Space news

"I want to be very, very clear that this should’ve never happened."

NASA completed the first flight test of a scale-model wing designed to improve laminar flow, reducing drag and lowering fuel costs for future commercial aircraft.  The flight took place Jan. 29 at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, using one of the agency’s F-15B research jets. The NASA-designed, 40-inch Crossflow Attenuated Natural Laminar Flow (CATNLF) wing model was attached to the aircraft’s underside vertically, like a fin.  The flight lasted about 75 minutes, during […]

SpaceX has begun dismantling key infrastructure at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space… The post 39A CAA removed, ending crew launch from historic site, for now appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Space investors and dealmakers anticipate SpaceX’s planned IPO this year will trigger a surge of capital across the industry, but not without the risk of pulling investor attention away from other companies in the run-up. The post SpaceX IPO may suck oxygen from market before unleashing broad capital surge appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA and SpaceX teams completed the final major review – the Launch Readiness Review – for the agency’s Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station, with mission leaders polling “go” to proceed into the launch countdown pending weather along the ascent corridor.

NASA and SpaceX teams completed the final major review – the Launch Readiness Review – for the agency’s Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station, with mission leaders polling “go” to proceed into the launch countdown pending weather along the ascent corridor.

The European Space Agency (ESA) will take part in the upcoming Munich Security Conference (MSC), one of the world’s leading forums for international security policy. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher will join senior political leaders, industry executives and security experts to highlight how space systems underpin Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and strategic autonomy.

MILAN — United Kingdom-based launch company Orbex announced that its business is folding after multiple attempts to stay solvent fell through.  The company announced Feb. 11 that it has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators — a process in the U.K. that’s similar to declaring bankruptcy — after fundraising, merger and acquisition efforts […] The post UK Launcher Orbex files for administration after failed funding efforts appeared first on SpaceNews.

At SmallSat Symposium, executives cite enduring missile threat as rationale for continued investment The post Space companies bet on Golden Dome as questions persist over scope and funding appeared first on SpaceNews.

"We are in the part of the program where we are doing very nasty things to the engine."

On Wednesday, February 11th, the China Manned Space Agency conducted an in-flight abort test of their Mengzhou crewed lunar spacecraft, launched atop a Long March 10A test booster.

SEATTLE, Feb. 11, 2026 — Integrate, the developer of the world’s first ultra-secure project management platform for dynamic multi-entity execution, today announced a $17 million Series A raise led by FPV Ventures with participation from Fuse […] The post Integrate Raises $17M to Commercialize the World’s First Ultra-Secure Project Management Platform for Classified Programs appeared first on SpaceNews.

United Launch Alliance is preparing to fly its first mission of 2026 with the USSF-87… The post ULA to launch first mission of 2026 with USSF-87 aboard Vulcan appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – At the recent World Economic Forum in Switzerland, much of the conversation revolved around the concerns of middle powers, nations with the wherewithal to influence international events that are not among the great powers. At the SmallSat Symposium in Mountain View, representatives of Earth-observation companies said middle powers that previously relied […] The post Demand for sovereign systems extends to the Earth-observation stack appeared first on SpaceNews.

The USSF-87 will be the second national security flight for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket and the fourth flight of this type of rocket to date. Liftoff from pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 3:30 a.m. EST (0830 UTC).

MILAN — The French-German aerospace company The Exploration Company completed mock splashdown tests for its Nyx space capsule, a modular, reusable spacecraft designed to transport cargo and eventually crew to low Earth orbit and beyond. The company conducted water-impact tests on a mock capsule from Jan. 13 through 28. The testing campaign was not a […] The post The Exploration Company completes water-impact tests for its Nyx space capsule appeared first on SpaceNews.

Join Leidos and SpaceNews on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. ET to hear how the U.S. Space Force is partnering with industry to accelerate new approaches for collapsing space kill chains through rapid commercial integration and unclassified technology cohorts. The post Register Now: New Approaches to Collapse Space Kill Chains appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA and SpaceX managers continue targeting no earlier than 5:15 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 13, for the launch of Crew-12 aboard a SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station.

NASA and SpaceX managers continue targeting no earlier than 5:15 a.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 13, for the launch of Crew-12 aboard a SpaceX Dragon to the International Space Station.

Listen to this audio excerpt from Jesse Berdis, Artemis II mobile launcher 1 deputy project manager: Jesse Berdis’s dream of becoming a structural engineer began with visions of skyscrapers rising above the Dallas and Oklahoma skyline. Today, that dream has soared beyond city limits, reaching towering heights at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. […]

As SpaceX and other vertically integrated space giants expand their reach, questions are growing over just how much room other small satellite companies have to build scalable businesses. The post How much is vertical integration squeezing the smallsat opportunity? appeared first on SpaceNews.

On 11 February, International Day of Women and Girls in STEM, we are spotlighting the Genesis mission by speaking to Sara Gidlund, Head of the Genesis Project and Gaia Fusco, Genesis System and Operations Manager about the vision behind a mission for the world. In this video, the women behind Genesis show how strong leadership drives technical innovation at ESA and inspire the next generation to lead with curiosity, vision and impact. More on Genesis.

Boulder, CO and Pasadena, CA — February 11, 2026 — Motiv Space Systems announced a contractual agreement with PickNik Robotics to support software development for NASA’s Fly Foundational Robotics (FFR) […] The post Motiv Space Systems and PickNik Robotics Collaborate on Software for NASA’s Fly Foundational Robotics (FFR) Mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

Catalyst Campus is proud to welcome the fourth cohort of small businesses to the SDA TAP Lab – Catalyst Campus Mini Accelerator, a dynamic two-month program designed to prepare innovative […] The post NINE INNOVATIVE COMPANIES SELECTED FOR FOURTH COHORT OF SDA TAP LAB – CATALYST CAMPUS MINI ACCELERATOR appeared first on SpaceNews.

From left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot pose next to their mission insignia inside the Astronaut Crew Quarters in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. NASA’s SpaceX […]

Water flowing out. Data flowing in. A water system activation at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) on Jan. 30 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, helped capture critical data to support testing a new SLS (Space Launch System) stage expected to fly on the Artemis IV mission. The activation milestone […]

In a welcome return to active flight vehicle testing after setbacks and facility upgrades, SpaceX… The post SpaceX complete Booster 19 testing at upgraded Massey’s appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

“When you have a fully reusable vehicle … you can send it anywhere … to the moon … past Mars”  —Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator. Imagine a future where thousands of people travel to space every year. Some stay a week. Some a month. Some never come back — they stay, build and live. Space is […] The post Reusable launch vehicles will change everything in space, and on Earth appeared first on SpaceNews.

The UK-based services provider Orbex has entered insolvency proceedings after a planned takeover by European space logistics startup The Exploration Company fell through. In December 2025, The Exploration Company entered negotiations to acquire Orbex. On 21 January, the companies announced they had signed a letter of intent, with The Exploration Company’s CEO Hélène Huby describing […] The post Orbex Fails After Planned Purchase Falls Through appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Eutelsat has signed a 975 million euro ($1.2 billion) France-backed export credit agency financing package to help fund 440 replacement satellites for its OneWeb LEO broadband constellation. The post Eutelsat gets nearly 1 billion euros in French-backed ECA financing appeared first on SpaceNews.

Violators may be shot down.

Stoke Space has raised an additional $350 million to advance work on its reusable launch vehicle and future projects. The post Stoke Space adds $350 million to Series D round appeared first on SpaceNews.

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 04, 2026 Metamaterials are engineered composites whose internal architecture, rather than their base substances, governs how they respond to forces and deformation. In these systems, repeating building blocks known as unit cells are arranged in regular patterns, and their size, shape, and connectivity determine properties such as stiffness, strength, and energy absorption. Researchers from the University

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 08, 2026 With robots taking on more roles in daily life and industry, their evolution toward autonomous intelligence is being held back by rigid electronic hardware that cannot conform to complex, curved bodies. Traditional hard components are difficult to mount on non planar robot surfaces, which limits the integration of critical sensing, computation, and actuation functions that underpin perception, d

San Francisco, United States (AFP) Feb 5, 2026 Anthropic on Thursday released its latest high-performing artificial intelligence model, escalating its challenge to OpenAI in the intensifying AI race. Founded by former OpenAI staffers in 2021, Anthropic has gained significant momentum in recent months with a series of product releases that have impressed Silicon Valley - and rattled Wall Street. Releases including an AI automation to

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 08, 2026 An electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft developed by the ninth academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has completed its first flight in southwest China. The maiden sortie took place in Chongqing municipality on Friday and marked a new step for the country's low altitude transport ambitions. The prototype uses a configuration that merges elements of air vehi

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Lockheed Martin has introduced the Lamprey Multi Mission Autonomous Undersea Vehicle, a new submersible designed to give US and allied naval forces a flexible and persistent presence in contested waters. The company describes LampreyMMAUV as a plug and play platform that can attach to existing surface ships or submarines without requiring host modifications, recharge its batteries using bu

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 04, 2026 A new axis based grid model illustrates how independent spatial, temporal, and parametric axes can be combined to describe complex earth observation data sets in a single coherent framework. The representation separates space, time, and measured parameters into distinct axes, then aligns them in a unified grid that can accommodate a wide range of satellite and in situ measurements collecte

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that traps heat efficiently in Earth atmosphere, and scientists estimate that it accounts for about 30 percent of modern global warming despite being less abundant than carbon dioxide. Observations show that methane levels have risen over time, but researchers still lack clarity about why the rate of accumulation changes from year to year. Methane remai

Salt Lake City UT (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Earth's magnetic field is generated by the churn of its liquid nickel-iron outer core, but it is not a constant feature. Every so often, the magnetic north and south poles swap places in what are called geomagnetic reversals, and the record of these flips is preserved in rocks and sediments, including those from the ocean floor. These reversals don't happen suddenly, but over several thous

China took a major step forward in its lunar and human spaceflight programs late Tuesday with successful in-flight abort and rocket recovery tests. The post China tests crewed spacecraft abort and rocket recovery in major lunar milestone appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded OHB Italia a €81.2 million contract for the construction, assembly, and testing phase of the agency’s Ramses mission, which will study the asteroid Apophis during its close encounter with Earth. The agency also announced that it had successfully concluded the mission’s Critical Design Review “in record time.” In […] The post ESA Awards OHB a €81.2 Million Contract for Ramses Asteroid Probe appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Today we join the international community in celebrating Women and Girls in Science. Discover the diversity of female talents working in science and technology around Europe and the words of wisdom that shaped their careers.   

From the ESA Blogs.

Amazon received approval Feb. 10 to deploy thousands more broadband satellites, weeks after seeking relief from a July milestone for its first-generation network after reaching only about 11% of the required deployment. The post FCC approves thousands more Amazon Leo satellites as Gen 1 deadline looms appeared first on SpaceNews.

January brought blistering extremes Down Under as record temperatures scorched the nation’s southeast.

Just 12 months after convincing President Trump to use his inaugural address to extol the vision of sending people to Mars, Elon Musk is changing course. Mars is still the […]

The Starlink 17-34 mission will be the 16th launch for SpaceX so far this year. Liftoff from pad 4E is scheduled for 6:14:40 a.m. PST (9:14:40 a.m. EST / 1414:40 UTC).

The company came under new leadership in December following the departure of Tory Bruno, who left the company to join Blue Origin.

Manufacturers of small satellites that lack opportunities to build very large constellations say they are seeing growing interest from customers seeking smaller systems tailored to specific needs. The post Satellite manufacturers see emerging market for ‘mini-constellations’ appeared first on SpaceNews.