Space news

Santa Claus (NASA engineer Guy Naylor) poses with NASA’s Artemis II Orion spacecraft and SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 11, 2025. The Orion spacecraft was stacked atop the SLS in October 2025. Set to launch in early 2026, the Artemis II […]

With the announcement of two new launch contracts for its Vega C rocket, totalling more than €100 million, Italian rocket builder Avio appears to have revealed that the launcher could remain operational until 2031. This, in turn, raises questions about when the company plans to introduce its successor, Vega E, and how long it would […] The post Avio Launch Deal Highlights Uncertainty in Vega Upgrade Roadmap appeared first on European Spaceflight.

An Indian LVM3 rocket launched AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation direct-to-device BlueBird satellite Dec. 23, kicking off a rollout of dozens of spacecraft built around the largest commercial communications antenna ever deployed in LEO. The post Indian rocket launches AST SpaceMobile’s next-gen BlueBird-6 satellite appeared first on SpaceNews.

SpaceX is rapidly advancing the assembly of Super Heavy Booster 19 at its Starbase facility,… The post Flight 12 vehicles readying for 2026 opener appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

MILAN — The European Space Agency announced plans to hire approximately 520 new staff members starting in 2026, following decisions approved at ESA’s 342nd Council meeting earlier this month.  The recruitment will result in a net increase of about 400 staff, alongside the replacement of roughly 120 positions due to retirements. The move will bring […] The post ESA to hire 520 new staff as workforce expansion begins in 2026 appeared first on SpaceNews.

Introduction The Observational Products for End-Users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project represents a strategic initiative designed to address critical satellite data needs identified by federal agencies. Established in 2021 by the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), OPERA responds to priorities identified by the Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG), an interagency body convened by the White […]

For most, getting into a car is a task that can be done without assistance. Yet for those whose destination is the Moon, the process of getting inside and secured – in this case, in NASA’s Orion spacecraft – requires help. That’s the role of the Artemis closeout crew. Trained to support Artemis II and […]

From left to right, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman stand outside before boarding their Orion spacecraft inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the Artemis II countdown demonstration test, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. Because the […]

NASA’s launch and mission teams, along with the Artemis II crew, completed a key test Dec. 20, a countdown demonstration test, ahead of the Artemis II flight around the Moon early next year. The astronauts, supported by launch and flight control teams, dressed in their launch and entry suits, boarded their spacecraft on top of […]

NASA astronaut Brig. Gen. Nick Hague has retired from the agency, concluding a distinguished career that included two spaceflight missions, 374 days in space, and multiple spacewalks in support of the International Space Station. Hague continues service in the U.S. Space Force. Hague launched aboard the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft in March 2019 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in […]

In this episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Juan Alonso — CTO and Co-founder of Luminary Cloud and professor at Stanford University — about the rapid transformation underway in aerospace engineering. The post How physics AI is transforming the future of space engineering appeared first on SpaceNews.

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have imaged the largest protoplanetary disk ever observed circling a young star. For the first time in visible light, Hubble has revealed the disk is unexpectedly chaotic and turbulent, with wisps of material stretching much farther above and below the disk than astronomers have seen in any similar system. […]

Listen to this audio excerpt from Grace Lauderdale, exploration project manager for the Training Systems Office at NASA Johnson: In preparation for their mission around the Moon inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the Artemis II crew will spend countless hours training inside the Orion Mission Simulator. The simulator replicates what the crew will experience inside the spacecraft and […]

The European Space Agency has completed the qualification review of the P160C solid-fuel booster upgrade for Ariane 6 and Vega C, confirming that it is ready for operational use. The booster is expected to be used for the first time next year aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. In March 2022, ESA announced that it would […] The post Ariane 6 and Vega C P160C Booster Upgrade Fully Qualified appeared first on European Spaceflight.

A first launch of the Long March 12A Chinese state-owned reusable rocket reached orbit late Monday, but attempted recovery of the first stage downrange failed. The post Long March 12A reaches orbit in first reusable launch attempt, but landing fails appeared first on SpaceNews.

Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Scientist and APXS team member, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning date: Monday, Dec. 22, 2025 As we all prepare for the holiday season here on Earth, we have been planning a few last activities before Curiosity and the team of scientists and engineers take a well-deserved, extended break. […]

The last full week of 2025 will be a busy one, with nine launches scheduled… The post Launch Roundup: International launches fill manifest during last full week of 2025 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

The owners of the United Launch Alliance rocket company announced today that CEO Tory Bruno has left the company to pursue another opportunity. In the surprise statement, Lockheed Martin and […]

Introduction In an era where satellite observations of Earth are commonplace, it’s easy to forget that only a few decades ago, the amount of information available about the state of Earth’s environment was limited; observations were infrequent and data were sparsely located. As far back as the late 1950s, there were primitive numerical weather prediction […]

United Launch Alliance (ULA), jointly owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, announced today that President… The post Tory Bruno Steps Down as ULA CEO following impressive tenure appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch no earlier than Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway will serve as spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively, and will be accompanied by ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie […]

Introduction Launched in Feb. 2024, NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission is a cornerstone of Earth system science designed to deepen our understanding of how these environmental and biological components come together to influence our climate, carbon cycle, and ecosystems. PACE has funded three supporting components: the PACE Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE–PAX), the […]

The Dec. 22 launch was the fourth and final flight of an H3 rocket in 2025.

The announcement was made by Robert Lightfoot, the ULA Lockheed Martin Board Chair, in a statement on Monday. The board now begins a search for his permanent replacement.

Introduction On November 16, 2025, the Sentinel-6B satellite launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) in California. The mission is a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and several European partners – the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the French Centre National […]

Deal deepens contractor’s push into space-based sensing and optical communications. The post CACI to buy space technology firm ARKA for $2.6 billion appeared first on SpaceNews.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida spent 2025 preparing the launch vehicle and its powerhouse SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to launch four astronauts around the Moon for Artemis II in early 2026. The center also celebrated milestones by conducting science experiments at the International Space Station to studying the Sun’s solar wind […]

Tory Bruno, the longtime chief executive of United Launch Alliance, is leaving the joint venture for another opportunity. The post United Launch Alliance chief Tory Bruno resigns appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured two nearby dwarf galaxies interacting with each other in this image released on Dec. 2, 2025. Dwarf galaxies can give us insights into galaxies in the early universe, which were thought to have less mass than galaxies like the Milky Way, and also contain a lot of gas, relatively […]

In 2025, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, advanced work across aeronautics, Earth science, exploration technologies, and emerging aviation systems, reinforcing its role as one of the agency’s primary test sites for aeronautics research. From early concept evaluations to full flight test campaigns, teams enhanced measurement tools, refined safety systems, and generated data […]

21 December 2025, Čakovec — Genesis Space Flight Laboratories launches its Microgravity Research Rideshare Program, making it easier and more affordable to conduct retrievable experiments in space. From now on, […] The post Microgravity Research Rideshare Program Launched by Genesis, Experiments from €6K to and from SSO appeared first on SpaceNews.

The time is ripe to end the “Wolf Amendment,” a congressional bar inhibiting civil collaboration between the United States and China in space. The impetus for the law was noble — an attempt to challenge human rights conditions in China and prevent leaks of space-related technology — but in practice the ban harms our security […] The post It’s time to unburden space cooperation with China appeared first on SpaceNews.

New Mexico — December 22, 2025 — Desert Works Propulsion (DWP) today announced the expansion of its domestic electric propulsion development and testing capabilities to address growing demand for advanced […] The post Desert Works Propulsion expands U.S. ion propulsion capability through domestic manufacturing partnership and test capacity growth appeared first on SpaceNews.

From the ESA Blogs.

In the quarter century that humans have lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, astronauts and visitors from around the world have celebrated countless holidays more than 250 miles above Earth while traveling 17,500 miles per hour. Crews have marked Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah, New Year’s, birthdays, and national holidays as they circle the […]

Japan’s flagship H3 rocket suffered an issue with its second stage late Sunday resulting in the loss of the Michibiki 5 (QZS-5) navigation satellite. The post Japan’s H3 suffers second-stage anomaly, QZS-5 satellite lost appeared first on SpaceNews.

Budapest-based 4iG Space and Defence (4iG SDT) has committed to investing $100 million in US space infrastructure company Axiom Space. In early October, 4iG SDT and Axiom Space signed a preliminary, non-binding commitment letter to pursue a $100 million equity investment in the US space infrastructure company. At the time, 4iG SDT explained that the […] The post Hungary’s 4iG to Invest $100 Million in Axiom Space appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 After less than a year in orbit, NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, built and led by Southwest Research Institute, is returning wide-field images that place the Sun's activity in the broader context of the inner solar system while tracking comets and major space weather events as they move outward from the Sun. SwRI's Dr. Craig DeForest outlined the mis

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 Eutelsat Network Solutions and Intellian Technologies have entered a strategic partnership under which Eutelsat Network Solutions will manage the global launch and availability of Intellian Technologies' OW7MP Manpack satellite communications user terminal on the Eutelsat OneWeb low Earth orbit network. Eutelsat Network Solutions is a wholly owned independent U.S. proxy company and subsidi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 Globalstar (NASDAQ: GSAT) and Skydio have completed a joint technology trial that demonstrated Skydio X10 drone operations over Globalstar's licensed Band n53 spectrum and the company's XCOM RAN private 5G platform for public safety applications. The companies structured the trial to assess Band n53 and XCOM RAN as an alternative to Wi-Fi and public cellular networks for command, control,

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 19, 2025 The Southwest Research Institute-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) aboard NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft has obtained a key dataset on the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which in July became the third officially recognized interstellar object to enter the solar system. UVS observed the comet during a period when Mars- and Earth-based facilities could not monitor it because of viewing constraint

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 22, 2025 NASA's Langley Research Center has begun a new series of plume surface interaction tests aimed at improving understanding of how rocket exhaust interacts with planetary surfaces during landing and ascent operations, a critical factor for future missions to the Moon and beyond. When spacecraft descend toward the lunar surface, high velocity exhaust plumes from descent engines can erode soil

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 Leonardo DRS, Inc. (NASDAQ: DRS) has completed the first on-orbit test of its multi-channel software-defined radio (SDR) with integrated advanced cryptography, demonstrating secure satellite data transport for U.S. military users at the tactical edge. The eXtended Crypto Module3-Space (XCM3-Space) adapts the company's next-generation crypto and multi-channel SDR architecture for use in spa

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 22, 2025 The search for evidence of past or present life on Mars should be the highest scientific priority for the first human missions to the planet, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine that assesses long term goals for crewed exploration. The report concludes that human explorers offer scientific capabilities that cannot be replicated by robo

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 16, 2025 As wireless systems evolve from 5G to 6G, engineers are working toward networks that connect satellites in orbit, airborne platforms such as drones, and dense constellations of ground devices into a single space air ground integrated network or SAGIN. This convergence creates a complex electromagnetic environment where large numbers of signals overlap and interfere, making spectrum control and p

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 16, 2025 The first exoplanet discovered in 1995 was a hot Jupiter, a Jupiter mass planet orbiting its star every few days. Today, models indicate that hot Jupiters form far from their stars, similar to Jupiter in the Solar System, and later move inward. Two main migration channels are considered: high-eccentricity migration, in which gravitational perturbations excite the orbit before tidal forces circul

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 19, 2025 Proba-3 has spent its first year in orbit generating more than 50 artificial solar eclipses, giving scientists sustained access to the inner solar corona that previously could only be studied intermittently during brief total eclipses on Earth. The two-satellite ESA mission is designed to supply the missing observations between the solar disc and the well-studied outer corona, and recent data co

Pasadena CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025 When the most massive stars reach the ends of their lives, they blow up in spectacular supernova explosions, which seed the universe with heavy elements such as carbon and iron. Another type of explosion - the kilonova - occurs when a pair of dense dead stars, called neutron stars, smash together, forging even heavier elements such as gold and uranium. Such heavy elements are among the basic bui

Polish rocket builder SpaceForest is lobbying for the creation of a permanent launch site in the country to support at least three domestically developed suborbital launch vehicles. SpaceForest is developing a suborbital rocket called Perun, which it recently launched for the third time from Poland’s Central Air Force Test Range in Ustka. While the company […] The post SpaceForest Advocates for a Permanent Launch Site in Poland appeared first on European Spaceflight.

In early December, NASA lost contact with its MAVEN spacecraft, which has been orbiting Mars… The post NASA loses contact with MAVEN, Perseverance continues roving around Jezero appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.