Space news

Gen. Stephen Whiting, Commander of U.S. Space Command, participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday to mark the official beginning of USSPACECOM’s move to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL. The […]

The return of Starship launches may be just weeks away, with notices for the upcoming… The post SpaceX aims for mid-May Starship Flight 12 launch with revised trajectory appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

President Trump is nominating Lt. Gen. Douglas Schiess to be the next U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations as Gen. B. Chance Saltzman’s four-year term comes to an end. […]

After reviewing the International Space Station flight schedule, NASA and its partners are adjusting launch opportunities for several upcoming missions. This update to the schedule better aligns mission planning, logistics, and timing for upcoming flights to support space station operations.

After reviewing the International Space Station flight schedule, NASA and its partners are adjusting launch opportunities for several upcoming missions. This update to the schedule better aligns mission planning, logistics, and timing for upcoming flights to support space station operations.

NASA announced Friday Janet Petro, center director for the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is retiring. Prior to joining NASA, Petro worked in a variety of military and industry positions, ultimately beginning her career at the agency in 2007 and working her way up to center director, as well as serving as acting administrator […]

Nasdaq Chair and Chief Executive Officer Adena T. Friedman, left, and NASA’s Artemis II crewmembers CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reid Wiseman, right, ring the closing bell of the Nasdaq market session, Thursday, April 30, 2026. NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and […]

Technicians at NASA’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida offloaded eight high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) wall modules and other ground support equipment on April 27. The equipment will support launch processing of the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Each 1,800-pound module enhances the PHSF’s clean room systems, helping meet […]

Earth’s magnetic field is like a powerful trap. It lures electrically charged particles in space, near our planet, and snares them in an invisible, doughnut-shaped pen around Earth known as the ring current. This captive swarm of charged particles plays an important role in how Earth reacts to changing conditions in space, called space weather, which […]

It's not clear whether Virgin Galactic has the cash reserves to fund a prolonged test phase.

Summer is “Go” for launch, and NASA has a universe of ways to help you to jump in, explore, and create! Whether you prefer to spend this season fueling your creativity, going outdoors into nature, or daydreaming about your future, NASA offers ways to take your interests to the next level.  Here are some opportunities […]

Week in images: 27 April - 01 May 2026

The Starlink 10-38 mission will see SpaceX deploy 29 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. EDT (1735 UTC).

In this new picture from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, a spiral galaxy glittering with star clusters is the center of attention. NGC 3137 is located 53 million light-years away in the constellation Antlia (the Air Pump). As a nearby spiral galaxy, this target offers astronomers an excellent opportunity to study the cycle of stellar birth and death, […]

The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite, launched last November, is now fully operational after successfully completing its critical in-orbit commissioning phase.

From the ESA Blogs.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has completed a more than 79-hour sterilisation of the parachute that will slow the descent of its Rosalind Franklin rover for a gentle touchdown on the surface of Mars. Scheduled for launch in 2028 aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy, the Rosalind Franklin rover will be tasked with drilling beneath the […] The post ESA Completes Sterilisation of ExoMars Parachute appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Heavy rains from Tropical Cyclone Maila triggered a deadly landslide in the mountains of East New Britain.

The House Appropriations Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee approved the FY2027 bill that funds NASA today on a party-line vote, with all Democrats in opposition. Most of their objections were over parts of […]

Russia’s brand new Soyuz-5 rocket made its first flight on Saturday, lifting off from the… The post Russia debuts new rocket with maiden Soyuz-5 launch appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Ireland will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 3 p.m. EDT Monday, May 4, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Ambassador of Ireland to the United States of America Geraldine Byrne Nason; Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, T.D., of Ireland; and U.S. Department of State […]

If Blue Origin wants to launch New Glenn 100 times a year, we're here for it.

Description Team members past and present from NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter mission gathered on April 15, 2026, to celebrate 25 years since the spacecraft’s launch, which took place April 7, 2001. For the occasion, the team rolled out a giant global map of Mars created using imagery from Odyssey’s THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) […]

Shooting stars before dawn, a brilliant meetup between the Moon and Venus and a rare blue moon to end the month.

A new exercise device, artery scans, and space gardening topped the research schedule for the Expedition 74 crew aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The orbital residents also worked on a spacesuit and continued unpacking the Progress 95 cargo craft.

Teams move the core stage, or largest section, of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for NASA’s Artemis III mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in this photo from April 27, 2026. The SLS core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete […]

The Kingdom of Morocco signed the Artemis Accords on April 29th during a ceremony in the country’s capital, Rabat, becoming the latest nation to commit to the responsible exploration of space. “It is my privilege to welcome the Kingdom of Morocco as the newest signatory to the Artemis Accords,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in […]

Trimmed in bicentennial pageantry, NASA opened a visitor center at its Goddard campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, in May 1976. Fifty years on, the Goddard Visitor Center continues to inspire through exhibits and programs on the past, present, and future of space exploration. When the visitor center first opened its doors (just a few weeks before […]

Our streets are crowded with commuters and delivery vehicles, but when a police car or fire engine approaches with its lights and sirens on, drivers clear the way. In the coming years, drones for deliveries and other commercial tasks will become common in the skies over our communities, and NASA is working to ensure first […]

A doctor who has assisted in mass casualty events, served overseas, and has assisted both… The post Next NASA ISS astronaut, doctor discusses upcoming mission appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

What did space deliver for Europe this month? From the Moon to low Earth orbit and beyond, here’s what the European Space Agency has been up to.

From the ESA Blogs.

European launch services provider Arianespace has successfully launched a second mission for Amazon, deploying 32 satellites for the company’s Amazon LEO constellation aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. The rocket, launched in its Ariane 64 configuration that features four solid-fuel boosters, lifted off at 08:57 UTC from the ELA-4 Launch Complex. The first of the 32 […] The post Arianespace Launches Another 32 Amazon LEO Satellites Aboard Ariane 6 appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Watch ESA’s Mars chief engineer Albert Haldemann explains the sterilisation process of one of the parachutes of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission and why it matters.

From the ESA Blogs.

As winter turned to spring, the skies over the Gulf of Alaska displayed textbook examples of numerous cloud formations.

The Starlink 17-36 mission will be SpaceX’s 51st Falcon 9 launch of 2026. Liftoff from pad 4E is scheduled for 7:37 pm PDT (10:37 pm EDT / 0237 UTC).

Listen to this audio excerpt from Ryan Schulte, Orion flywheel project manager: As the four Artemis II astronauts traveled on a 694,481-mile journey around the Moon and back, the Orion spacecraft provided them with all the essentials for deep space life, including daily exercise. The crew used an exercise device called the flywheel throughout their mission to maintain their physical and mental health, and Ryan Schulte, Orion […]

Description A scientist produced this map of land subsidence (sinking) in Mexico City using data from the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) mission captured between Oct. 25, 2025, and Jan. 17, 2026. The region has been a well-known hot spot of subsidence for decades, and images like this help confirm that NISAR is performing as […]

Written by Sharon Wilson Purdy, Planetary Geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Earth planning date: Friday, April 24, 2026 There was excitement in the air as the Curiosity Science Team kicked off a drill campaign at the Atacama site to characterize the first Mount Sharp layered-sulfate bedrock since leaving the boxwork terrain. […]

One of the most powerful radar systems ever launched into space has mapped the ground moving beneath one of fastest subsiding capitals in the world: Mexico City. The findings show how quickly and reliably the NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite can track real-time changes across Earth’s surface from orbit, unhindered by clouds or vegetation […]

President Trump welcomed the Artemis II crew to the White House today. During a press conference, he praised the three Americans and one Canadian who flew around the Moon earlier […]

Physics, biomedicine, and computer networking were the dominant projects for the Expedition 74 crew aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The orbital residents also continued unpacking cargo from a pair of resupply ships while keeping up life support maintenance.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket made a rare appearance on April 29th, launching the ViaSat-3 F3 spacecraft after an eighteen-month gap in its manifest.

The mission was the 12th launch of a Falcon Heavy rocket to date. The rocket lifted off from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 10:13 a.m. EDT (1413 UTC) on Wednesday, April 29.

A luminous swirl set against the deep black of space, the barred spiral galaxy IC 486 glows with a soft, ethereal light in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image from April 13, 2026. IC 486 lies right on the edge of the constellation Gemini (the Twins), around 380 million light-years from Earth. Classified as a barred spiral […]

NASA and Boeing have completed wind tunnel testing to study an innovative advanced aircraft design intended to improve aerodynamic efficiency. A truss-braced wing configuration, involving a long, thin wing with aerodynamically shaped structural supports, has the potential to reduce fuel and operational costs for future airliners, which is why NASA has collaborated with Boeing to […]

UK-based space domain awareness startup Spaceflux has extended its seed round with an additional £3.5 million, bringing total funding to £9 million (approximately €10.4 million). According to the company, the new capital will be used to accelerate its expansion into new markets. Founded in 2022, Spaceflux provides optical space surveillance and tracking services across multiple […] The post Spaceflux Extends Funding Round, Bringing Total to £9 Million appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Anyone who has seen a launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida knows the agency’s pursuit of the stars involves some smoke and fire. Sometimes, however, the smoke doesn’t come from the rockets that propel astronauts beyond Earth’s bounds. That was the case during the second weekend of January 2026, when NASA teamed up […]

NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) assists in the use of crowdsourcing across the federal government. CoECI’s NASA Tournament Lab offers the contract capability to run external crowdsourced challenges on behalf of NASA and other agencies. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), within the Executive Office of the President established by the National […]