Space news

The Expedition 75 crew members spent Wednesday cleaning up and relaxing the day after a spacewalk to install a high-speed antenna outside the International Space Station. The orbital residents are now turning their attention to another spacewalk in September. Meanwhile, the crew on Monday also continued a variety of human research to protect crew health.

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (August 26, 2026) — Small satellite manufacturer and mission services provider Blue Canyon Technologies, part of RTX’s (NYSE: RTX) Raytheon business, has unveiled its latest spacecraft subsystem, the […] The post RTX’s Blue Canyon Technologies introduces new spacecraft mission enabler appeared first on SpaceNews.

How did the Human Landing System come to simultaneously occupy the core of NASA’s ambitions, while slipping significantly on its schedule in the last seven years?

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss interviews FrontGrade CTO Lorne Graves. They discuss how processing power on spacecraft is adapting to the rise of megaconstellations, what benefits satellite processing power […] The post The threat environment and processing at the edge appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA will provide coverage as two astronauts step outside the International Space Station on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to replace a spacecraft navigational aid and complete several maintenance tasks in support of space station operations. Watch live coverage beginning at 7 a.m. EDT. The spacewalk is expected to start at approximately 8:30 a.m. and last about […]

"We're living in this world of scarcity with the Moon."

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story, originally published in December, was revised Aug. 26, 2026 with an update on a new phase of testing, including video from a recent test run and new images. To help NASA and commercial partners better understand the science of lunar landings, specifically the hazards that may occur when a lander’s engine […]

At 17, Jeret Howard raised his right hand to serve his country as a United States Army combat medic in Iraq. This past summer, he raised his right hand again at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Hired as a civil servant under the agency’s workforce directive to restore core competencies by […]

The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 (MTG-I2) satellite, is ready for launch on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Lift off is scheduled for 27 August 2026 at 22:10 CEST (17:10 local time).

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Anil Menon successfully completed US EVA-98 at 20:57 CEST on Tuesday 25 August. It was Sophie’s second spacewalk, and the 32nd conducted by a European astronaut.

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 August 26 – JWST… 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. JWST Images […]

Experts are analyzing decades of images from Landsat satellites for clues about how the iconic birds have responded to sea ice disruptions in the past.

SpaceX has unveiled plans for “Starbase, Louisiana,” described as the largest private spaceport in the… The post Starbase, Louisiana: The Largest Private Spaceport in the World appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna to the agency’s deep space communications and navigation system. The network uses giant dish antennas located at three global facilities to support more than 40 spacecraft exploring the solar system and interstellar space. The new […]

The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-easterly trajectory upon launching from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff is scheduled for 2:34 a.m. PDT (5:34 a.m. EDT / 0934 UTC).

SpaceX announced plans today to build a second Starbase, this one on the coast of Louisiana. All Starship launches to date have been from Starbase, TX. They will soon begin […]

NASA will announce the winners of the final phase of its LunaRecycle Challenge on Friday, Aug. 28, at The University of Alabama (UA) Lee Styslinger College of Engineering in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Launched in 2024, the challenge incentivizes the invention of new recycling systems that could support non-metabolic waste management efforts for future lunar missions. Media […]

In this episode, SpaceNews Mike Gruss interviews Kevin Lausten, CEO of Morpheus Space, at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. They discuss why propulsion is critical […] The post Propulsion is having a moment appeared first on SpaceNews.

Set to launch on Sunday, Aug. 30, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will empower astronomers to explore vast regions of the cosmos and settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, dark matter, planets outside our solar system, and the formation and growth of galaxies over cosmic time. Key contributions to Roman’s mission […]

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station at 2:57 p.m. EDT.

NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley invites media to learn more about NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Roman telescope will provide a wide, detailed view of the universe, helping scientists study dark energy, exoplanets, and cosmic structures. […]

Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique observations of worlds beyond our solar system and the stars they orbit. The mission will determine the atmospheric make-up of at least 20 exoplanets, including the presence of hazes, clouds, and water. “Pandora’s data […]

"This will be a project like no other."

On August 15, 2026, the Ukrainian military attacked the factory used for manufacturing Russia’s Soyuz-2 launch vehicle, causing significant damage to the facility and raising doubts over the vehicle’s future.

Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A new gallery released today from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic images that showcase this variety. Astronomers put galaxies into three main categories: spirals like our own Milky Way with arms emanating […]

From left, Expedition 75 flight engineers Anil Menon of NASA (partially obscured and wearing the spacesuit with a red stripe on the legs) and Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) work together during a six‑hour and 23‑minute spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Aug. 18, 2026. The pair will finish installing a high-speed […]

A flurry of activity has been underway at the Starbase production site over the past… The post Starbase’s future production capacity ramping up appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Space Angel has welcomed its selection by the Western Australian Government as the recipient of the $1.75 million Spaceport Establishment Support Grant, announced by Science and Innovation Minister Stephen Dawson. […] The post Space Angel secures $1.75m WA Government backing to advance Western Australian spaceport plans appeared first on SpaceNews.

Roman will scan a large patch of the sky in visible to near-infrared light, with its wide field of view and advanced optical design. The mission will provide key insights that will help reveal the nature of dark energy and dark matter and find new exoplanets.

Fully autonomous space mission operations require the ability to detect faults and compensate for them without human intervention. To address this challenge and provide model-based support for system design and operations, it is important to connect fault management (FM) and model-based systems engineering (MBSE). This approach was successfully demonstrated with the model-based generation of a […]

SALT LAKE CITY – Aug. 25, 2026 – Tendeg has released NewTEN, a two-axis steerable reflector antenna that expands communications performance and pointing access for small spacecraft. Unveiled Monday, Aug. […] The post Tendeg Launches NewTEN Steerable Compact Antenna at SmallSat appeared first on SpaceNews.

The NASA-led Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to launch on 30 August 2026 at 07:26 EDT / 12:26 BST / 13:26 CEST from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

NASA astronaut Anil Menon and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot began a spacewalk at 8:27 a.m. EDT outside the International Space Station to replace a Space-to-Ground antenna on the International Space Station.

NASA is streaming live coverage as two astronauts prepare for a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk is scheduled to begin at approximately 8:35 a.m. EDT and last about six and a half hours. Watch online at: https://www.nasa.gov/live

The European Space Agency has announced that its Draco mission has passed its Critical Design Review, clearing it to enter full-scale manufacturing, integration and testing ahead of its planned launch in 2027. ESA announced the milestone on 17 August, saying the review had validated the design of all of Draco’s systems. With the CDR complete, […] The post ESA’s Draco Reentry Mission Clears Its Critical Design Review appeared first on European Spaceflight.

Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are an invisible backbone for everyday life. They are essential for transportation, emergency response and public safety. They are also vulnerable to interference, both natural and human made.

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss interviews Icarus Robotics CEO and co-founder Ethan Barajas at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. They discuss why astronauts have […] The post Robotics and the future of on-orbit labor appeared first on SpaceNews.

This week will see five orbital launches from China, the United States, and French Guiana.… The post Launch Preview: Falcon Heavy to launch Roman telescope, Falcon 9 to launch Starlink satellites appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

Coverage plans are ready for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope prelaunch and launch activities. Roman is NASA’s next-generation observatory designed to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy. NASA and SpaceX are targeting Roman’s liftoff for no earlier than 7:26 a.m. EDT Sunday, Aug. 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket […]

The Starlink 10-49 mission is set to be the 100th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket in 2026. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 UTC).

Description NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its Mastcam-Z camera to capture the silhouette of Phobos, one of the two Martian moons, as it crossed in front of the Sun on Aug. 12, 2026, the 1,948th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.  The animation has been tinted to simulate what a human would see if […]

At the center of our solar system, the Sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent NASA-funded studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the Sun’s history may have helped create Earth’s unique climate and driven previously unexplained climatic shifts.   In new research, scientists at NASA’s SHIELD (Solar Wind with Hydrogen Ion charge Exchange and Large-Scale Dynamics) center — one of […]

Two astronauts will exit the International Space Station on Tuesday and conduct a spacewalk to finish installing a high-speed space-to-ground antenna. The duo completed final spacewalk preparations on Monday with two of their Expedition 75 crewmates while the rest of the orbital residents studied the human respiratory system, activated Earth observation gear, and packed a cargo spacecraft prior to its departure.

NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman is seen in the two-seat IndyCar as he prepares for driver Conor Daly to take him on a lap ahead of the start of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

SALT LAKE CITY – The Aerospace Corp. is continuing to demonstrate the viability of pancake-shaped DiskSats in the wake of their December launch on a Rocket Lab Electron. “It’s the […] The post Aerospace demonstrates DiskSats in low-Earth orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.

Description This roof-mounted air sensor in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is one of 10 used by NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) to study the city’s air quality. MAIA’s air sensors provide a detailed look at particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, also known as PM2.5, one of the world’s deadliest forms […]

Description This map of Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, shows the locations of 10 air sensors that NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) mission is using to provide one of the most detailed looks ever at the city’s air pollution. Over the course of three years, these sensors measured particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less […]

In only a few days, Europe will complete their next-generation weather observation system, Meteosat Third Generation.

PHOENIX, AZ — August 24, 2026 — Spirit Electronics, a value‑added distributor of high‑reliability electronics focused on performance‑driven program requirements, announced that space‑grade and high‑reliability components from Texas Instruments and […] The post Spirit Electronics Adds Texas Instruments and Microchip Technology Space Grade Components to Online Store Ahead of SmallSat 2026 appeared first on SpaceNews.

The European Space Agency expects to make specific safety adaptations to the Ariane 6 rocket for future launches of its Argonaut lunar landers that will carry a Radioisotope Power System. The modifications will not, however, be required for the spacecraft’s first mission. Argonaut is ESA’s planned heavy lunar lander that is designed to deliver up […] The post ESA to Adapt Ariane 6 for Nuclear-Powered Argonaut Missions appeared first on European Spaceflight.