occur just over eight hours apart on the same day. However, the Vandenberg launch scrubbed at T-55 seconds and was moved to Saturday.

The six-wheeled scientist encountered the crater during its latest science campaign in search of rock samples that could be brought to Earth for deeper investigation.

Just over two and a half years after SpaceX’s Starlink first rolled out its beta service, the satellite internet company now has more than 1.5 million subscribers. With more than 4,000 satellites operating in orbit, the Elon Musk-owned company’s global coverage is active in over 50 countries around the world.

The U.S. Space Force announced May 17 it has delivered the second of two payloads to be hosted on Japanese satellites under an agreement the United States signed with Japan in 2020.

Payloads: BioServe Centrifuge: The crew assembled the BioServe Centrifuge to allow charging of the internal components, followed by a checkout of the facility. The BioServe Centrifuge facility supports a wide variety of life, physical, and materials science research. It enables separation of substances with differing densities, including cell cultures, DNA, protein, blood, and sedimentation samples. …

Zeno Power Systems, a startup developing a propulsion system that uses radioisotopes, was awarded a $30 million contract to demonstrate the technology on a U.S. military satellite.

SpiderOak, a firm that specializes in cybersecurity for space systems, on May 18 announced new strategic investors.

The British government, which helped buy OneWeb out of bankruptcy three years ago, has no plans to do the same with launch company Virgin Orbit, a government minister said May 17.

Climate data startup Amini has raised $2 million for a satellite constellation to gather more Africa-focused environmental information.

SpaceX plans to launch two Falcon 9 rockets hours apart from Florida and California. Starlink group 6-3 will launch from Cape Canaveral...

The U.S. Space Force awarded Parsons a $55 million contract to develop a ground system for a network of missile-warning satellites in medium Earth orbit.

Lt. Gen. DeAnna Burt said a lack of communication between the U.S. and China hurts efforts to manage space traffic and prevent mishaps.

SpaceX has announced a massive 70% discount on hardware for Starlink customers in select regions. As Starlink has achieved record growth metrics...

Starlink has announced that it has reached yet another subscriber milestone, this time within an essential new segment of the business. SpaceX’s...

Bankrupt rocket company Virgin Orbit received a $17 million “stalking horse” bid for its modified 747 carrier jet and other aircraft assets, as it continues to examine options during Chapter 11 court proceedings.

Payloads: Dose Distribution Inside the International Space Station – 3D (DOSIS-3D): The DOSIS-3D main box was moved to its original location at the European Physiology Module (EPM) rack in the Columbus module.  ISS crewmembers are continually exposed to varying levels of radiation, which can be harmful to their health. DOSIS-3D uses several active and passive …

"They need more than this to execute."

Virgin Galactic is targeting as early as May 25 for the launch of its next spaceflight, which marks both its first in nearly two years since flying founder Sir Richard Branson and its planned last step before beginning commercial service.

Republican senators used a hearing on NASA’s fiscal year 2024 budget proposal to criticize the agency’s role in topics like climate change and social issues they argued were a distraction to its efforts to return humans to the moon.

United Launch Alliance expects to conduct a static-fire test of its Vulcan Centaur rocket in several days, but the timing of the vehicle’s first launch will depend on the outcome of an ongoing investigation of a test anomaly.

NASA managers tasked with humanity’s next journey into deep space spoke positively about Starship’s recent test flight, the data gathered, and the resulting design changes that will be incorporated into the next test launch.