Space news

Week in images: 27-31 July 2026

Spain has offered a package worth up to €1 billion to support the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on La Palma in the Canary Islands. The Spanish site is currently the project’s designated alternative, with Mauna Kea in Hawaii remaining the preferred location. Announced on 29 July, the package includes a €400 million […] The post Spain Offers €1 Billion in Bid to Host Thirty Meter Telescope appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Two months after losing a New Glenn rocket to a pad explosion during a static… The post Blue Origin continues rebuilding LC-36, prepares testing alternatives for New Glenn second stage appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

A NASA official says that work with Boeing on the company’s CST-100 Starliner vehicle is making “good progress” but declined to offer a date when the spacecraft could fly again. The post NASA still assessing Starliner-1 flight opportunities appeared first on SpaceNews.

In March 2021, while serving as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, I hosted a discussion with General Chance Saltzman, now Chief of Space Operations for the United States […] The post The new space wars: lessons from Ukraine and the Middle East appeared first on SpaceNews.

What did space have in store for Europe this July?

"America won the first Space Race, and we can do it again."

[English]: A solar eclipse is an unforgettable sight, but only if you watch it safely!

The European Space Agency's two-satellite HydroGNSS Scout mission has completed commissioning and is now in full scientific operations.

From the ESA Blogs.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 July 31 – NGC… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. NGC 4372 […]

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 July 31 – NGC… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. NGC 4372 […]

Raging wildfires disrupted summer in Spain and France amid sweltering heat waves and prolonged drought.

NASA declined again today to indicate when the next Starliner flight will take place. The agency and Boeing agreed after problems encountered with the 2024 Crewed Flight Test that the […]

As companies develop large constellations of orbital data center satellites, experts say now is the time to start thinking about some critical space safety topics and rules of the road. The post Rules of the road needed for orbital data center constellations appeared first on SpaceNews.

The gusty wind didn’t make it easy to hold tight to a balloon so large. The balloon, a scientific instrument called an ozonesonde, was about to be released into the atmosphere above the Texas Gulf Coast by students from NASA’s SARP (Student Airborne Research Program), which concluded its summer session July 27. The balloon’s job […]

Expedition 75 is gearing up for a busy August with three spacewalks planned at the International Space Station. The orbital residents are also printing living cells and tissues and studying how to increase the effectiveness of exercising in space.

The Series D more than doubles the satellite manufacturer’s valuation in seven months and will fund a production ramp to as many as 100 large spacecraft a year The post K2 Space raises $500 million for commercial, defense satellite expansion appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s next flagship space telescope is set to launch in late August, nine months ahead of schedule. The post Roman Space Telescope on track for late August launch appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this episode, David Ariosto speaks with former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who is now the CEO of Quantum Space. Bridenstine talks about the strategic shift to proliferation in low […] The post Jim Bridenstine on his new role at Quantum Space appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham will embark on her first mission to the International Space Station, serving as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. Burnham will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov. Launch is targeted for March 2027, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the trio will spend […]

In this July 6, 2026, image, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Centaurus A is 11 million light-years away from Earth, relatively close in cosmic terms. Yet, unlike most nearby galaxies, it is very active, […]

From 13-24 July, the 17th annual European Space Agency (ESA)/Joint Research Centre (JRC) International Summer School on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) brought together a record 102 students, early-stage researchers and young professionals from 25 countries to broaden their knowledge of GNSS. In Espoo, Finland, they collaborated, built connections and learned from experts from ESA, the European Commission (EC), industry and academia.

Rocket Lab has won another contract from Japanese radar imaging company iQPS for multiple launches of its Electron rocket. The post Rocket Lab wins another launch contract from Japan’s iQPS appeared first on SpaceNews.

ArianeGroup has completed a wet dress rehearsal of the Themis reusable booster demonstrator at the Esrange Space Centre in Sweden, providing the first substantive update on the vehicle’s test campaign in more than ten months. The rehearsal was conducted on 23 July by teams from ArianeGroup and SSC Space, the commercial entity that manages the […] The post ArianeGroup Completes Themis Wet Dress Rehearsal appeared first on European Spaceflight.

A drone carrying an unusual payload recently took to the skies above ESTEC, the European Space Agency’s technical centre in the Netherlands, marking the first test flight of a student-developed radar retroreflector technology.

NASA interns at Johnson Space Center are applying their talents to real-world projects while working alongside the engineers, scientists, communicators, and innovators advancing human spaceflight. Learn how these students are gaining hands-on experience, contributing to real missions, and preparing to join the nation’s highly skilled and competitive aerospace workforce.   Meet the students behind the work and discover what inspired them to pursue careers at […]

From the ESA Blogs.

As the Pacific Ocean moves into an El Niño phase, scientists are monitoring changes in sea-surface temperature, but also sea-surface salinity – which is another key indicator of this phenomenon.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 July 30 – Red Sun… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Red […]

APOD Science APOD APOD: July 30 – Red Sun… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Red Sun […]

Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand’s third-largest island, is known for its vibrant birdlife, unique forests, wilderness beaches, and views of the night sky.

SAN FRANCISCO – Sophia Space announced the award July 30 of a patent, shared with the California Institute of Technology, covering large, modular space-based data centers. The patent, issued July […] The post Sophia Space and Caltech claim patent for space data centers appeared first on SpaceNews.

The NROL-95 mission will be the third payload for the National Reconnaissance Office launched under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 procurement. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 3:09 a.m. EDT (0709 UTC).

The Department of Transportation is proposing to exempt commercial space launch licensing from many environmental regulations, a move praised by industry but criticized by environmental groups. The post Proposed rule would exempt commercial launch licensing from environmental regulations appeared first on SpaceNews.

CEO says market doesn't reflect value of Pentagon-backed business The post L3Harris delays missile business IPO to 2027 despite surging defense demand appeared first on SpaceNews.

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. The 18 NIAC Phase I awards total $3.2 million. Each award provides up to $175,000 for a nine-month initial investigation. The […]

Falcon 9 will launch satellites supporting missile tracking, targeting and military communications The post SpaceX wins $1.6 billion in launch orders for military satellite networks appeared first on SpaceNews.

All Points Logistics is the third company selected under a Commercial Solutions Opening to add facilities where satellites can be inspected, tested, fueled and prepared for integration with launch vehicles The post Space Force awards All Points $250 million to expand satellite processing at Vandenberg appeared first on SpaceNews.

Futuristic workouts, eye exams, and virtual reality led the research schedule for the Expedition 75 crew aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. Spacewalk training and lab maintenance filled the rest of the shift for the seven orbital residents.

Katalyst Space’s efforts to reboost NASA’s Swift observatory has encountered a setback. The LINK on-orbit servicing spacecraft is in a multi-axis spin. LINK must attach itself to Swift and raise […]

"We're feeling pretty good about that," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said.

On Wednesday, Aug. 12, a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. NASA will stream the eclipse live with views across the path and interviews with subject matter experts through a variety of platforms. Learn where to watch online: […]

Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this sand-capped butte, nicknamed “Miraflores,” estimated to be about 20 feet (6 meters) tall, with its Mast Camera, or Mastcam, on June 11, 2026, the 4,923rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. The butte was left behind as surrounding rock eroded away over time, deepening the broad valley […]

Description NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this 360-degree view of an expanse of terrain covered in surface features called polygons on June 19 and 20, 2026, the 4,930th and 4,931st Martian days, or sols, of the mission. The rover has found polygons several times in the past, but never so many in one place. Across […]

As NASA’s Curiosity rover recently began climbing up a Martian valley nicknamed “Valle Grande,” it sent back images that were a familiar sight to mission scientists: honeycomb-like textures called polygonal fractures, each one about 1.5 to 3 inches (4 to 8 centimeters) across. The mission has spotted small patches of these geometric shapes several times […]

A video of the Psyche spacecraft flying by Mars.

This July 23, 2026, illustration depicts charged particles from a solar storm stripping away charged particles of Mars’ atmosphere, one of the processes of Martian atmosphere loss studied by NASA’s MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission. NASA MAVEN mission scientists have found that certain types of auroras on Mars form in a similar way […]

PERTH, Western Australia — LatConnect 60 (LC60) is executing on a multi-geography industrial plan to accelerate its SWIRSAT constellation, anchoring core technology development and payload manufacturing in Western Australia while […] The post LatConnect 60 Accelerates SWIRSAT Constellation Growth Anchored in Western Australia with Expansion into Malaysia and UAE appeared first on SpaceNews.

MaiaSpace has scrapped plans to conduct a suborbital test flight of its Maia rocket, opting instead to proceed straight to a full orbital launch attempt for the vehicle’s inaugural flight in the second half of 2027. Under its initial development roadmap, the ArianeGroup subsidiary would have flown a full two-stage Maia vehicle with a reduced […] The post MaiaSpace Ditches Suborbital Test Flight Plans appeared first on European Spaceflight.