Space news

Construction is nearly complete for the world's newest rocket-delivery vessel, United Launch Alliance's SpaceShip that will carry Atlas V and Vulcan rocket elements from the factory in Decatur, Alabama to launch sites in Florida and California. SpaceShip is larger and even more capable than RocketShip, which remains in service after a quarter-century of voyages. The addition of a second vessel meets ULA's needs as our launch rate increases.Designed and built by Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana and Bristol Harbor Group, Inc. in Bristol, Rhode Island, SpaceShip is a 356-foot-long (109-m)  roll-on/roll-off vessel classed for both ocean-going and river service. It enables the transport of two complete Vulcan rockets -- booster stage, interstage, Centaur V and payload fairings -- in a single trip. Both the SpaceShip and RocketShip are highly maneuverable, unique custom-built rocket transport ships and the only U.S. flagged ships with the versatility to navigate both rivers and open ocean. They feature living quarters and dining areas for the crews, a heli-pad on the top deck, a below-deck machine shop and sophisticated computers and navigational aids on the bridges.The ships are ULA's primary method for moving launch vehicles from the factory in Decatur, Alabama to either Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, or Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. The trips to Cape Canaveral is approximately 1,700 miles one-way and Vandenberg, via the Panama Canal, is nearly 9,000 miles.RocketShip, formerly the Delta Mariner, began transporting Delta IV cores to both sites 25 years ago, started carrying Atlas V stages in 2011 and has served all Vulcan deliveries to date. Vulcan stages are too large for air or road shipment, making SpaceShip a welcome addition to the fleet.

When the four astronauts of Artemis II lift off to travel towards the Moon for the first time in over 50 years, Europe will be travelling with them – not only through the European Service Module that powers their spacecraft, but also through teams of engineers and medical specialists monitoring every move from Earth.

Redwire has introduced a new solar array product designed for mass-produced satellites that require high performance while minimizing mass. The post Redwire unveils new solar array appeared first on SpaceNews.

In less than a week, Infinite Orbits announced two acquisitions, agreeing to purchase LMO’s Luxembourg-based operations in late February and UK-based Lúnasa Space in early March. The back-to-back deals come less than four months after the company closed an oversubscribed €40 million financing round in November 2025. Toulouse-based Infinite Orbits is developing Endurance, a satellite […] The post Infinite Orbits Goes on Spending Spree After Securing €40 Million appeared first on European Spaceflight.

As satellite communications constellations grow in size and number, they are also competing for a scarce and increasingly valuable resource: spectrum, the bands of radio frequencies that are crucial for communications and broadband service — and for tracking weather. The pace is intensifying as companies race to expand global communications networks, raising alarms at some […] The post Spectrum showdown appeared first on SpaceNews.

The ice along Antarctica’s ‘grounding lines’ has been largely stable over the past 30 years – but ice has retreated by more than 40 km in some areas, a new study based on satellite data finds.

From the ESA Blogs.

The National fire has burned tens of thousands of acres within the Florida preserve, fueled by vegetation dried by prolonged drought and killed by recent frost.

Deutsche Telekom plans to deliver Europe’s first direct-to-smartphone services via upgraded Starlink satellites in 2028, aiming to use MSS spectrum to bring 5G speeds to remote areas across 10 countries. The post Deutsche Telekom aims to bring Starlink Mobile V2 to Europe in 2028 appeared first on SpaceNews.

Five missions are expected to launch this week, with Falcon 9 scheduled to launch four… The post Launch Preview: Japan to launch Kairos as Falcon 9 launches Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

What are some skywatching highlights in March 2026? A total lunar eclipse blood moon takes centre stage, Venus and Saturn cozy up for a conjunction, and we celebrate the vernal equinox.

March 2, 2026 – Washington, D.C.— The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) today announced that Kelli Kedis Ogborn will join the organization as a Strategic Advisor for Global Markets and Industry […] The post Kelli Kedis Ogborn Joining Commercial Space Federation as Strategic Advisor for Global Markets and Industry Engagement appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Expedition 74 crew kicked off the work week readying a spacesuit and studying procedures for an upcoming spacewalk later this month. The International Space Station residents are also packing a Japanese cargo craft and preparing it for departure from the International Space Station at the end of the week.

About the PSI Users Group The Physical Sciences Informatics (PSI) Users Group is a recurring Webex forum that brings together researchers, open-science practitioners, and collaborators from across the physical sciences community. Designed to foster collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and data-driven discovery, each meeting provides participants with a platform to directly engage with leading researchers and PIs. Each […]

Sunlight beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above on March 5, 2025. This is an example of sunglint, an optical phenomenon that occurs when sunlight reflects off the surface of water at the same angle that a satellite sensor views it. The result is […]

After delivering about 12,000 pounds of supplies, scientific investigations, hardware, and other cargo to the International Space Station for NASA and its international partners, JAXA’s (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s) uncrewed HTV‑X1 cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart Friday, March 6. Watch NASA’s live coverage beginning at 11:45 a.m. EST on NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the […]

SpaceX has disrupted the launch business with the Falcon 9 and the satellite communications business with Starlink. Now it may be taking aim at the emerging space situational awareness (SSA) field. In late January, SpaceX announced Stargaze, a new SSA service. Stargaze uses data from star tracker cameras on its Starlink satellites to track satellites […] The post Stargazing into the future of SSA appeared first on SpaceNews.

U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Space Command have ‘continuously layered effects to disrupt, disorient and confuse the enemy’ The post Pentagon details cyber, space ‘first mover’ role in Iran operations appeared first on SpaceNews.

The first two satellites of ESA’s Celeste LEO-PNT demonstration mission are scheduled to lift off no earlier than 24 March, aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the company’s Māhia Launch Complex in New Zealand.

Orbital and lunar data centers are often framed as engineering challenges or launch economics problems. Those matter, but they are not the limiting factor. The real bottleneck is the absence of a procurement and logistics architecture capable of sourcing, qualifying, transporting, assembling and sustaining the technologies these systems require. If companies are going to realize […] The post Hardware is no longer the problem holding back space-based data centers — the supply chain is appeared first on SpaceNews.

America succeeds in space when American companies compete.

March 2, 2026 Houston, Texas – World Space Week 2025 recorded nearly 50,000 activities across 102 nations, marking the highest global participation in its history, World Space Week Association announced […] The post World Space Week 2025 Set Record With 50,000 Events in 102 Countries appeared first on SpaceNews.

Instead of customized development, Space Force will seek commercially derived ground stations The post Space Force rethinks satellite ground station strategy appeared first on SpaceNews.

During an event at the Guiana Space Centre on 24 February, ArianeGroup subsidiary MaiaSpace announced that the inaugural flight of its two-stage Maia rocket will take place in 2027, slipping from a previously expected late-2026 launch. Founded in 2022, MaiaSpace is developing a two-stage partially reusable rocket that will be capable of delivering up to […] The post MaiaSpace Pushes Inaugural Launch of Maia Rocket to 2027 appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Open Cosmos shed more light on its proposed sovereign broadband constellation for Europe March 2, branding the Ka-band network ConnectedCosmos while leaving how it will meet mid-2026 deployment deadlines in the dark. The post Open Cosmos unveils vision for imagery-linked sovereign satellite connectivity appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency announced up to $118 million in funding March 2 for projects promising to accelerate the convergence of satellite and terrestrial communications. The post ESA announces 100 million euro satellite-mobile convergence initiative appeared first on SpaceNews.

The hill-shaped features are a sign of explosive volcanic activity—a rarity on the Red Planet.

NASA has provided new details about its plans to procure a Mars communications orbiter funded under last year’s budget reconciliation bill as companies continue positioning themselves to bid on it. The post NASA outlines objectives for Mars communications orbiter appeared first on SpaceNews.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of March 1-7, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. […]

Proxy adviser Glass Lewis has recommended that Avio shareholders vote in favour of a set of proposed bylaw amendments that would reduce the maximum size of the company’s board of directors. The recommendation comes after a separate proxy adviser, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommended against the proposed changes, setting up a tense run-up to a […] The post Shareholder Advisory Firms Disagree on Avio Bylaw Amendments appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Officials says commercial data and software can sharpen space threat detection The post Space Force opens secretive space tracking to commercial firms appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Starlink 10-41 mission will see the Falcon 9 rocket head out on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff is expected on March 1 at 7:34 p.m. EST (0034 UTC).

New York (AFP) Feb 25, 2026 The astronaut who faced a health issue prompting the first-ever medical evacuation in International Space Station history is "doing very well," he said in a statement issued by NASA on Wednesday. Mike Fincke, 58, said he's "doing very well and continuing standard post-flight reconditioning" at NASA's center in Houston. NASA had previously declined to identify which astronaut experienced

Washington, United States (AFP) Feb 25, 2026 NASA on Wednesday was rolling its towering Moon rocket back to its hangar for repairs, after windows for liftoff were pushed back over technical issues. The US space agency said it would roll its 322-foot (98-meter) SLS rocket off the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida after teams detected issues with helium flow. The decision means further delays for the highly anticipated Artemis 2 m

Cape Canaveral (AFP) Feb 27, 2026 NASA on Friday abruptly said it was shaking up its Artemis lunar program that has suffered multiple delays in recent years, a bid to ensure Americans can return to the Moon's surface by 2028. That goal remains unchanged, but the US space agency is shifting its flight lineup to include a test mission before an eventual lunar landing to improve launch "muscle memory," NASA administrator Jared

Chinese launch firm CAS Space is preparing for the inaugural launch of its reusable Kinetica-2 liquid rocket in late March, carrying a prototype cargo spacecraft. The post CAS Space to launch Kinetica-2 in late March carrying prototype cargo spacecraft appeared first on SpaceNews.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 1:55:50 a.m. PST (4:55:50 a.m. EST / 0955:50 UTC). The rocket will take southerly trajectory on departure from the launch site in central California.

Intuitive Machines raised $175 million in a stock sale Feb. 25 and plans to use the proceeds to help build out a deep space communications network. The post Intuitive Machines raises $175 million in stock sale appeared first on SpaceNews.

On February 27th, 2026, Rocket Lab launched the “That’s Not A Knife” mission from Wallops Island, Virginia, carrying a hypersonic test vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit.

NASA has about three weeks to complete repairs to the Space Launch System’s upper stage to make the next launch window for the Artemis 2 mission in early April. The post NASA on ‘aggressive’ schedule to complete SLS repairs for April launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

Firefly Aerospace is returning its Alpha launch vehicle to flight after a nearly 10-month stand… The post Firefly Alpha FLTA007 “Stairway to Seven” set for launch from California coast appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman revealed a reconfigured plan for the Artemis program today that increases the cadence of launches and adds an earth-orbit test flight before a lunar surface return. […]

Following a mishap in April of 2025, Firefly Aerospace is aiming to return its Alpha rocket to launch on the 28th of February.

Light shines onto a solar concentrator being tested in this Aug. 7, 2025, photo. The concentrator is part of the Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project, which aims to produce oxygen from simulated lunar regolith for use at the Moon’s south pole. For this test, the team integrated the solar concentrator, mirrors, and software and confirmed […]

I went into <em>Hyperion</em> blind, decades ago, knowing almost nothing about it. I was never the same.

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has returned to Earth filled with several thousand pounds of science experiments and lab hardware for retrieval and analysis completing a six-month stay at the International Space Station. The Expedition 74 crew now turns its attention toward March when two more cargo spaceships depart the orbital outpost and complete their resupply missions. Meanwhile, advanced space biology and technology research wrapped up the week in space.

New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major overhaul of the agency's Artemis moon program Friday, acknowledging that the agency's plan to land astronauts on the moon in 2028 was not realistic without another preparatory mission first to lay the groundwork.

Nestled in the Mojave Desert, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, pushes the boundaries of flight to advance the agency’s aeronautics mission. This is where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and engineers are now pioneering the future of high-speed, autonomous, and electrified aircraft. Armstrong contributes to NASA’s broader mission of innovation and […]

After spending a few months in Mega Bay 2 fully stacked, Ship 39 – the… The post Flight 12: Ship 39 rolls out to Masseys to begin testing appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

As part of a Golden Age of exploration and discovery, NASA announced Friday the agency is increasing its cadence of missions under the Artemis program to achieve the national objective of returning American astronauts to the Moon and establishing an enduring presence. This includes standardizing vehicle configuration, adding an additional mission in 2027, and undertaking at least one surface […]