Space news

In keeping with the agency's strict medical privacy policy, NASA officials have not identified the astronaut in question or provided any details about the nature of the medical issue.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has decided to bring Crew-11 home early because of a medical concern affecting one of the crew members. NASA is not revealing who it is to […]

NASA’s Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station will make an unprecedented early return to Earth due to a medical situation involving one of the four astronauts.

NASA has decided to bring home early four members of the International Space Station crew because of a medical issue with one of them, a first for NASA. The post Medical issue prompts early return of Crew-11 from ISS appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA announced on Thursday its decision to return the agency’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission to Earth from the International Space Station earlier than originally planned as teams monitor a medical concern with a crew member currently living and working aboard the orbital laboratory.

NASA has opted to bring the four-member Crew-11 team home from the International Space Station… The post Crew-11 to return early due to a medical concern with astronaut appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Catalyst Campus is proud to announce they are now accepting applications for Cohort 4 of the SDA TAP Lab – Catalyst Campus Mini Accelerator, a high-impact accelerator program designed to […] The post APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR COHORT 4 OF SDA TAP LAB – CATALYST CAMPUS MINI ACCELERATOR appeared first on SpaceNews.

Today the House passed three more final FY2026 appropriations bills — a minibus — that represent a compromise between the House and Senate over funding for Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS), Energy-Water, and […]

NASA will host a live news conference at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday from the agency’s headquarters in Washington to discuss the International Space Station and its crew. On Jan. 7, the agency announced it was postponing a planned spacewalk originally scheduled for Jan. 8 while teams monitored a medical concern with a crew member […]

NASA expects to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as soon as September, seeing it as evidence the agency can do flagships on cost and schedule. The post Roman Space Telescope on track for September launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA will host a live news conference at 5 p.m. EST on Thursday from the agency’s headquarters in Washington to discuss the International Space Station and its crew. On Jan. 7, the agency announced it was postponing a planned spacewalk originally scheduled for Jan. 8 while teams monitored a medical concern with a crew member […]

With the last Block 2 flight lifting off on Oct. 14th, 2025, SpaceX has no… The post The future of Starship’s Pad 1 tower and launch mount appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Artemis II crewmembers (left to right) NASA astronauts Christina Koch, mission specialist; and Victor Glover, pilot; CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, mission specialist; and NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander are led by Bill Owens of the Closeout Crew from the elevator at the 275-foot level of the mobile launcher to the crew access […]

Development continues on NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element, a solar electric propulsion spacecraft designed to provide power for Gateway in lunar orbit. Able to generate 60 kilowatts of thrust, the element was successfully powered on earlier last year. The milestone demonstrates the element can provide the spacecraft with power, high-rate communications, attitude control, as well […]

A billionaire-backed philanthropic organization is funding the development of a series of new observatories, including a space telescope larger than Hubble. The post Private group unveils plans for large space telescope appeared first on SpaceNews.

Launchers Isar Aerospace is expected to attempt its second two-stage Spectrum vehicle test flight, a key step after its first, partially successful liftoff in 2025. In parallel, Spain’s PLD Space and its Miura-5 remain the second contender — after Isar — for the European Launcher Challenge, a competition that increasingly looks like Europe’s closest analogue […] The post 2026 will clarify Europe’s new priorities for space appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this special episode of Space Minds, our show is split into two segments from the recent SpaceNews annual Icon Awards. The post The moon, AI and the high-stakes decisions shaping space’s future appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed that, with the launch facility in Sweden currently “under snow,” it is “waiting for spring” to launch an initial hop test of its Themis reusable rocket booster demonstrator. ESA began work on the Themis project in 2019 as a means of maturing reusable rocket technology for future European […] The post ESA “Waiting for Spring” to Launch Themis Reusable Rocket Demonstrator appeared first on European Spaceflight.

From the ESA Blogs.

As an update to our earlier communication regarding a medical situation aboard the International Space Station, the matter involved a single crew member who is stable. Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission. These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely. We will provide further updates within the next 24 hours.

“This is a very significant contribution to the astronomical community."

The launch of USSF-87 comes amid leadership change at United Launch Alliance and pressure to increase launch tempo The post Vulcan to open 2026 with national security launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

LiDAR costs, compute power and AI training are the “big three” usually associated with the high cost of autonomous vehicles (AVs). We rarely look up. But maybe we should. High above the Earth, the ionosphere, a chaotic, sun-charged layer of our atmosphere, is levying an invisible tax on every self-driving car in development. If you […] The post The ‘space tax’ on your self-driving car appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA is considering an early return of Crew-11 because one of the astronauts is ill. For privacy reasons the agency is declining to say who it is or identifying the […]

An unspecified “medical concern” involving one of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station has postponed a spacewalk and could force an unprecedented early return of part of the crew. The post Medical issue could force early end of Crew-11 ISS mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

After cancelling a call for proposals in December for a commercial cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that was intended to meet its obligations related to the station’s Common System Operations Costs (CSOC), the European Space Agency (ESA) has outlined a revised barter arrangement with NASA. Under the CSOC framework, all ISS partners […] The post ESA Strikes New Deal with NASA for Its CSOC Commitments for the ISS appeared first on European Spaceflight.

We are in an era where planetary science no longer depends on government missions. Commercial capabilities are mature and ready to deliver a higher cadence of planetary exploration that fits within proposed budgets. What’s missing is an operational model that matches ambition. The old way — one in which bespoke, government-run missions with decade-long development […] The post Interplanetary science needs a commercial backbone appeared first on SpaceNews.

Josef Aschbacher, Director General of the European Space Agency, briefed journalists on the main milestones for 2026, such as the launch of Smile, a mission that will give humankind its first complete look at how Earth reacts to streams of particles and bursts of radiation from the Sun. Later in 2026 should also see the arrival of BepiColombo at Mercury after its eight-year trip, where it will gather data to answer many perplexing questions about the least-explored planet of the inner Solar System. Many more exciting missions are expected, with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot launching for the International Space Station, and various Earth Observation and Navigation launches from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

As a new year begins, let’s take a look at what’s ahead for the European Space Agency in 2026. From Earth to the farthest reaches of the Solar System, 2026 marks a year of firsts that continue to shape the future of space.

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 03, 2026 As rivals deploy operational hypersonic vehicles, analysts describe a new Sputnik moment for U.S. tactical space access, with the Pentagon directing more than $6.9 billion toward hypersonic weapons programs for fiscal 2025 and the hypersonic technology market projected at about $8.46 billion this year. The shift away from chasing the lowest launch price toward speed and responsiveness underpins

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures for the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program, delivering Plane 1 of its contracted 18 satellites three months ahead of schedule. The milestone supports delivery and launch preparation timelines for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. Erik Daehler, Senior Vic

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 06, 2026 Space Machines Company (SMC) has been awarded a 2.9 million Australian dollar contract by Defence's Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) to develop the Space Threat Analysis and Response System, or STARS, under the Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Decision Advantage program. The capability is intended to strengthen the protection of Australian and allied space assets in increas

Colorado Springs CO (SPX) Jan 03, 2026 U.S. Space Command's Joint Operations Division hosted the command's first artificial intelligence-enabled summit Nov. 18-21, 2025, at the Bayfield facility in Colorado Springs and at a MITRE-operated facility that supports national security work. The Augmented Planning and Execution Summit brought together more than 70 leaders, including seven division chiefs and component representatives,

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Playmobil are expanding their successful partnership with a brand-new collection of space-themed toys, bringing a distinctly European vision of Mars exploration into the hands of young explorers.

Often called Earth’s green lungs, tropical forests pull down massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, release oxygen and help regulate the global climate. While the threat of large-scale deforestation is well known, new findings reveal a surprising culprit – the clearance of small areas of forest accounts for more than half of net carbon losses across the Tropics.

London, UK (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Scientists report signs that dark matter and neutrinos may interact, a possibility that would extend the standard cosmological model and change how structure growth in the universe is understood. The study examines how such interactions could influence the formation of galaxies and other large-scale structures, addressing a known mismatch between predictions from early-universe measurement

Newark NJ (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Solar physicists say they have found a key source of intense gamma rays unleashed when Earth's nearest star produces its most violent eruptions. In findings published in Nature Astronomy, scientists at NJIT's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have pinpointed a previously unknown class of high-energy particles in the Sun's upper atmosphere responsible for generating the long

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Astronomers have identified a young planetary system that links newborn giant worlds to the compact super Earths and sub Neptunes that dominate the Milky Way. V1298 Tau, a star about 20 million years old, hosts four planets between the sizes of Neptune and Jupiter in close-in orbits, offering a snapshot of planets during a brief and dynamic stage of evolution. Over ten years, researchers c

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 Thanks to the discovery of thousands of exoplanets to date, we know that planets bigger than Earth but smaller than Neptune orbit most stars. Oddly, our sun lacks such a planet. That's been a source of frustration for planetary scientists, who can't study them in as much detail as they'd like, leaving one big question: How did these planets form? h3>Now we know the answer /h3> An interna

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Carnegie researcher Luke Bouma is using a naturally occurring plasma structure around certain young M dwarf stars as a kind of space weather station to investigate how stellar particles shape planetary environments and potential habitability. M dwarfs are smaller, cooler and dimmer than the Sun and commonly host at least one Earth-sized rocky planet, many of which are either too hot for liquid w

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 As part of the NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory First Look event in June 2025, Rubin announced that it had observed thousands of asteroids cruising about our Solar System, about 1900 of which have been confirmed as never-before-seen. Within the flurry, a team of astronomers has discovered 19 super- and ultra-fast-rotating asteroids. One of these is the fastest-spinning asteroid larger than 500

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Martian winds lift sand grains into the air and drive them across the surface, where they erode soft sedimentary layers and gradually carve elongated grooves and ridges near the planet's equator. The remaining ridges, mounds, or columns, known as yardangs, stand above the surrounding terrain and often extend for tens of kilometres in the direction of the prevailing winds. In northern Eumen

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 08, 2026 Over half of the exhaust methane from lunar spacecraft could end up contaminating areas of the moon that might otherwise yield clues about the origins of earthly life, according to a recent study. The pollution could unfold rapidly regardless of a spacecraft's touchdown site; even for a landing at the South Pole, methane molecules may "hop" across the lunar surface to the North Pole in under two

Washington DC (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft are back on a fully synchronized path to Mars after mission controllers successfully carried out a critical trajectory correction maneuver for the second probe on Jan. 6. The burn followed a brief pause in December 2025, when engineers delayed the attempt to investigate low thrust seen during earlier correction efforts on one of the two small satellites. The

After a four-decade run, the massive, waterlogged berg is leaking meltwater and on the verge of disintegrating.

NASA says it is continuing to prepare for a possible Artemis 2 launch as soon as February, but with remarkably little publicity for the historic mission. The post NASA continues to work toward February launch of Artemis 2 appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Starlink 6-96 mission will add another 29 broadband internet satellites to the low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff is scheduled for 1:29 p.m. EST (1829 UTC) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

U.S. spacewalk 94 was slated to have NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman perform a variety of operations around the orbiting outpost during the roughly 6.5-hour-long event. A new date for the spacewalk hasn’t been announced.

SpaceX continues to accelerate production of its next-generation Starship vehicles at the Starfactory facility in… The post TPS evaluations taking place at Starbase on next two Ships to fly appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center was front and center Jan. 4, 2026, as the Houston Texans faced the Indianapolis Colts during Space City Day at NRG Stadium. Fans watched the Texans win while getting a close look at NASA’s Artemis II mission, the first crewed flight of the Artemis campaign.  The Artemis II mission will send four astronauts—NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian […]