SpaceX completed its final September launch Sunday, sending 28 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on the Starlink 11-20 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Falcon 9 rocket, using booster B1063 on its 28th flight, lifted off at 7:04 p.m. PDT and successfully landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You about 8.5 minutes later. This marked SpaceX’s 16th launch of the month—tying … Continue reading SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg

SpaceX completed its third Falcon 9 launch in under 41 hours with the Starlink 17-11 mission, lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday night. The rocket deployed 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit just over an hour after liftoff. First-stage booster B1082, flying for the 16th time, successfully landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, marking the 153rd … Continue reading SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg

Asteroid 2024 YR4, once thought to have a small chance of hitting Earth, now poses a 4% chance of striking the Moon in December 2032. While a Moon impact wouldn’t directly harm humans, it could create a massive debris field, threatening satellites and space stations. Scientists suggest two main options: deflecting it, ideally by nudging its orbit early, or destroying it. Deflection requires accurate mass … Continue reading NASA: Nuclear Explosion Could Save Moon From Asteroid Strike in 2032

NASA has awarded Arizona-based startup Katalyst Space Technologies $30 million to save its $500 million Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory (SWIFT) from falling into Earth’s atmosphere by pushing it to a higher orbit. Launched in 2004, SWIFT has been observing distant galaxies and black holes from low-Earth orbit, about 364 miles (585 km) above the planet, but its orbit is gradually decaying due to atmospheric drag, … Continue reading To save aging space observatory, NASA taps startup to push it farther in space

SpaceX launched its 86th Starlink mission of the year Thursday morning, sending 28 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral’s pad 40 at 4:39 a.m. EDT. Weather conditions were largely favorable, with a 90% chance of launch success despite some mid- and upper-level clouds. The mission used Falcon 9 booster B1080, marking its 22nd flight, which successfully landed … Continue reading SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral

The International Space Station (ISS), continuously inhabited for nearly 25 years, is set to be de-orbited around 2030 despite outliving its original 15-year mission. NASA is partnering with private companies to transition to commercial space stations, with a competition planned to select designs for a 30-day crewed demonstration mission. California-based Vast Space, in collaboration with SpaceX, plans to launch Haven-1 in May 2026, the world’s … Continue reading The world’s first commercial space station is getting closer to launch

NASA may send astronauts around the moon months earlier than planned, with the Artemis II mission potentially launching as soon as February. Artemis II, a 10-day crewed flight, will orbit the moon and return to Earth, marking the first humans beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, though it will not involve a lunar landing. The mission tests systems for Artemis III, scheduled for 2027, which … Continue reading NASA plans to send manned Moon mission by February 2026

Three satellites are scheduled to launch Wednesday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to study space weather and its effects on Earth. NASA focuses on astronaut safety, while NOAA handles civilian space weather predictions, with the mission aiming to understand how solar activity impacts technology and infrastructure. The satellites include SWFO-L1, NOAA’s first dedicated space weather observatory; the Carruthers Geocorona … Continue reading NASA launches urgent mission to protect GPS, power grids from solar storms

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sept. 22, carrying a batch of spy satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The mission, NROL-48, is the 11th flight supporting the NRO’s “proliferated architecture” network, which uses numerous smaller satellites instead of a few large, costly ones. These satellites aim to provide faster, more resilient intelligence, with increased coverage, revisit … Continue reading SpaceX launches 11th batch of ‘proliferated architecture’ US spy satellites

Astronomers observed a series of repeating gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in July, an unprecedented phenomenon in 50 years of GRB studies. Typically caused by the explosive death of a star or its destruction by a black hole, GRBs usually last milliseconds to minutes, but this event repeated three times over 24 hours, making it 100 to 1,000 times longer than typical bursts. The exact cause remains … Continue reading Repeating gamma-ray bursts are ‘unlike any other’ in 50 years, astronomers say

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered mysterious “dark beads” and a lopsided star-shaped structure in Saturn’s upper atmosphere above the planet’s famous hexagonal storm at the north pole. The features, seen with JWST’s Near Infrared Spectrograph, are unlike anything previously observed and remain unexplained. The dark beads drift in Saturn’s ionosphere, while the star-shaped pattern appears in the stratosphere below, and the two may … Continue reading James Webb telescope finds strange ‘dark beads’ in Saturn’s atmosphere

JAXA’s Akatsuki orbiter, launched in 2010, became the agency’s first interplanetary mission and entered orbit around Venus in December 2015. For over eight years, it monitored the planet’s atmosphere, mapping clouds, detecting lightning, and measuring temperature and atmospheric structure using multiple instruments. Communication with the spacecraft was lost in April 2024, and JAXA officially ended the mission on September 18, 2025, after recovery attempts failed, … Continue reading Japan’s Akatsuki Venus Orbiter Completes its Mission

SpaceX launched its 119th Falcon 9 mission of the year on Sept. 21, sending 28 Starlink satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral. The rocket’s first stage, booster B1085, landed safely on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” for its 11th flight, while the upper stage deployed the satellites about 64 minutes after liftoff. The company has also conducted four Starship test flights in 2025, … Continue reading SpaceX launches 28 Starlink internet satellites from Florida’s Space Coast

Northrop Grumman’s new Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft successfully arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 18, a day after a thruster issue delayed its docking. Astronaut Jonny Kim used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the freighter, which launched on Sept. 14 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. This NG-23 mission, the first Cygnus XL flight, delivered about 11,000 pounds of … Continue reading Northrop Grumman’s biggest-ever cargo spacecraft arrives at ISS on its debut mission

Astronomers have discovered a black hole growing at one of the fastest rates ever recorded, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The black hole, RACS J0320-35, has a mass of about a billion Suns and lies 12.8 billion light-years away, seen just 920 million years after the Big Bang. Producing more X-rays than any other known early-universe black hole, it powers a quasar and appears to … Continue reading NASA’s Chandra Finds Black Hole With Tremendous Growth

NASA has confirmed 6,007 exoplanets, marking a major milestone in just 30 years of searching beyond our solar system. The count has grown rapidly, from 5,000 just three years ago, with thousands more candidate planets awaiting confirmation. The latest addition, KMT-2023-BLG-1896L b, is a Neptune-like world about 16 times the mass of Earth. NASA’s TESS and Kepler missions have been responsible for the bulk of these … Continue reading We’ve officially found 6,000 exoplanets, NASA says

A skyscraper-sized asteroid, 2025 FA22, measuring 520 feet across, is approaching Earth at 24,136 mph and will make its closest pass in two days, coming within 523,000 miles—over twice the distance to the Moon. NASA tracks objects like this, classifying anything over 492 feet that comes within 4.6 million miles as potentially hazardous. While 2025 FA22 is the largest near-Earth visitor this week, several smaller … Continue reading Skyscraper-Sized Asteroid Approaching Earth, NASA Reports

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, on a resupply mission to the International Space Station, has been delayed due to a main engine issue. The NG-23 mission launched on Sept. 14 from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, carrying 11,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies for the seven astronauts aboard. While the spacecraft reached a safe orbit and deployed its solar arrays, its main … Continue reading Engine troubles hamper Northrop Grumman resupply mission to International Space Station

On Sept. 7, 2025, a total lunar eclipse turned the moon blood red, providing dark skies that allowed astronomers in Namibia to capture images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. The comet, only the third confirmed interstellar object, appeared green—possibly due to diatomic carbon released from melting ice or other unfamiliar molecules. Its unique glow and chemistry offer scientists a rare chance to study material from … Continue reading Interstellar comet 3I ATLAS glows green during lunar eclipse

SpaceX launched 24 more Starlink satellites into orbit on Sept. 13 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the company’s 300th Starlink mission. The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage successfully landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, completing its 28th flight. The satellites were deployed into low Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff, joining over 8,300 active Starlink spacecraft in the world’s … Continue reading SpaceX launches 300th Starlink satellite-internet mission

Russia’s Progress 93 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station’s Zvezda module on Sept. 13, delivering 2.8 tons of food, fuel, and supplies for the Expedition 73 crew. The freighter launched two days earlier from Kazakhstan’s Baikonur Cosmodrome and will remain at the station for about six months before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere. Progress 93 joins four other spacecraft currently at the ISS, including another Progress, … Continue reading Russian Progress spacecraft arrives at the ISS with 2.8 tons of cargo

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft Sunday, sending over five tons of supplies, spare parts, and holiday treats to the International Space Station. The uncrewed freighter, the first XL variant with extra cargo capacity, is scheduled for capture by the station on Wednesday. Highlights of the shipment include food like clams, roast turkey, smoked salmon, ice cream, and … Continue reading SpaceX launches Northrop Grumman cargo ship to International Space Station

SpaceX launched the Nusantara Lima satellite for Indonesia’s PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara on Sept. 11, lifting off from Cape Canaveral after a three-day weather delay. The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage successfully landed on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” marking its 23rd flight, while the satellite was deployed into geosynchronous transfer orbit. Built by Boeing, Nusantara Lima will begin service in 2026, providing … Continue reading SpaceX launches powerful satellite to orbit for Indonesian telecom company

New research shows that liquid water flowed across the parent body of the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu much later than previously thought possible. The discovery comes from analysis of rock samples collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 mission between 2018 and 2019 and returned to Earth in December 2020. By examining radioactive isotopes of lutetium and hafnium in the samples, scientists determined that fluids moved through the asteroid’s … Continue reading Scientists find evidence of flowing water on Ryugu’s ancient parent asteroid

Scientists announced that leopard-like spots on a rock sampled by NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars may potentially have been created by ancient life. The rock, named Sapphire Canyon, was collected from the edges of the Neretva Vallis river valley, which once fed into Jezero Crater over three billion years ago, a site the rover has been exploring since February 2021. Perseverance drilled the sample from … Continue reading Rock discovery contains ‘clearest sign’ yet of ancient life on Mars, NASA says