Space News & Blog Articles

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SpaceX's Starship explodes in Texas during preparations for 10th test flight

SpaceX's newest Starship vehicle exploded on a stand in Texas late Wednesday night (June 18), as it was being prepped for the program's 10th-ever test flight.

“The models were right”: astronomers find ‘missing’ matter

Astronomers have discovered a huge filament of hot gas bridging four galaxy clusters. At 10 times as massive as our galaxy, the thread could contain some of the Universe’s ‘missing’ matter, addressing a decades-long mystery.

Next Starship explodes on test stand

Starship Ship 36 explodes at SpaceX’s Massey test flight on June 18, 2025. Image: LabPadre Space.

SpaceX’s next Starship vehicle was destroyed in a catastrophic explosion shortly after 11 p.m. CT (0400 UTC) Wednesday as it was being readied for a static fire test at the company’s Massey facility, near Starbase, Texas.

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Supermassive Black Hole Has More Material Than it Can Consume

If super massive black holes (SMBH) were given a job description, it would tell them to park themselves in the middle of a massive galaxy and consume as much gas, dust, and even stars as they could. Like teenage boys in front of a well-stocked fridge, they're happy to oblige. However, even voracious SMBHs have limits, and astronomers have watched as one of them reached its limit.

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Fast Radio Bursts are Helping to Locate the Universe's Missing Matter

In the 1960s, scientists became acutely aware of a problem with the Universe's "mass budget." Based on the observed rotational curves of galaxies, they determined that about 85% of the Universe's mass was invisible, leading to the theory of Dark Matter. Scientists have also been aware for some time that much of the "normal" or baryonic matter (that which we can see) in the Universe was also unaccounted for. This has prompted multiple efforts to probe the Universe for this "missing" mass, using everything from X-ray emissions and ultraviolet observations of distant quasars to find hints of where it might be hiding.

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See the moon rise alongside the giant planets Neptune and Saturn predawn on June 19

The alignment occurs hours after the moon hits its third quarter phase.

2 Chinese spacecraft just met up 22,000 miles above Earth. What were they doing?

A new Chinese refueling spacecraft met up with an older satellite in high Earth orbit this month, apparently marking a step forward in orbital servicing.

Mars joins the Spring Triangle this week: Here’s when and how to see it

Mars will remain in the Spring Triangle until mid-September.

Lunar Dust is Bad. But Not as Bad as Living in the City

As NASA prepares for a return to the Moon through the Artemis program, one of the biggest health concerns for astronauts has been lunar dust. The fine, abrasive particles known as the regolith that coat the Moon's surface have long worried scientists, especially after Apollo astronauts experienced respiratory problems after their missions. However, groundbreaking research from the University of Technology Sydney has delivered surprisingly reassuring news: lunar dust is less harmful to human lung cells than previously feared, and significantly less toxic than common Earth based air pollution.

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How Ten Times More Rocket Launches a Year Could Impact the Ozone Layer

A recent study addresses possible effects from increased rocket launches on the ozone layer.

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Another Tether Deorbiting Test Mission Takes Shape

More and more satellites are being added to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every month. As that number continues to increase, so do the risks of that critical area surrounding the Earth becoming impassable, trapping us on the planet for the foreseeable future. Ideas from different labs have presented potential solutions to this problem, but one of the most promising, electrodynamic tethers (EDTs), have only now begun to be tested in space. A new CubeSat called the Spacecraft for Advanced Research and Cooperative Studies (SPARCS) mission from researchers at the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran hopes to contribute to that effort by testing an EDT and intersatellite communication system as well as collecting real-time data on the radiation environment of its orbital path.

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Using a Space Elevator To Get Water Off Ceres

We might not currently have any technology that would make a space elevator viable on Earth. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work on other bodies around the solar system. One of the most interesting places that one could work is around Ceres, the Queen of the Asteroid Belt, and potentially one of the biggest sources of resources for humanity’s expansion into space. A new paper from researchers at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and Industrial CNT, a manufacturer of Carbon Nanotube (one potential material for the space elevator), details just how useful such an elevator could be.

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Do Hycean Worlds Have Smaller Habitable Zones?

Hycean worlds are also called ocean worlds. They're planets covered in oceans that also have thick hydrogen atmospheres. There are no confirmed Hycean worlds—also called ocean worlds—but many candidates. Even though they're only candidates so far, researchers are curious about their habitability. New research examines the role tidal heating plays in their potential habitability.

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The First Images from Vera Rubin are About to Drop

The telescope's journey began in the early 1600s when Dutch spectacle maker Jan Lippershey discovered that combining lenses could magnify distant objects. Galileo Galilei quickly improved the designs and became the first to explore the heavens, revealing the Moon's craters, Jupiter’s moons and the rings of Saturn. Over the centuries, telescopes evolved from simple lens combinations to massive ground-based observatories with enormous mirrors, and eventually to space-based instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope that eliminated Earth's atmospheric interference. Today's cutting-edge telescopes, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, use advanced technology to look deeper into space than ever before.

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Watch Honda launch (and land) its 1st reusable rocket in this wild video

The Japanese automaker Honda just hit a key milestone in rocket reusability with a near-bullseye landing during a vertical test flight in Hokkaido.

'The Best of Both Worlds' at 35: Why we're still assimilated by 'Star Trek''s greatest ever cliffhanger

Resistance is futile! We look back on the classic 'Trek' episode, back when the Borg were still the scariest bad guys in the galaxy.

NASA satellite sees sea ice crack apart in Canada | Space photo of the day for June 18, 2025

NASA's Terra satellite captured huge chunks of sea ice breaking apart in Canada's Amundsen Gulf.

This Australian moth may be the 1st insect ever discovered to use stars for long-distance navigation

"We know that daytime migratory insects use the sun, so testing the starry sky seemed an obvious thing to try."

'Nerds are cool' — Pixar's 'Elio' is a powerful story of finding yourself amongst the stars (interview)

We spoke to "Elio" stars Zoe Saldaña, Yonas Kibreab, and Brad Garrett, alongside co-directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, about finding the heart and humanity in sci-fi stories.

ESA at Le Bourget 2025 – Day Three Highlights

The European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius attended the third day of the International Paris Air Show.  

Watch your favorite sci-fi shows anywhere in the world and get a free Amazon voucher ahead of Prime Day with this NordVPN deal

Get up to 76% off NordVPN and claim a free $50 Amazon Voucher ahead of Prime Day — watch season three of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds from anywhere.


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