Space news

106th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Meeting, January 25 – 29, 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #323) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. MONDAY, JANUARY 26 6:05 – 6:20 PMExpanding Discovery from Earth Science Missions in Space Highlights of NASA Earth Science Missions to Advance Research, Data, Models, and Actionable […]

106th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Meeting, January 25 – 29, 2026 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #323) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. MONDAY, JANUARY 26 6:05 – 6:20 PMExpanding Discovery from Earth Science Missions in Space Highlights of NASA Earth Science Missions to Advance Research, Data, Models, and Actionable […]

At the heart of our own galaxy, there is a dense thicket of stars with a supermassive black hole at the very center. NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will provide the deepest-ever view of this zone, revealing stars, planets, and unique objects that resist definition. Based on the input of astronomers from across the […]

Commercial space station developer Vast has hired another former NASA astronaut as the company delays the launch of its first station. The post Former astronaut joins Vast as Haven-1 moves into integration appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA successfully conducted a hot fire of RS-25 engine No. 2063 on Jan. 22 at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, clearing the way for the engine to be installed for the agency’s Artemis IV mission.   The RS-25 engines help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch […]

Jan. 23, 2026 NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Observations NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) entered safe mode Jan. 15 and returned to normal science operations Jan. 18.  The operations team determined the issue arose when TESS slewed to point at a target, but its solar panels did not rotate to remain pointed at the […]

Europe stands on the precipice of launching a satellite from the mainland. Until now, the Guiana Space Centre in South America has operated as Europe’s “gateway to space” but spaceports in SaxaVord and Andøya offer the tantalizing prospect of launches much closer to home. Yet infrastructure alone will not get us there. A launchpad is […] The post Launch operators are the rocket fuel required to galvanize spaceports in Europe appeared first on SpaceNews.

ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski captured these stunning timelapse videos during his 20-day stay aboard the International Space Station as part of Axiom Mission 4, known as Ignis. Filmed from the Cupola – the Space Station’s iconic seven-windowed observation module – the footage showcases breathtaking views of Earth and the Moon from orbit.

With the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process effectively complete, a key House appropriator says the next spending bill for NASA should build on that outcome. The post House appropriator sees ‘room for improvement’ in NASA funding for 2027 appeared first on SpaceNews.

Week in images: 19-23 January 2026

From the ESA Blogs.

The European Space Agency has published a call to tender for a study examining the re-entry and breakup of a SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage in February last year. In the early hours of 19 February 2025, a Falcon 9 second stage underwent an uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry over Poland. At least four fragments of the […] The post ESA to Study Falcon 9 Breakup Over Poland appeared first on European Spaceflight.

A blanket of snow spanned Michigan and much of the Great Lakes region following a potent cold snap.

Blue Origin has unveiled TeraWave, an ambitious satellite communications network poised to deliver symmetrical data… The post TerraWave enters the scene with lasers and game-changing data speeds appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Florida’s Space Coast is preparing for a future that could see in excess of 350 launches annually.

Pentagon acquisition reforms and the prospect of a budget surge are colliding with a thinned civilian workforce The post Space Force’s acquisition arm races to rebuild contracting workforce after civilian cuts appeared first on SpaceNews.

Blue Origin will reuse a New Glenn booster for the first time on the rocket’s next launch, carrying a satellite for AST SpaceMobile. The post Blue Origin to reuse New Glenn booster on next launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Expedition 74 trio aboard the International Space Station checked out ultrasound gear, inspected advanced sample processing hardware, and tested muscle-stimulating electrodes on Thursday.

China’s damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft returned safely to Earth after on-orbit internal repairs, concluding the country’s first human spaceflight emergency triggered by a suspected debris impact. The post Damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft survives reentry, Shenzhou-23 arrives at spaceport appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial is seen during a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Wreaths were laid in memory of those men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. Each January, NASA pauses […]

This letter from SARA is to issue a waiver for NASA grantees attending LPSC2026, allowing them to be reimbursed out of their grants for their actual lodging, although it’s expected to be above the approved GSA amount. This waiver does not supersede the travel policy of your institution if it is more restrictive. Note: I have […]

Open Cosmos deployed two satellites Jan. 22 to activate Ka-band spectrum filings reassigned by Liechtenstein last week, racing to meet deployment deadlines to bring the frequencies into use for sovereign and enterprise broadband. The post Open Cosmos advances broadband plans with spectrum once held by Rivada appeared first on SpaceNews.

Blue Origin launched its first New Shepard mission of the year Jan. 22, carrying five paying customers and one company employee after a last-minute change. The post Blue Origin flies first New Shepard mission of 2026 appeared first on SpaceNews.

Gen. Shawn Bratton, vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, says growing reliance on satellites is forcing faster integration with the joint force and long-term planning beyond Earth orbit The post As satellites become targets, Space Force plans for growth and a broader role appeared first on SpaceNews.

A Rocket Lab Electron launched the first satellites for a new constellation being developed by Open Cosmos that will use spectrum previously assigned to Rivada Space Networks. The post Rocket Lab launches first satellites for Open Cosmos constellation appeared first on SpaceNews.

With this quick turnaround, Blue Origin takes a step toward a faster cadence.

TAHOE CITY, Calif. — L3Harris Technologies will provide the primary imagery for the Korean Meteorological Administration’s (KMA) next-generation geostationary weather satellite. The contract, awarded to L3Harris by Korean aerospace manufacturer […] The post L3Harris to supply imager for Korean geostationary weather satellite appeared first on SpaceNews.

Trained on data from NASA’s exoplanet-hunting missions, the open-source ExoMiner++ deep learning model uses an advanced algorithm to validate new planets.

SAN FRANCISCO – Weather intelligence startup Tomorrow.io unveiled DeepSky, a satellite constellation designed to refine atmospheric forecasts by gathering the vast quantities of data needed to feed artificial intelligence models. […] The post Tomorrow.io unveils DeepSky: constellation of large satellites and instruments appeared first on SpaceNews.

The French space agency CNES awarded a contract to a consortium led by Loft Orbital to develop a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery demonstrator. According to the company, the aim of the project is to foster the development of a “national radar imaging value chain.” Announced by Loft Orbital and consortium partner Thales Alenia Space […] The post CNES Awards Loft Orbital Contract for French Radar Imaging Demo appeared first on European Spaceflight.

A tank built for Rocket Lab’s Neutron rocket was damaged during qualification testing, threatening to further delay the vehicle’s first flight. The post Rocket Lab suffers Neutron testing setback appeared first on SpaceNews.

Already recognised for its excellence and even adopted for operational weather forecasting, the European Space Agency’s Arctic Weather Satellite has now fulfilled its most important role. This small prototype mission has succeeded in paving the way for a new constellation of similar satellites, known as EPS-Sterna.

SAN FRANCISCO – Italian space logistics specialist D-Orbit has raised $124 million in the first closing of a Series D investment round announced Jan. 22. “This funding will enable strategic acquisitions, accelerate the build-out of D-Orbit’s orbital logistics infrastructure, expand in-orbit transportation services, scale industrial capacity for ION missions and advance new operational capabilities required […] The post D-Orbit raises $128 million in first tranche of Series D funding appeared first on SpaceNews.

From the ESA Blogs.

From the ESA Blogs.

December and January brought a series of intense winter storms to the peninsula in far eastern Russia.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 13, 2026 A research team at DGIST has developed a perovskite based self powered betavoltaic battery that achieves what they report as the worlds highest conversion efficiency for this class of device while maintaining long term operational stability. The work targets applications that require continuous reliable power without external charging, such as artificial intelligence systems, internet of things

Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Jan 14, 2026 The planet logged its third hottest year on record in 2025, extending a run of unprecedented heat, with no relief expected in 2026, US researchers and EU climate monitors said Wednesday. The last 11 years have now been the warmest ever recorded, with 2024 topping the podium and 2023 in second place, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service and Berkeley Earth, a California-base

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 19, 2026 With unmanned aerial vehicles now common across modern military and security operations, planners face increasing pressure to assign heterogeneous drone swarms to complex mission sets without wasting time or resources. A new study in the journal Defence Technology reports an energy learning hyper-heuristic algorithm that tackles cooperative task assignment under multiple operational constraints.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 Keysight Technologies is collaborating on the Airbus UpNext SpaceRAN demonstrator to explore 5G non-terrestrial network capabilities using software-defined satellite technology in both ground and in-orbit scenarios. The initiative focuses on using a Low Earth Orbit satellite platform to test how next generation satellite payloads can support emerging 5G services from space. The project add

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 Teledyne Technologies has confirmed that its Space Imaging division has successfully deployed Speedster HyViSI Hybrid Visible Silicon Imager focal plane arrays aboard NASAs BlackCAT CubeSat mission, which launched on January 11, 2026 on a SpaceX Twilight rideshare flight. The mission, led by Pennsylvania State University, places an x ray observatory on a Cub

Paris, France (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 After more than 10 years in orbit, the first Copernicus Sentinel 2 satellite, Sentinel 2A, is still finding new ways to contribute to Earth observation as engineers push the mission beyond its original remit. With Sentinel 2B and Sentinel 2C now leading the core task of delivering high resolution, camera like images of Earths surface, Sentinel 2A is being used as a test platform to explore

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 21, 2026 Comtech Telecommunications Corp. has received a follow-on space components award valued at more than 5 million dollars to support a major civil space exploration program in the United States. The award underlines the companys role as a global communications technology supplier to both commercial and government space customers. Under the contract, Comtech will deliver advanced electronic co

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 19, 2026 Slingshot Aerospace has secured a 27 million dollar contract to modernize how the US Space Force trains for conflict in orbit by embedding its TALOS AI agent into the service's Operational Test and Training Infrastructure program. The 18 month effort will integrate AI native technology into existing training capabilities so that exercises more accurately reflect the rapidly evolving orbital thre

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 19, 2026 AST SpaceMobile has been selected for a prime contract position on the U.S. Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense, or SHIELD, program, placing its space-based cellular broadband architecture inside a key U.S. missile defense modernization effort. The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity framework is designed to rapidly deliver new capabilities across

The four members of Crew-11 met with reporters today to discuss their nearly six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Such news conferences are routine, but this time the crew […]

Washington, United States (AFP) Jan 21, 2026 A NASA astronaut who was stuck in space for nine months because of problems with her spacecraft has retired after 27 years of service, the space agency said Tuesday. Suni Williams stepped down from her post on December 27 - making her ill-fated mission her last journey to space. Williams and fellow astronaut Barry "Butch" Wilmore set out on an eight-day mission in June 2024 to test fly

Dublin (AFP) Jan 20, 2026 US tech boss Elon Musk has polled followers on his social network X about buying Ryanair, stoking a clash with the airline's boss Michael O'Leary over using the Starlink system onboard to use the internet. By late Tuesday, lowcost carrier Ryanair had not replied to a request from AFP to respond to the poll that was posted Monday, with more than 900,000 participants. Musk, who founded Tes

The Starlink 17-30 mission will send the batch of satellites into a polar low Earth orbit. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is set for 6:46 p.m. PST (9:46 p.m. EST / 0246 UTC).

As America approaches its 250th anniversary of declaring independence, NASA’s Artemis II mission will carry a host of mementos that reflect the nation’s long tradition of exploration, innovation, and leadership in its official flight kit. The items will fly aboard the Orion spacecraft, launched on top of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, as it […]