Space news

The Space Force on Dec. 12 kicked off its first national conference focused on professional development, bringing together service members, known as guardians, from across the nascent military branch.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is preparing to launch its New Shepard rocket for the first time in over a year, the company said Tuesday.

Taking some science and some postcards for a ride.

More than a year after an engine failure during flight, Blue Origin has announced they are preparing to launch New Shepard again, targeting a launch window that opens on December 18th.

Payloads: Cerebral Ageing: Sampling and media exchanges were performed on the experiment BioCells. The Impact of Spaceflight on Human Brain Ageing Using Cerebral Organoids (Cerebral Ageing) investigation studies the effect of spaceflight and the durability in space of cerebral organoids.  Cerebral organoids are 3D human-derived structures that closely resemble a developing human brain at the …

This image was captured from mountainous terrain in Poland.

Four federal agencies have signed an agreement intended to improve cooperation on space weather research and translating that research into operations.

A consortium led by French launch startup HyPrSpace has secured €35 million in funding for the Projet Agile de Developpement d’Acces à l’espace 1 (PADA1) project. The French government, through its France 2030 initiative, will be supplying 60% of the total project funding. The consortium partners will contribute the rest, with HyPrSpace taking on the […] The post HyPrSpace Secures €35M in Funding for Maiden Baguette One Launch appeared first on European Spaceflight.

The first flight of the Polaris Program, led by Billionaire Entrepreneur and Astronaut Jared Isaacman is now scheduled for no earlier than April 2024, a delay of nearly a year and a half from its original plan of launching Q4 2022.

Dawn Aerospace has successfully completed a full-duration (112 seconds), bi-propellant test of the Mk-II Aurora spaceplane's rocket engine at Dawn Aerospace's state-of-the-art test facility located in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Researchers will have rare opportunities over the next year to study solar flares and coronal mass ejections, observations that could lead to improved space weather forecasts.

China's iSpace, a Beijing-based launch startup, has achieved a successful launch and landing of its Hyperbola-2Y methane-liquid oxygen reusable verification stage.

NASA's Quesst, is a collaborative effort between NASA researchers and prime contractor Lockheed Martin Skunk Works who are developing and testing the next generation experimental aircraft, the X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft.

One-year-old data networking startup Armada came out of stealth Dec. 11 after raising more than $55 million to develop computing tools promising to empower remote devices connected to Starlink, SpaceX’s low Earth orbit broadband constellation.

NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) mission observed the dramatic and unexpected “disappearance” of a stream of charged particles constantly emanating off the Sun, known as the solar wind.

Payloads: Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings-2 (Antimicrobial Coatings-2): The crew performed the routine periodic touching of the six experiment placards deployed in various locations throughout the ISS, and took photos. Boeing Environment Responding Antimicrobial Coatings tests an antimicrobial coating on several different materials that represent high-touch surfaces. Some microbes change characteristics in microgravity, which could …

Launch startup iSpace has successfully launched and landed a test article, a month after a first hop test, as Chinese reusable rocket efforts intensify.

Since its inception four years ago, the U.S. Space Force has faced congressional scrutiny and received numerous directives to transform the military’s space capabilities at warp speed.

Helicity Space, a California startup developing fusion engines, has raised $5 million in a seed funding round.

It is thousands of times more dense than our corner of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The first flight of the Polaris program of private astronaut missions is now scheduled for no earlier than next April, a delay of nearly a year and a half from its original plan.

One year ago, NASA’s Orion spacecraft concluded its maiden voyage around the Moon, a journey of 1.4 million miles ending with a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Artemis I was a resounding success for NASA’s ambitious lunar exploration program, marking the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket, and carrying the most capable Orion spacecraft to date. Yet even as the capsule lay cradled in the well deck of the USS Portland, after more than 25 days away from Earth, its journey was far from complete. With Artemis II on the horizon, Orion’s career as humanity’s next deep space crew vehicle is just beginning. This first crewed mission of the Artemis program will see Orion fly equipped with numerous upgrades, and lay the foundation for its groundbreaking, long-term reuse campaign.

Orbit Fab, a startup developing in-space refueling services, plans to work with lunar exploration company ispace on propellant harvesting and delivery.

Tory Bruno, President and CEO of the United Launch Alliance, posted on X today that the first launch of ULA’s new Vulcan rocket “likely” will not take place on Christmas […]

House and Senate conferees on the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act agreed that no funds may be spent on new headquarters for U. S. Space Command until July 30, 2024 […]

The first launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur is likely to be delayed to early January to give the company time to complete a full dress rehearsal.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of December 10-16, 2023 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in session […]

The Colorado-based launch company will end 2023 with just three launches.

Chinese launch startup Landspace has successfully sent three satellites into orbit using its third Zhuque-2 methane-liquid oxygen rocket.

On Dec. 4, the cameras of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft took their first images 26 million kilometers away from Earth. This milestone, called “first light,” was one of many the agency needed to complete on its way to its destination, a metallic asteroid called 16 Psyche. The spacecraft is set to reach this asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter in 2029.

Chinese launch startup Landspace successfully sent satellites into orbit for the first time Friday and revealed details of a new stainless steel rocket.

An enormous dark hole has appeared on the surface of the sun, spewing powerful streams of unusually fast radiation, identified as solar wind, directly toward Earth.

Egypt is the latest country to sign a cooperation aggrement for China's International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

Three satellites on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare launch in November failed to deploy, including one from a company that previously stated its satellite was in orbit and operating.

USSPACEFOR-EURAF is now the newest service component under EUCOM and AFRICOM, joining the ranks of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Central Command in establishing a dedicated space component.

Ghana has become the latest African nation to caution its citizens against using Starlink services before proper licensing is granted by the National Communications Authority.

An immersive virtual reality experience inside a replica of Blue Origin’s New Shepard has landed at NASA Kennedy Space Centers Visitor Complex!

The U.S. Space Force on Dec. 8 officially activated its first component dedicated to both Europe and Africa.

Ghana is the latest country in Africa to warn against using Starlink before it issues licenses for SpaceX’s satellite broadband service.

Members of a key advisory board questioned the U.S. military's commitment to deliver enhancements to the Global Positioning System, arguing that the network is at risk of falling behind other satellite navigation systems built by Europe and China.

Northrop Grumman test-fired a new solid rocket motor that marks the beginning of an annual test campaign to demonstrate advanced technologies that could be incorporated into space and defense programs.

Payloads: Aquamembrane-3: The Aquamembrane-3 Test run was initiated. A crewmember was present during the run to check the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) Sample Bags. After a maximum of 20 minutes of run, the experiment is terminated and equipment is stowed. The Testing Contaminant Rejection of Aquaporin Inside® Hollow-Fiber Forward Osmosis (HFFO) Module (Aquamembrane-3) investigation examines …

ArianeGroup CEO Martin Sion has suggested that the company may not have “understood the reality of the situation” when it promised to debut Ariane 6 by 2020. Sion made the comments during an interview with French news outlet Le Monde. The CEO took over from André-Hubert Roussel in April, with speculation at the time that […] The post ArianeGroup CEO Finally Says Quiet Part Out Loud appeared first on European Spaceflight.

"There I was, flat on my back on a sand berm, with the best camera I had."

The GAO recommends that the FAA improve its process for investigating launch mishaps, one that currently relies heavily on launch providers.

"God willing, the suborbital tests of the new generation 'bio-capsule' will be completely Iranian."

2024 is shaping up to be a year of triumphant lunar return, with several missions planned to welcome in a new age of international exploration of Earth’s nearest neighbor. This first wave consists of numerous robotic explorers, each set to demonstrate new capabilities that will ultimately benefit the next human explorers to walk on the surface as part of the Artemis Program. Coincidentally, three of these landers aim to reach the moon around the same time: Astrobotic’s Peregrine, Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C and JAXA’s SLIM, with projected touchdowns in January.

The Government Accountability Office wants the FAA to improve how it investigates space launch mishaps, especially how it decides whether to do an investigation itself or allow the operator to […]

Launching last night at 12:03 am PT (08:03 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Base in California, a...

The Space Development Agency has set its sights on an ambitious launch schedule for 2024 following two successful launches this year.