Astronaut Mike Fincke and his Crew 11 colleagues are returning early from the International Space Station due to a medical issue affecting an unidentified crew member, though all are reported as stable and well cared for. The crew, including Zena Cardman, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov, will undock Wednesday and splash down in the Pacific Thursday morning, followed by medical evaluations onshore. This marks the … Continue reading Astronaut says crew in good shape after medical issue, but calls early return to Earth “bittersweet”

The FCC has approved SpaceX’s expansion of its Starlink constellation to up to 15,000 satellites in low Earth orbit, shortly after the company launched 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites from Cape Canaveral. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said the authorization will enhance broadband services, competition, and connectivity for underserved communities. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 booster B1069 successfully landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, … Continue reading FCC gives SpaceX “green light” to expand Starlink constellation to 15,000 satellites

NASA will bring Crew-11 astronauts back to Earth on Saturday, weeks ahead of schedule, due to a medical issue with an unnamed crew member. A planned spacewalk by Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Zena Cardman was postponed, as it involved non-essential work on a new solar array. NASA confirmed the affected astronaut is stable, and the situation did not stem from an operational injury. … Continue reading Medical emergency on space station forces NASA to evacuate astronaut

L3Harris Technologies announced it will sell a roughly 60% stake in its space propulsion and power systems business to private equity firm AE Industrial Partners for $845 million, including debt. The move aligns with L3Harris’ strategy to focus more on defense capabilities amid global geopolitical uncertainty. The company is also reorganizing into three business segments: space and mission systems, communications and spectrum dominance, and missile … Continue reading L3Harris to sell majority stake in space propulsion unit to AE Industrial

SpaceX launched the first Starlink satellites of 2026 on a new Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 4 from Cape Canaveral, carrying 29 broadband relay units into low Earth orbit. The satellites, part of Starlink Group 6-88, were successfully deployed about an hour after liftoff. The Falcon 9’s first stage (Booster 1101) returned to Earth, landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the … Continue reading SpaceX launches 1st Starlink satellites of 2026 on new Falcon 9 rocket

Astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have confirmed the first-ever starless, gas-rich, dark-matter-dominated cloud, nicknamed “Cloud-9,” near the galaxy Messier 94. This object, a Reionization-Limited H I Cloud (RELHIC), contains neutral hydrogen and about five billion solar masses of dark matter but has not formed stars, representing a “failed galaxy” and a relic of early galaxy formation. Cloud-9 was initially discovered three years ago via radio … Continue reading NASA’s Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object

SpaceX kicked off the new year with a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying Italy’s 1,700-kg Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3) Earth observation satellite. The satellite, with both civilian and military applications, is the third of four in its series and will operate in a 620 km Sun-synchronous orbit using X-band synthetic aperture radar. The launch, originally delayed twice due … Continue reading SpaceX opens 2026 with launch of Cosmo-SkyMed Earth observation satellite

A Chinese space experiment has shown that female mammals can successfully reproduce after spaceflight, with one mouse giving birth to nine healthy pups following a two-week stay aboard the Tiangong space station. The female returned to Earth on November 14, and the birth on December 10 marks the first known case of a female mammal exposed to microgravity later delivering offspring. During the mission, mice … Continue reading China’s ‘Space Mouse’ Gives Birth After Orbit

The European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed a security breach affecting unclassified science servers after reports of a leak on social media. A threat actor claimed to have stolen about 200 GB of data, including source code, access tokens, configuration files, and hardcoded credentials. Screenshots suggest the compromised material may involve subsystem requirements for the Ariel exoplanet mission and some Airbus spacecraft documents marked “confidential.” ESA … Continue reading ESA confirms data breach

Astronomers have measured the mass and distance of a rogue planet, finding it has a mass similar to Saturn and was ejected after a planetary breakup. This was achieved by observing the planet simultaneously from Earth and space, a rare method that allows precise measurements. The discovery helps explain how planets can be expelled from their systems and drift through interstellar space. Although only a … Continue reading A Saturn-Sized Planet Is Drifting Through Space Alone

Starlink will lower the orbit of its satellites in 2026 from about 342 miles (550 km) to 298 miles to improve safety in crowded low Earth orbit. Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s VP of Starlink engineering, said the reconfiguration will affect all satellites at the higher altitude and take place throughout the year. The move aims to reduce collision risks and long-term space debris as thousands of … Continue reading SpaceX will lower Starlink satellites to reduce collision risk

NASA’s SPHEREx observatory has completed its first full-sky map, collecting near-infrared data at 102 wavelengths since its launch in March 2025. The map allows scientists to study the early universe’s inflation and the distribution of organic molecules across space, providing unique information for each of the 102 wavelengths. SPHEREx operates from a polar Sun-synchronous orbit, imaging the sky along strips daily and stitching the data … Continue reading SPHEREx produces first all-sky map, highlights entire universe in infrared light

Russia launched three Iranian communications satellites into orbit on Sunday, marking the second such joint launch since July, according to Iranian state media. The satellites—Paya, Kowsar, and Zafar-2—were placed in a 500-kilometer orbit from Russia’s Vostochny launchpad, with Paya being Iran’s heaviest satellite to date at 150 kilograms. The satellites, with up to 3-meter resolution imaging, will support water management, agriculture, and environmental monitoring, and … Continue reading Russia sends 3 Iranian satellites into orbit

Japan’s seventh H3 rocket mission failed when the second stage engine shut down prematurely, preventing the Michibiki 5 (QZS-5) navigation satellite from reaching its planned orbit. The launch took place from Tanegashima Space Center on Dec. 21, carrying the 4,800-kilogram satellite intended for Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), which complements GPS and serves the Asia-Oceania region. The H3 rocket, developed by JAXA and Mitsubishi Heavy … Continue reading Japanese H3 rocket fails during launch of navigation satellite

Russian state-owned Energia has patented a spacecraft design intended to generate artificial gravity, potentially benefiting long-duration crewed missions. The design features a rotating system capable of producing 0.5g, using radially attached habitable modules that spin around a central axis at five revolutions per minute. Each module would have a radius of 131 feet (40 meters) and require multiple launches for orbital assembly, though docking and … Continue reading Russia patents space station designed to generate artificial gravity

Four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—conducted a dress rehearsal countdown inside their Orion spacecraft atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at Kennedy Space Center, preparing for the Artemis 2 lunar mission. The complex test experienced some stops and starts, but Wiseman called it “extremely successful,” confirming the crew and vehicle are ready for launch procedures. Artemis 2 is tentatively scheduled … Continue reading Astronauts complete practice countdown for upcoming trip around the moon

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has launched new AI-driven weather forecasting models designed to deliver faster and more accurate predictions while using far less computing power. The AI models—AIGFS, AIGEFS, and Hybrid-GEFS—leverage decades of historical data and traditional equation-based models like the Global Forecast System to improve forecasts without replacing existing systems. AIGFS can generate a 16-day forecast using just 0.3% of the … Continue reading NOAA says its new AI-driven weather models improve forecast speed and accuracy

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed a highly unusual exoplanet, PSR J2322-2650b, orbiting a pulsar in a black widow system. Unlike typical exoplanets, it is distorted into an oblong “lemon” shape by the pulsar’s intense gravity. Its atmosphere is dominated by helium and carbon, with molecular carbon present instead of more common compounds like water or methane. Scientists are puzzled by its formation, as … Continue reading Astronomers find mysterious lemon-shaped exoplanet with NASA’s Webb telescope

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft has captured ultraviolet images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it makes a close approach to Earth, though the observation was coincidental. Traveling at roughly 153,000 mph, the comet will pass within about 168 million miles of our planet on Dec. 18–19, visible as a faint green dot through backyard telescopes. The spacecraft’s Europa Ultraviolet Spectrograph collected seven hours of data … Continue reading NASA eyes 3I/ATLAS with alien-hunting Clipper spacecraft as comet approaches Earth

President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Ensuring American Space Superiority” on December 18, directing U.S. efforts to dominate space for security, economic, and exploratory purposes. The order calls for returning astronauts to the moon by 2028 and constructing a permanent lunar base by 2030, including deploying nuclear reactors in orbit and on the moon. It also emphasizes strengthening U.S. space defense, with next-generation … Continue reading Trump signs sweeping executive order aimed at ‘ensuring American space superiority’

New research suggests Saturn’s moon Titan has slushy ice layers rather than a vast underground ocean, challenging a decade-old theory. NASA scientists reanalyzed Cassini data and found pockets of liquid water could exist within these ice layers, potentially supporting microscopic life. Titan’s surface contains liquid methane lakes, but the ice pockets could reach temperatures around 21°C, offering more concentrated nutrients than a large ocean. Researchers … Continue reading Saturn’s largest moon contains slushy ice layers but habitable zones might exist

Rocket Lab successfully launched four new “DiskSats” for the U.S. Space Force early Thursday morning from Wallops Island, Virginia, on an Electron rocket. The mission, dubbed “Don’t Be Such a Square,” marked the first deployment of DiskSats, a thin, 40-inch-wide spacecraft developed by The Aerospace Corporation with NASA funding. DiskSats’ unique flat design offers more power and surface area for instruments, and could enable very-low-altitude … Continue reading Rocket Lab launches 4 experimental ‘DiskSats’ for the US military

Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman was confirmed by the Senate as NASA’s new head, ending a year-long nomination saga. Initially nominated by President-elect Donald Trump in December 2024, his nomination was withdrawn five months later due to a review of prior associations, then renominated in November. Isaacman’s confirmation comes at a critical time as NASA faces budget and staffing challenges from previous federal cuts. The Senate … Continue reading Billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman is confirmed as new NASA chief

Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched its first pair of Galileo navigation satellites on Wednesday, Dec. 17, from the Kourou Spaceport in French Guiana. The satellites, part of Europe’s GPS-equivalent constellation, will deploy about 3 hours and 20 minutes after liftoff and undergo a four-month positioning phase before becoming operational. Most previous Galileo satellites were launched on Ariane 5 or Russian Soyuz rockets, with Europe … Continue reading Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket launches its 1st pair of Galileo navigation satellites

The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, once speculated by some—including Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb—to be alien technology, has been shown to behave like a typical comet. A new study in Research Notes of the AAS finds that its unusual motion is caused by natural “outgassing,” where gas and dust expelled from its surface give it small rocket-like pushes, altering its speed, orbit, and spin. Measurements using NASA’s Psyche spacecraft … Continue reading New research suggests interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is not a spaceship