Space news

During an event Tuesday at the Johnson Space Center, NASA revealed the astronauts who had been selected for next year's Artemis 3 mission, a flight to test rendezvous and docking procedures in low-Earth orbit with moon landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin.

On social media today, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman defended yesterday’s selection of four men for the Artemis III crew even though almost half of the astronaut corps is female. Stressing […]

The astronaut named commander of Artemis 3 is confident that his crew will be ready for what NASA has called one of its most complex missions in just a year. The post Artemis 3 commander confident crew will be ready for 2027 mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

Stoke Space completed proto-qualification of the first stage of its Nova rocket at its testing… The post Stoke Space completes Nova Stage 1 structural verification appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, APXS Strategic Planner and Payload Uplink/Downlink Lead, University of New Brunswick, Canada Earth planning day: Friday, June 5th, 2026 In a very broad sense, Curiosity has two modes of doing science – one centred around a defined science campaign (such as the recent boxwork campaign) and the other as we move […]

NASA has selected multiple small businesses for the Western Regional Multiple Award Construction Contract, which supports a broad range of facility enhancement, modernization, and sustainment work at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, and other federal agencies in the region. The contract provides general construction, […]

Draft defense bill funds Pentagon at requested discretionary levels but excludes $350 billion in proposed reconciliation spending, casting doubt on Golden Dome and other space programs The post House appropriators back $55.5 billion Space Force budget, omit reconciliation funds appeared first on SpaceNews.

Abstracts are now being accepted for the session, which will take place at the 2027 AMS Annual Meeting.

The European Space Agency (ESA) inaugurated its participation at ILA Berlin International Airshow 2026 with a day rich in high-level meetings, public events and strategic milestones, highlighting Europe's determination to strengthen its role in space. From in-space operations and services to Earth observation and planetary defence, 'Day 1 at ILA' showcased how ESA is working with its Member States, partners and industry to help shape Europe's future.

"I was on the phone with Blue Origin leadership that night, all the next day, all through the weekend."

NASA introduced the astronauts who will fly Artemis III next year, and provided welcome clarity about the upcoming test flight’s objectives.

Scientific hardware installations and biomedical monitoring topped the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 74 crew members also adjusted a spacesuit to prepare for a spacewalk and explored space physics to round out their day.

As NASA plans long-term missions on the Moon, the agency could use robots to perform routine tasks, allowing crew members to dedicate more time to science and exploration. However, robotic motion control requires complex technology and advances in features like robotic decision-making and object recognition. These are the challenges a Boulder, Colorado-based robotics company is […]

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Science Programme Committee has adopted the Arrakihs mission. Planned for launch by the end of 2030, Arrakihs will capture the faint light from nearby galaxy haloes. By seeing the unseen, Arrakihs will dig up cosmic history and reveal how galaxies like our own form and evolve.

The final booster motor segments for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help propel Artemis III astronauts on their journey to space shipped from Northrop Grumman’s Railyard Shipping Facility in Corinne, Utah on June 2. The eight booster motor segments are on their way to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where they […]

On 10–11 June, representatives from European Space Agency (ESA) Member States met in Tenerife to make far-reaching decisions about the future of ESA’s Science Programme. Their decisions to extend current missions and adopt the next ‘fast-class’ mission, Arrakihs, underscores European leadership in, and long-term commitment to, space science.

The European Space Agency has awarded Thales Alenia Space in Italy a contract to build two identical Sentinel-1 Next Generation satellites. The contract represents the first phase of the project and is worth €700 million. A total of four Sentinel-1 first-generation satellites were launched between 2014 and 2025, with three remaining operational after Sentinel-1B was […] The post ESA Awards Initial €700M Contract for Next-Gen Sentinel-1 Satellites appeared first on European Spaceflight.

June 8, 2026 – Washington, D.C.—The Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is pleased to welcome Besxar and Charter Space as new space supply chain members, adding expertise in space-based semiconductor manufacturing […] The post Commercial Space Federation (CSF) Welcomes Two New Space Supply Chain Members appeared first on SpaceNews.

Diehl Defence will explore using Spire’s constellation for detection of ballistic and hypersonic missile threats The post Spire to pursue space-based missile warning in partnership with German defense firm appeared first on SpaceNews.

Landsat’s Jim Irons won the prestigious William T. Pecora Award. Irons, now an emeritus scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, played an integral role in shaping the Landsat program into what it is today.

The complex puzzle known as little red dots has become more complete since their initial discovery by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in 2022. Now a particular little red dot’s spectrum is helping connect many of the pieces. A team of astronomers led by Vasily Kokorev at the University of Texas at Austin identified the […]

Company opens Virginia office, announces $4 million pre-seed funding The post UK startup Applied Atomics to enter US market with focus on military space mobility appeared first on SpaceNews.

A Los Angeles-based startup has raised $5 million to fund an in-orbit computing demonstration next year, ahead of plans to deploy more than 100,000 orbital data centers to meet surging demand for AI infrastructure. The post Orbital raises $5 million to join orbital data center race appeared first on SpaceNews.

During the 2025-2026 school year, educators from the NASA Science Activation Program’s GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) Mission Earth project participated in a specialized Community of Practice led by NASA Langley Research Center to refine how students interact with NASA’s land cover data (MODIS, Landsat, and Sentinel-2).

The transportable sensor is designed to maintain continuous tracking of maneuvering spacecraft in orbit The post LeoLabs deploys mobile space-tracking radar in Indo-Pacific  appeared first on SpaceNews.

Spacecraft propulsion startup Arkadia Space has signed a deal to provide thrusters for a satellite being built by Reflex Aerospace. The post Arkadia Space to supply thrusters for Reflex Aerospace satellite appeared first on SpaceNews.

A compact, multifrequency radar built by a team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will make it easier to collect information about dynamic cloud systems. Called CloudCube, this new instrument simultaneously probes the atmosphere with three radar signals, spanning 36 to 240 GHz, for optimized sensitivity to a wide range of water droplet and ice particle sizes.

Proponents see offshore launch as an answer to crowded ranges, military resilience concerns. The post Spaceport crunch reviving interest in sea-based launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

Finnish SAR satellite manufacturer ICEYE has closed a €450 million Series F funding round to support its continued global expansion. Including a secondary share sale, the total transaction exceeded €1 billion, at a valuation of more than €10 billion. It is the payoff of a calculated bet that, six years ago, few in the industry […] The post ICEYE’s Bet Pays Off with €10 Billion Valuation appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Satellites have become essential infrastructure. Financial markets rely on their timing signals. Military operations depend on their communications and surveillance. Navigation, disaster response, logistics, climate monitoring, most systems that underpin […] The post After the launch: Why Europe’s space ambitions depend on what comes next appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Commission signed a joint declaration on In-Space Operations and Services (ISOS), signalling a shared ambition to build European leadership in in-orbit servicing.

From the ESA Blogs.

From the ESA Blogs.

Ice splintered off the southern Patagonia glacier and drifted across a growing glacial lake.

Three NASA astronauts and one from the European Space Agency are the crew of the next Artemis mission, Artemis III. Instead of flying around the Moon like their predecessors, this […]

HomeCharacteristics The Flight Dynamics Research Facility (FDRF) is a large, subsonic wind tunnel with a vertical test section for conducting flight dynamics research for stability, controllability, free-fall and aircraft spin, and spin recovery testing of atmospheric vehicles. Characteristics Flight Dynamics Flight Research Aerosciences Evaluation and Test Capabilities

NASA has named the astronauts who will fly the next Artemis mission, a test flight in low Earth orbit where Orion will attempt to dock with two lunar lander prototypes. The post NASA names crew for Artemis 3 mission to test lunar landers appeared first on SpaceNews.

Microbiology and human research were the main scientific focus aboard the International Space Station on Tuesday to protect health on and off the Earth. The Expedition 74 crew members also worked on advanced research hardware and sent down a congratulatory message to the Artemis III crew, who were named during an announcement from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano, and NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik and Frank Rubio take a photo together on June 9, 2026. The four were announced as the Artemis III crew. NASA’s Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit will test integrated operations between the Orion spacecraft and one or […]

"Artemis III will be an extraordinary demonstration of what is possible."

The crew of NASA's next Artemis moon program mission was announced Tuesday, setting the stage for a flight to Earth orbit next year to test rendezvous and docking procedures with moon landers being built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, a critical milestone before sending astronauts back to the moon for landing in 2028.

On 9 June, NASA announced the crew for the Artemis III mission, which includes ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot. ESA is also providing its third European Service Module for this crewed test flight in Earth orbit, which will be key for the mission’s objective to test rendezvous and docking capabilities ahead of future lunar landing missions. Along with Luca, three NASA astronauts will fly on this mission: commander Randy Bresnik and lander specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. The crew now begins a rigorous training schedule to learn the Orion spacecraft systems, as well as the operations of the human landing systems, to prepare for an ambitious series of demonstrations ahead of a Moon landing mission.

On 9 June, NASA announced the crew for the Artemis III mission, which includes ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot. ESA is also providing its third European Service Module for this crewed test flight in Earth orbit, which will be key for the mission’s objective to test rendezvous and docking capabilities ahead of future lunar landing missions. Along with Luca, three NASA astronauts will fly on this mission: commander Randy Bresnik and lander specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. The crew now begins a rigorous training schedule to learn the Orion spacecraft systems, as well as the operations of the human landing systems, to prepare for an ambitious series of demonstrations ahead of a Moon landing mission.

NASA has assigned the four astronauts who will fly the agency’s next crewed Space Launch… The post Artemis III Crew Named: Veteran Astronauts to test Lunar Landers in LEO appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano talks about his assignment as the test pilot for the Artemis III mission, announced by NASA on 9 June 2026 in a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, United States.

NASA has announced the crew for the Artemis III mission, which includes ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano as pilot. ESA is also providing its third European Service Module for this crewed test flight in Earth orbit, which will be key for the mission’s objective to test rendezvous and docking capabilities ahead of future lunar landing missions.

Read this release in English here. La NASA dio el martes otro paso hacia una de las misiones tripuladas más complejas de la historia reciente al ofrecer nuevos detalles sobre Artemis III y anunciar a los cuatro miembros principales de la tripulación y a un suplente para este vuelo de prueba. En 2027, la misión […]

Taking another step toward one of the most complex human spaceflight missions in recent history, NASA on Tuesday provided new Artemis III details and announced the four prime crew members and a backup for the test flight. The mission will undertake a series of challenging tests in Earth orbit in 2027, essential for Artemis IV, the […]

Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.

German launch startup Isar Aerospace announced on 9 June that it had closed a €270 million Series D to “drive global scaling and ramp up serial production.” With the announcement, the company stated that the months-delayed second flight of Spectrum was now expected to take place between 15 and 21 June. Isar Aerospace is developing […] The post Isar Aerospace Announces New Launch Date Alongside Series D Funding appeared first on European Spaceflight.