Space news

A total lunar eclipse will redden the Moon on March 3, 2026. Here’s what you need to know.

At 11:53 PM on Tuesday night, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket leapt from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying another GPS block III spacecraft into orbit.

A mild La Niña caused greater rainfall over the Amazon basin, which offset rising sea levels due to record warming of Earth’s oceans. The rise in the global mean sea level slowed in 2025 relative to the year before, an effect largely due to the La Niña conditions that persisted over most of the year. […]

Harwell and Guildford, UK – Oxford Space Systems and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) today announced the successful in-orbit deployment of Oxford Space Systems’ Wrapped Rib Antenna on SSTL’s CarbSAR […] The post Oxford Space Systems Wrapped Rib Antenna Successfully Deployed In-Orbit on CarbSAR Mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

New simulations performed on a NASA supercomputer are providing scientists with the most comprehensive look yet into the maelstrom of interacting magnetic structures around city-sized neutron stars in the moments before they crash. The team identified potential signals emitted during the stars’ final moments that may be detectable by future observatories.   “Just before neutron […]

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has zoomed into the Helix Nebula to give an up-close view of the possible eventual fate of our own Sun and planetary system. In Webb’s high-resolution look, the structure of the gas being shed off by a dying star comes into full focus. The image reveals how stars recycle their […]

Technicians have completed the construction of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The Roman observatory is slated to launch no later than May 2027, with the team aiming for as early as fall 2026. The mission will revolutionize our understanding of the universe with its deep, crisp, sweeping views of space. More than a thousand […]

"Any time there’s dynamic change, there’s the opportunity for new ideas."

China’s main space contractor says it will push into new commercial space domains in the coming years as the country formulates its latest Five-year plan. The post China eyes space resources, space tourism and on-orbit digital infrastructure appeared first on SpaceNews.

Türkiye’s space industry is no longer the limiting factor in its potential participation in Artemis Accords. Over the past two decades, Ankara has built an increasingly sophisticated space ecosystem, one that now finds itself at a strategic inflection point. If Türkiye were to engage with the Artemis Accords, now with 61 signatories after Oman signed, […] The post What would Artemis participation mean for Türkiye’s space industry and space diplomacy? appeared first on SpaceNews.

January 29, 2026 | 6:00 AM ET Orlando, Florida – Space Grove Ventures publicly launches at SpaceCom | Space Congress today, taking place January 28–30 at the Orange County Convention […] The post Space Grove Ventures Announces Public Launch at SpaceCom | Space Congress, Signaling a New Commercial Model for Space and Defense Ecosystem Development appeared first on SpaceNews.

Washington, United States (AFP) Jan 28, 2026 The next NASA crew rotation to the International Space Station could launch as early as the morning of February 11, the US space agency said Wednesday. The launch was originally scheduled for February 15 but NASA eyed moving it up after the evacuation of a previous ISS crew. The first launch window opens at 6 am Eastern (1100 GMT), NASA said on social media. Additional windows are on the

San Francisco, United States (AFP) Jan 28, 2026 SpaceX is targeting a mid-June initial public offering that would coincide with a rare planetary alignment and founder Elon Musk's birthday, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, as the billionaire entrepreneur seeks to raise a record $50 billion. The rocket company is planning its IPO for when Jupiter and Venus appear very close together in the sky - a conjunction that occurs for the

The first Starship test flight of 2026 is scheduled for as soon as early March as SpaceX enters a critical year in the vehicle’s development. The post SpaceX plans next Starship test flight in March appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Union’s GOVSATCOM service was officially brought online on 14 January, offering secure communications to European military and government users. This initial service is enabled by pooling capacity from eight existing satellites in five countries. Initially announced in 2018, the Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) initiative offers sovereign, reliable, secure, and cost-effective governmental satellite communications […] The post EU Brings GOVSATCOM Secure Communications Service Online appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The crew of four will launch no earlier than Wednesday 11 February at 11:00 GMT/12:00 CET (06:00 EST) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, USA. The next available opportunities are Thursday 12 February at 10:38 GMT/11:38 CET (05:38 EST) and Friday 13 February at 10:15 GMT/11:15 CET (05:15 EST).

Very wet—but very warm—weather in the western U.S. has left many mountainous regions looking at substantial snowpack deficits.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 West Virginia University researchers are developing artificial intelligence tools to help astronauts maintain movement control and overall physical health during long missions in microgravity environments such as space stations, the Moon and future voyages to Mars. Their work centers on building personalized computer models that capture how each astronaut moves and how their muscles are activate

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 Scientists at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory have completed a spaceflight biology experiment on the International Space Station that shows how microgravity reshapes microbial metabolism and constrains biological manufacturing performance during long missions. The work, recently reported in the journal npj Microgravity, highlights both the vulnerabilities and potential of engineered microbes

West Lafayette IN (SPX) Jan 28, 2026 Purdue University is expanding the scientific footprint of 2027's all-Boilermaker suborbital flight mission with the addition of onboard autonomous experiments in quantum technology and in-space chip manufacturing. The experiments, prepared by Purdue researchers, will be housed in research lockers for the flight aboard a Virgin Galactic suborbital spacecraft, dubbed Purdue 1. The lockers j

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 Sidus Space Inc has reached a key integration milestone with Maris-Tech Ltd as the companies prepare to fly Maris-Tech's advanced payload aboard the LizzieSat-4 mission planned for launch later in 2026. The step marks the move from planning activities into active hardware testing and platform-level integration for the mission. Sidus reported that testing of Maris-Tech's payload hardware is

Renens, Switzerland (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 SWISSto12 has secured 73 million euros in financial support from European Space Agency (ESA) member states through the HummingSat ARTES partnership project, reinforcing development and industrialization of its compact geostationary telecommunications platform. The company now has more than 100 million euros in total recent funding after combining this institutional backing with additional capita

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 A new analysis of Mercury has uncovered hundreds of bright linear streaks on crater slopes that point to ongoing loss of volatile material from the planet's interior, challenging the view of Mercury as a geologically dead and dry world. The work, led by researchers at the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern together with colleagues at the Astronomical Observatory of

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 Two Northrop Grumman five segment solid rocket boosters are taking their place on the launch pad as NASA prepares for the first crewed flight of the Space Launch System rocket under the Artemis II mission from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, targeted for early February 2026. The twin solid rocket boosters stand 177 feet tall and each produces 3.6 million pounds of thrust at lif

Paris, France (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 Alpha Impulsion, a space startup based in Toulouse and Naples, has received a 950000 euro award from the European Union for a major innovation in space propulsion aimed at more economical, efficient, and debris free access to orbit. The company has been recognized as the first enterprise to gain international acknowledgment for a propulsion solution that from the outset addresses sustainab

Madrid, Spain (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 Astronomers have carried out the most extensive observational study so far of massive runaway stars in the Milky Way, combining detailed measurements of how fast these stars move, how rapidly they spin, and whether they live alone or in binary systems. Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC),

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 A team of astronomers has used a new artificial intelligence assisted technique to uncover rare astronomical phenomena in archived data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. They sifted through nearly 100 million small image cutouts from the Hubble Legacy Archive, each only a few dozen pixels across, and identified more than 1,300 unusually shaped objects in just two and a half days, including ove

Menlo Park CA (SPX) Jan 23, 2026 Cosmologists Josh Frieman and Risa Wechsler look back on the Dark Energy Survey, sharing how it is paving the way for the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory to dig deeper into some of the universe's darkest mysteries. As the Dark Energy Survey (DES) releases its final results, we caught up with two physicists who have been involved in the project from its early days. In this Q&A, Josh Friem

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 29, 2026 A research team has developed a method to reduce uncertainties in measurements of cosmic birefringence, a subtle rotation in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background that may hold clues to new physics beyond the standard model. The work, published January 27 in Physical Review Letters, provides the first quantitative treatment of uncertainty in the birefringence angle, a key observabl

SpaceX currently has more than 9,500 Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Starlink 17-19 mission from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 8:42 a.m. PST (11:42 a.m. EST / 1642 UTC).

SAN FRANCISCO – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration intends to dramatically increase commercial weather data purchases, Taylor Jordan, Commerce Department assistant secretary for environmental observation and prediction, said Jan. […] The post NOAA seeks more money and flexibility for commercial weather data program appeared first on SpaceNews.

The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission began their routine two-week quarantine on Wednesday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their upcoming launch to the International Space Station. The earliest opportunity for Crew-12 to launch to the orbital complex is 6 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at […]

Artemis II, the next mission in NASA’s Artemis program to explore the Moon, is scheduled… The post NASA readies unique science experiments and tech demonstrations for Artemis II crew appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Congressional watchdog says SDA is overestimating technology readiness The post GAO flags risks in Space Development Agency’s missile-tracking satellite program appeared first on SpaceNews.

HEO, the Australian company that performs in-space imaging of spacecraft, has acquired its own satellite though a deal with Satellogic. The post HEO acquires in-orbit satellite from Satellogic appeared first on SpaceNews.

TAMPA, Fla. — A shell company chaired by venture capitalist Raphael Roettgen began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange Jan. 28 after raising $200 million to pursue a merger with a space-related business. Space Asset Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that offers a fast-track to the public markets for firms seeking capital, […] The post Space-focused SPAC goes public after pricing $200 million IPO appeared first on SpaceNews.

Robotics and artificial intelligence were back on the research schedule Wednesday for the Expedition 74 crew to inspire college students and explore boosting crew efficiency. Earth observations and life support maintenance also rounded out the day for the orbital residents aboard the International Space Station.

Upcoming tabletop exercise will examine response to weapons of mass destruction in orbit The post U.S. Space Command to bring commercial firms into classified wargame on nuclear threats in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Gen. Stephen Whiting: A space becomes a contested military domain, the Pentagon needs not just rockets but also a sustainment and mobility infrastructure to support satellites The post Space Command’s case for orbital logistics: Why the Pentagon is being urged to think beyond launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s Artemis II mission will transport four astronauts around the Moon, bringing the agency one step closer to sending the first astronauts to Mars. Throughout Artemis II, astronaut voice, images, video, and vital mission data must traverse thousands of miles, carried on signals from NASA’s communications systems. Through Artemis, NASA is establishing an enduring presence […]

A new discovery captures the cosmic moment when a galaxy cluster – among the largest structures in the universe – started to assemble only about a billion years after the big bang, one or two billion years earlier than previously thought. This result, made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope, will […]

Data from Chandra adds red, green, and blue twinkling lights in this Dec. 22, 2025, image of Pismis 24 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Pismis 24 is a young cluster of stars in the core of the nearby Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. Home to a vibrant stellar nursery […]

Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

The Space Futures Centre a global independent center established in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Saudi Space Agency to support the growth of the global space economy […] The post Space Futures Centre, World Economic Forum Launch Space Debris Insights Report appeared first on SpaceNews.

OQ Technology is preparing to deploy a small satellite to test using C-band to connect smartphones from LEO, joining SpaceX in a push to repurpose the spectrum for direct-to-device services. The post OQ Technology plots smartphone test amid SpaceX’s C-band D2D push appeared first on SpaceNews.

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of its observations closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of the observable universe closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the big bang. By now Webb has established that it will eventually surpass virtually every benchmark […]

China appears set to accelerate its launch rate this year while also conducting tests key to its crewed lunar ambitions and launching major missions. The post China set for crewed lunar tests, record launches, moon mission and reusable rockets in 2026 appeared first on SpaceNews.

For more than a decade, the Earth observation industry has insisted that commercial adoption is just around the corner. Yet adoption outside defense remains limited, uneven, and difficult to sustain. The question is no longer whether EO is valuable, but whether the industry is delivering it in a form commercial users can actually use. The […] The post Earth observation’s adoption gap is a supply design problem appeared first on SpaceNews.

Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.