Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is poised to lift off for the third time ever on Sunday morning (April 19) — but for the first time with previously flown hardware. Here’s how to watch it live. Continue ReadingWatch live: Blue Origin reusing New Glenn rocket stage for 1st time on April 19 launch
China has conducted rendezvous and proximity operations tests involving a prototype cargo spacecraft and a satellite in a step towards low-cost orbital infrastructure. The post Qingzhou prototype cargo spacecraft completes rendezvous tests in orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.
At the recent Mobile World Conference 2026 in Barcelona, the strong presence of Direct-to-Device (D2D) satellite services and the avalanche of press releases related to contracts signed between D2D satellite service providers and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) gave the impression that large scale implementation of D2D services by MNOs is imminent. However, the truth is […] The post D2D services are at risk of becoming too complicated and siloed appeared first on SpaceNews.
A revised draft of a proposed European Union space regulation is a step backward, creating uncertainty about how the law would be applied outside the EU, critics argue. The post New EU Space Act draft seen as a step backward appeared first on SpaceNews.
The astronauts who flew around the moon on Artemis 2 said they were confident the Orion spacecraft is ready to support future missions. The post Artemis 2 astronauts praise performance of Orion appeared first on SpaceNews.
China’s Shenzhou-21 astronauts conducted an extravehicular activity outside the Tiangong space station Thursday, installing debris-protection hardware and inspecting the orbital outpost. The post Shenzhou-21 astronauts complete third spacewalk, mission extended by a month appeared first on SpaceNews.
NorthStar Earth and Space plans to raise funds to expand the space-based sensor network behind its space situational awareness business by merging with Viking Acquisition Corp. I, a publicly listed shell company. The post NorthStar to go public via SPAC to expand space-based SSA network appeared first on SpaceNews.
NASA has selected SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy to launch a European Mars rover, support for which the agency is once again proposing to cancel. The post NASA selects Falcon Heavy to launch ESA Mars rover mission despite budget threat appeared first on SpaceNews.
In this episode of Space Minds, Mike Gruss talks with Col. Tim Trimailo on how the Space Force is working with industry. They discuss what the service wants to see […] The post The Space Force’s ‘commercial first’ strategy in action with Col. Tim Trimailo appeared first on SpaceNews.
File: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket stands at Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base ahead of the Starlink 17-31 mission on March 13, 2026. Image: SpaceX SpaceX is positioned to complete its 600th Falcon booster landing during a Starlink mission planned for Saturday morning. The Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon departure from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The Starlink 17-22 mission will add another 25 broadband internet satellites Continue ReadingLive coverage: SpaceX attempts 600th Falcon booster landing amid West Coast Starlink mission
We have the crowd. We have the star. Now it’s time to put them together. Here’s exactly what happens — and why — when a charged particle outruns the local speed of light in a material. Also: why it’s always blue.
Two different ways to tell the same story. Continue ReadingHow the ‘Project Hail Mary’ book walks the line between hard and speculative science fiction… and why the film did not
The new moon is the perfect time to spot faint constellations, galaxies and a quartet of planets in the dawn sky. Continue ReadingNew moon of April 2026 brings incredible views of the constellation Hydra, Jupiter, Venus and more this week
In 2014, a strange cloudy object called G2 made a close approach to Sagittarius A*, (Sag A*) the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers were pretty excited, partly because they thought it might get torn apart by Sag A*’s intense gravitational pull. That didn’t happen, and the event was a cosmic fizzle. Instead, G2 skipped around the black hole. Various observations showed that it wasn’t just a gas cloud. It was likely a dusty protostellar object encased in a dusty cloud. Or perhaps several merged stars. But, it survived the flyby and continued on a shortened orbit.
Understanding the beginning of the solar system requires us to look at some very strange places. One such place is at the so-called “Trojan” asteroids that share Jupiter’s orbit in front of and behind it. But for a long time, these cosmic time capsules have held a mystery for astronomers: why are they color-coded? The populations of larger asteroids are very clear split into two distinct groups – the “reds” and the “less reds”, because apparently they’re all red to some extent. A new paper from researchers in Japan tried to solve this mystery by taking a close look at even smaller asteroids, and their findings, published in a recent edition of The Astronomical Journal, actually brings up a completely different question – why don’t smaller Trojan asteroids have the same color-coding?
The size of waves on alien worlds will depend as much on the characteristics of the liquid as well as the gravity. Continue Reading‘Tall waves moving in slow motion’: Here’s how oily oceans on Saturn’s giant moon Titan may behave
Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) and National Institute for Basic Biology have developed a new method to detect extraterrestrial life without relying on traditional biosignatures. By modelling how life might spread between planets, they demonstrate that life could be detected through statistical patterns across planetary populations rather than on individual planets. This “agnostic biosignature” approach could assist in guiding future searches for life beyond Earth.
How do “For All Mankind”‘s six decades of space exploration “history” compare with the real thing? Continue Reading‘For All Mankind’ alternative timeline vs reality: How Apple TV’s sci-fi show diverges from history
We’re one comet down, and one to go for spring season 2026. We recently wrote about prospects for sungrazer C/2026 A1 MAPS and comet C/2025 R3 Pan-STARRS in April 2026. While the bad news is, Comet A1 MAPS disintegrated like so many sungrazers before it during its blistering close perihelion passage on April 4th, comet R3 Pan-STARRS put on an amazing dawn showing for early rising astrophotographers.
Welcome to Edition 8.37 of the Rocket Report! NASA is still climbing down from the high of the Artemis II mission, the first flight by humans to the Moon since 1972. What a mission it was! Now, attention turns to completing development of a lander to get astronauts down to the Moon’s surface. Among other things, we chronicle the latest progress of NASA’s two lunar lander contractors, SpaceX and Blue Origin, in this week’s Rocket Continue ReadingRocket Report: Starship V3 test-fired; ESA’s tentative step toward crew launch
