Space news

NASA’s live coverage of crew farewells and Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft hatch closing aboard the International Space Station now is streaming across multiple platforms. Watch online at https://www.nasa.gov/live.

Key ground stations in Spain operated by NASA and the European Space Agency have avoided serious damage from major wildfires in the country. The post NASA and ESA facilities avoid major damage from wildfires in Spain appeared first on SpaceNews.

The 13th Integrated Flight Test of SpaceX’s Starship system, IFT-13, was mostly a success. One week after the launch was scrubbed at the last moment because of engine failures, and […]

Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is scheduled for 8:51 a.m. PDT (11:51 a.m. EDT / 1551 UTC). The Falcon 9 will place 24 Starlink satellites into orbit.

Powered by 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines, the 397-foot-tall two-stage rocket blasted off from SpaceX's "Starbase," Texas, launch site at 5:51 p.m. EDT, putting on a spectacular show for area residents and tourists as it climbed away atop some 16 million pounds of thrust.

SpaceX launched Starship on its 13th suborbital test flight July 24, correcting some of the issues seen on the previous flight while deploying functioning satellites for the first time. The post SpaceX conducts 13th Starship test flight appeared first on SpaceNews.

Wildfires near Madrid, Spain forced the evacuation of NASA’s Deep Space Network facility there today. The agency reports that everyone is safe. The Madrid station is one of three around […]

United Launch Alliance’s corporate parents have guaranteed a loan to the company as it addresses “financial challenges” caused by the grounding of its Vulcan Centaur rocket. The post ULA deals with financial challenges caused by Vulcan grounding appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex is one of three critical sites around the world that communicate with spacecraft beyond the reach of near-Earth communications capabilities.

NASA and Blue Origin have finalized plans to hot-fire test the second stage of the… The post Blue Origin to conduct New Glenn second stage hot fires on Stennis B-2 stand appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

On July 3, one of NASA’s two Mars-destined ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft captured photos of Earth and the Moon in visible and thermal infrared light. At the time, the spacecraft was 363,250 miles (584,600 kilometers) from Earth and 115,600 miles (186,100 kilometers) from the Moon, making the Moon appear relatively […]

From left, Expedition 74 flight engineers Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov of Roscosmos, and Anil Menon of NASA pose for a July 18, 2026, photo while holding a cake celebrating their recent arrival aboard the International Space Station. The trio arrived at the space station on July 14, 2026, after launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome […]

NASA is working with industry to advance the next phase of cislunar infrastructure for the agency’s Artemis program and Moon Base, including orbital assets and demonstrations. Under a contract awarded to Advanced Space, the agency’s CAPSTONE 02 mission will demonstrate rendezvous and proximity operations, autonomous navigation, and cislunar communication capabilities while continuing to characterize the […]

NASA and Blue Origin announced Friday they recently agreed to conduct second stage hot fire testing for the company’s New Glenn rocket on the B-2 test stand at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The annex to a reimbursable Space Act Agreement signed earlier this month highlights NASA’s commitment to working […]

ESA has awarded a contract to Luxembourg-based ispace-Europe to complete the development of the MAGPIE lunar rover and deliver it to the surface of the Moon in 2029. The Mission for Advanced Geophysics and Polar Ice Exploration (MAGPIE) is being developed under ESA’s Small Missions for Exploration initiative. The rover will explore the Moon’s south […] The post ESA Awards ispace €65M Contract to Build and Deliver MAGPIE Rover to the Moon appeared first on European Spaceflight.

PERTH, Australia – 24 July 2026 – LatConnect 60 (“LC60”), an Australian satellite Earth observation and AI company, today unveiled a proprietary intelligence-fusion capability that leverages the latest advancements in […] The post LatConnect 60 Unveils Proprietary AI Capabilities Following Growing Indo-Pacific Defence Interest in SWIRSAT appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Expedition 74 crew is wrapping up its final weekend together with biomedical checks, spacesuit cleaning, and cargo packing inside the Soyuz MS-28 crew spacecraft. The orbital residents will swap commanders on Saturday the day before three crewmates depart the International Space Station for a ride back to Earth.

The Commerce Department is moving ahead with plans to implement a voluntary mission authorization system for novel space activities that are not regulated by other agencies. The post Office of Space Commerce to move ahead on mission authorization appeared first on SpaceNews.

This Hubble image features spiral galaxy NGC 4654, located 72 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo (the Maiden).

HELSINKI — China conducted a pair of launches Thursday, including a Long March 3B rocket which delivered its payload to orbit despite a lightning strike. The Long March 3B rocket […] The post Lightning strikes Long March 3B after liftoff, Kinetica-1 launches 5 satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.

More than 2500 years ago, a total solar eclipse is said to have ended a war between the Lydians and the Medes. Today, we understand the science behind eclipses, but witnessing one is still one of the most awe-inspiring experiences on Earth.

JOHANNESBURG — The European Union has ordered a 24-hour delay in the release of some Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 imagery following a request from the United States based on concerns that […] The post EU delays release of Copernicus imagery over Gulf of Oman  appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center will oversee development, integration and sustainment of equipment used to access the military’s encrypted GPS signal The post Air Force takes over troubled military GPS receiver program appeared first on SpaceNews.

From the ESA Blogs.

Two new satellites have now officially joined Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation, strengthening its capabilities, resilience and autonomy. Four Galileo First Generation satellites remain to be launched, with the next pair planned for the end of the year.

Utah’s new solar power and battery storage facility is among the largest in the region.

Today the Department of Commerce took a step towards helping companies obtain government certification to conduct novel activities in space. Mutiple Congresses and administrations have failed to agree on a […]

Written by Lucy Thompson, Senior Research Scientist, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Friday, July 27, 2026 As an APXS uplink lead and strategic planner, I have the privilege of working with the rover engineers most days that I am on operations. The APXS instrument measures the chemistry of rocks, unconsolidated materials and […]

More than two dozen major NASA projects say they have been affected by the loss of a fifth of NASA’s civil servant workforce in the last year. The post NASA programs feel effects of workforce reductions appeared first on SpaceNews.

WARSAW, Poland — The Polish government has agreed to invest around $745 million in the development of the planned IRIS² multi-orbit satellite internet constellation with the European Union.  The money […] The post Poland commits $745 million to EU’s IRIS² constellation project appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – Space startup veteran Mark Matossian has joined forces with a software engineer and a best-selling author to establish Whipsmart Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on space […] The post Mark Matossian co-founds Whipsmart Ventures to fund space and deep tech appeared first on SpaceNews.

The flight comes as Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to make landfall in Texas on Thursday. Liftoff of the Starship Flight 13 mission is scheduled during a 90-minute window that opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT (6:45 p.m. EDT / 2245 UTC).

Continuing agency efforts to bring space closer to home, NASA+ is heading to more streaming platforms. On Thursday, NASA announced its programming is on Fire TV Channels. Fire TV customers can easily access this content by asking Alexa+ on compatible devices. Future programming on Fire TV may include science mission launches, a test flight for […]

The International Space Station will change commanders on Saturday before three Expedition 74 crew members return to Earth on Sunday. As the homebound trio prepares for departure, the rest of the orbital crewmates is keeping up microgravity research and checking out spacewalking gear.

Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans transport the 130-foot-tall Artemis IV liquid hydrogen tank out of a production cell inside the main factory building into a detached test building on a separate portion of the 829-acre site on May 15, 2026. The liquid hydrogen tank will form part of the core stage for […]

NASA MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission scientists have uncovered a key puzzle piece in understanding certain types of auroras on Mars, finding that they form in a similar way to Earth-based auroras. Results published Thursday in Nature Communications show the same mechanism that circulates and catapults charged particles into Earth’s atmosphere is happening at […]

In this episode, David Ariosto speaks with Varda CEO Will Bruey at the Ascend conference. They discuss how Varda hopes to play a role bridging medicine and low Earth orbit […] The post Will Bruey on rethinking the role of pharmaceuticals in low Earth orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.

After eight months aboard the International Space Station for his first mission, NASA astronaut Chris Williams is preparing to return to Earth. During his assignment, Williams contributed to research for new cancer treatments, advanced the production of materials to improve computers and electronics, ventured into the vacuum of space to complete two spacewalks, and much […]

From the ESA Blogs.

Airbus executives say the turnaround in the company’s space business came just in time to tap growing demand, particularly from Europe, for space capabilities as it pursues a joint venture. The post Airbus space business takes advantage of growing demand for satellite systems appeared first on SpaceNews.

Discover the science behind one of nature's most extraordinary phenomena and experience a total solar eclipse with the European Space Agency (ESA), the City of León and the University of León.

Snow-capped mountains carved by deep river valleys preside over northwestern Washington state.

The International Space Station’s (ISS) crew grew by three members with the arrival of the… The post Soyuz MS-29 crew arrives at ISS, U.S. EVA completes Canadarm2 repairs appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

HELSINKI — A classified satellite launched by China in June is operating in a creative orbit, giving it a unique vantage point over the geostationary belt. Shijian-31 launched on a […] The post China’s Shijian-31 satellite is sweeping GEO using a unique orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.

Belgium’s AMOS has been selected by the French aerospace research agency ONERA to build PROVIDENCE, a 2.5-metre ground-based telescope that will provide detailed images of satellites in low Earth orbit for the French Air and Space Force. The telescope is expected to enter service in early 2029. Preliminary studies for PROVIDENCE began in 2020, with […] The post ONERA Selects AMOS to Build French Space Surveillance Telescope appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Media are invited to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on Friday, July 31, to attend a media tour and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Flight Dynamics Research Facility, the agency’s first new wind tunnel in more than 40 years. The event will include a brief media availability with: This event is in person only […]

Three Expedition 74 crew members are nearing the end of their stay aboard the International Space Station handing over mission responsibilities and packing up cargo for return to Earth. Science hardware, lab maintenance, and spacesuits kept the rest of the crew busy aboard the orbital outpost.

The FCC voted July 22 to push satellite operators out of more C-band spectrum for a 5G auction next year, while approving a licensing overhaul aimed at accelerating the commercial space economy. The post FCC approves sweeping space reforms while clearing more C-band for 5G appeared first on SpaceNews.

Following its liftoff from Cape Canaveral on July 21 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) hosting the NASA-supported Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload is now en route to geosynchronous Earth orbit, where it will use its advanced robotics to service spacecraft. RSGS leverages in-space robotics expertise from NASA, […]

NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are wrapping up their 241‑day mission aboard the International Space Station. The crew and its Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft will undock from the orbiting laboratory’s Rassvet module at 3:02 a.m. EDT Sunday, July 26, heading for a parachute-assisted landing at 6:26 a.m. (3:26 p.m. […]