Space news

The bigger the hailstone, the more damage it can cause. But scientists find that predicting hailstone size can be challenging. How quickly does hail melt as it falls?

A successful deep-space manoeuvre has put ESA’s Hera spacecraft on course for its rendezvous with the Didymos binary asteroid system later this year.

The Canadian military announced March 16 a major investment in both launch facilities and companies in a bid to create a sovereign space access capability. The post Canadian military invests in sovereign launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

Before you ever set foot on a spacecraft bound for deep space, tiny replicas of your organs might make the journey first. Suspended in microgravity aboard a research mission, this organ-on-a-chip, or tissue chip, engineered from your own cells, could reveal how your body will respond to cosmic radiation and the weightlessness of space. As […] The post An astronaut’s tiny stand-in: tissue chips in space health appeared first on SpaceNews.

South Korean startup Innospace says its inaugural launch failed in December when exhaust leaked from a combustion chamber and caused the rocket to break up. The post Innospace completes investigation into Hanbit-Nano launch failure appeared first on SpaceNews.

Ireland is best known for its many greens, but the striking grays of the island’s Burren region also stand out in satellite images.

NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya said today that to be as agile as possible, the agency is opening up the specifications for early Artemis landings while keeping their sights on […]

Another busy launch manifest is scheduled for this week, with nine launches expected from various… The post Launch Preview: Falcon 9, Spectrum, Electron to launch during busy week of launches appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

The Starlink 10-46 mission will add another 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to the low Earth orbit constellation. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled during a window that opens at 6:26 a.m. EDT (1026 UTC).

Chipmaker says new system is designed for satellites and other power-constrained missions The post Nvidia unveils AI computing module for space-based data centers appeared first on SpaceNews.

Liftoff of the Starlink 17-24 mission is scheduled for 8:39:30 p.m. PDT (11:39:30 p.m. EDT / 0339:30 UTC).

Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz have pushed interest in commercial geospatial intelligence services to unprecedented levels, an executive at Kayrros said after the satellite analytics provider agreed to be acquired by Energy Aspects. The post Kayrros sale signals rising demand for satellite intelligence amid Hormuz crisis appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA will hold a media teleconference at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 19 to highlight plans for its X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft’s upcoming flight tests. The teleconference is set to take place after the X-59 is scheduled to complete its second flight, in California. For the media call, NASA leadership will join representatives from […]

Description This pair of images shows stars observed by the SPARCS (Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat) space telescope simultaneously in the near-ultraviolet, left, and far-ultraviolet, right. These observations were recorded on Feb. 6, 2026, three weeks after the cube satellite, or CubeSat, launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on Jan. 11. The fact that one star […]

As four astronauts travel around the Moon on NASA’s Artemis II mission, they will venture beyond Earth’s protective magnetic field. The crew’s spacecraft, Orion, will carry and protect them as they journey into deep space and serves as the main protection against the Sun’s intense power.  During their 10-day flight, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will monitor the […]

NEW YORK, March 2026 — Melagen Labs and Satlyt today announced a joint technology demonstration aboard the International Space Station (ISS) through the AEGIS MISSE platform. The mission will generate […] The post Melagen Labs and Satlyt Announce Joint ISS Mission to Demonstrate Radiation-Resilient In-Orbit Computing and Next-Gen Shielding appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA is on track to launch Artemis II as soon as April 1st, with daily launch opportunities through April 6th. After major changes to the Artemis program, answers have been slow to materialize.

Kepler is issuing a call for payloads seeking persistent, real-time data streaming in Low Earth Orbit. Integration starts soon for the limited number of hosted payload slots remaining available across […] The post Kepler Communications: Call for Live-Stream Payload Concepts appeared first on SpaceNews.

Spacewalk preparations and the undocking of a cargo spacecraft kicked off the week for the Expedition 74 crew aboard the International Space Station.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) has awarded a €15.65 million research contract to a consortium led by Spanish aerospace engineering company Sener to design a military satellite specifically optimised for very low Earth orbit (VLEO). VLEO is the region of space between approximately 150 and 350 kilometres above the surface of Earth. Operating in this […] The post European Defence Agency Awards Contract for First VLEO Military Satellite Concept appeared first on European Spaceflight.

From the voyages of spacecraft to the Moon and beyond, to the launches of satellites that help us navigate, communicate, and understand our planet and the universe, the use of liquid-fueled rockets has been key to humanity’s use and exploration of space. Today marks 100 years since the first successful test of this technology. On […]

Download PDF: A Combination of Techniques Leads to Improved Friction Stir Welding The NESC developed several innovative tools and techniques during an assessment to find the root cause of poor tensile strength and low topography anomalies (LTA) in welds formed using a solid-state welding process called self-reacting friction stir welding (SRFSW).    Using a combination of […]

The unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 92 spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station at 9:24 a.m. EDT Monday, backing away for a deorbit maneuver and a planned destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere to dispose of trash loaded by the crew.

Download PDF: NESC Develops Method for Estimating Risk When Reducing NDE  Performing nondestructive evaluation (NDE) can have both cost and schedule impacts, leading some to question whether descoping (i.e., reducing or eliminating) NDE inspections on certain spaceflight hardware could be possible. However, this approach would be counter to NASA’s Technical Standard NASA-STD-5019A, which outlines the spaceflight […]

The University of Illinois’ Space Entanglement and Annealing Quantum Experiment (SEAQUE) is a compelling success story in the global race to develop quantum communication networks in space. The experiment’s success was enabled by a novel collaboration approach across academia, industry and government. As such, SEAQUE is more than a physics experiment. It’s a demonstration of […] The post Investing in student programs is essential for America’s lead in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

With more than 400 positions to be published in 2026, the European Space Agency is launching a recruitment drive to support ESA’s programmes, missions and strategic initiatives following the 2025 Ministerial Council in Bremen. To help make these projects a reality, we will be recruiting many new colleagues in engineering and science, as well as support services! Your next big opportunity could be here, so read on to find out more. You can also set up a job alert to be the first one to know when opportunities are published.   

East Aurora, NY — Moog Inc. (NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B), a worldwide designer, manufacturer and systems integrator of high-performance precision motion and fluid controls and control systems will highlight its […] The post New Moog Innovations for the Satellite Market on Full Display at SATELLITE 2026 Conference appeared first on SpaceNews.

"I realized that if something went wrong up there, things might go very badly down here."

China conducted a pair of launches Sunday, sending a second Yaogan-50 satellite into a highly retrograde orbit and completing a Kuaizhou-11 solid rocket rideshare mission. The post China launches new highly retrograde Yaogan satellite, KZ-11 rideshare deploys 8 satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.

It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field. But that is just what ESA’s CryoSat mission did earlier this year.

During the 2022 summer melt season, sediment plumes and fractured sea ice traced swirling eddies in a branch of the Nansen Sound fjord system in the Canadian Arctic.

An orbital data center startup is seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a constellation of as many as 88,000 satellites. The post Starcloud files plans for 88,000-satellite constellation appeared first on SpaceNews.

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week plus a day of March 15-22, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate […]

In the absence of the National Space Council, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has taken on a lead role in coordinating national space policy. The post OSTP taking on space policy coordination work in place of National Space Council appeared first on SpaceNews.

Analysts are relying on tools that fuse satellite imagery, ship data and open-source reporting into real-time insight The post Strait of Hormuz crisis drives demand for commercial geospatial intelligence appeared first on SpaceNews.

The contract supports communications terminals used in the U.S. nuclear command-and-control architecture The post Raytheon contract for protected satellite communications terminals raised by $2 billion appeared first on SpaceNews.

From the ESA Blogs.

Blue Origin has unveiled a new mission concept called NEO Hunter, designed to protect Earth… The post Blue Origin Unveils NEO Hunter: A Hybrid Planetary Defense Concept appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

The conversation took place amid the flight readiness review for the Artemis 2 mission, which is currently set to launch no earlier than April 1, 2026, pending work being completed in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

SAN FRANCISCO – Northern California startup iMetalX Inc. emerged from stealth to announce a collaboration with Psionic, a Hampton, Virginia, company focused on autonomous navigation in GPS-denied environments. Pairing Psionic’s Space Navigation Dopper Lidar with iMetalX’s Asgard data and simulation platform offers customers the ability to create accurate 3D models of resident space objects (RSOs) […] The post iMetalX emerges from stealth with technology to model resident space objects appeared first on SpaceNews.

Patches of the Sun’s surface often show strong magnetic fields. These fields can emerge within a matter of hours, and can decay slowly or quickly, sometimes over days, weeks, or even months. Thanks to a new study about these long-lived active regions, we now know much more about the patches where these strong magnetic fields […]

The Daily Minor Planet citizen science project is expanding! In addition to data received nightly from the Catalina Sky Survey’s Mt. Lemmon telescope in Arizona, the project’s science team is now processing images from the Bok 2.3-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. The Bok is a mighty telescope run by the University of Arizona’s […]

Japanese satellite servicing company Astroscale has selected Isar Aerospace to launch a deorbiting mission developed by its British subsidiary. The post Astroscale selects Isar Aerospace to launch ELSA-M mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

As SpaceX accelerates its ambitious goal of sending humans to the Moon and Mars, the… The post From Steel Rolls to Starship at the Starfactory appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

At the conclusion of a two-day flight readiness review, "all the teams polled 'go' to launch and fly Artemis 2 around the moon, pending completion of some of the work before we roll out to the launch pad," said Lori Glaze, associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development at NASA Headquarters.

A state-owned space contractor has unveiled a concept for an “economical lunar cargo transport” system as China prepares for construction of a lunar base. The post China is developing low-cost lunar cargo options for its expanding moon program appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA has selected eight student teams as finalists in the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, giving them the resources to help address a critical challenge for U.S. aviation: maintenance.  Challenges facing the commercial aviation industry include a shortage of qualified maintenance workers and increasing demands to keep complicated aircraft running for longer. With Gateways to Blue Skies, NASA taps into student innovation to address some of the biggest […]

MILAN — The first field test of Leonardo’s Michelangelo “security dome” architecture will take place in Ukraine by the end of 2026, CEO Roberto Cingolani announced March 12. Michelangelo, first announced in November 2025, is Leonardo’s proposal for an integrated, multi-domain structure spanning air, land, maritime and space. The system is designed as an interoperable […] The post Ukraine will host first test for Leonardo’s Michelangelo security dome appeared first on SpaceNews.

Science hardware maintenance filled the day for the Expedition 74 crew following the release of two cargo spacecraft in less than a week at the International Space Station. The orbital residents also continued more reviews for next week’s spacewalk, kept up their ongoing human research program, and readied another spacecraft for departure.

NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, invites innovative companies, government agencies, and organizations to attend Partnership Days, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, April 15 and 16, at the center. The event offers a unique opportunity to explore collaboration with NASA on cutting-edge research and development in areas such as aerospace, autonomy, sustainability, and […]