Space News & Blog Articles
Churning spacetime and destroyed stars help reveal how fast supermassive black holes spin
Black holes are such a drag! Especially for the guts of stars they've destroyed and the fabric of spacetime they pull along with them.
ESA signs contracts for commercial space cargo return service
ESA has signed two contracts with European industry to develop a commercial service capable of transporting cargo to and from the International Space Station in low Earth orbit by 2030.
Boeing Starliner's 1st astronaut launch delayed again, this time with no new flight date
The 1st astronaut mission aboard Boeing's Starliner will not lift off May 25 as planned. NASA has not yet revealed the cause, but a helium leak has been ongoing in the spacecraft.
Space debris could be dealt with more cheaply than previously thought, new NASA report suggests
A new report by NASA outlines the most promising approaches to keeping the space around Earth safe and usable for future generations.
How does spaceflight lead to medical breakthroughs? Veteran astronaut explains
Sierra Space Chief Medical Officer Dr. Tom Marshburn shares how medical research in space makes a difference here on Earth.
ESA and the EU update their Security of Information Agreement
Keeping information secure in today’s interconnected world is becoming ever more important. ESA and the EU have amended their security of information agreement, reinforcing their trusted partnership.
Stellar telescope deal: Save $230 on the Celestron Astro Fi 130
The Celestron Astro Fi telescope features in our best telescopes guide and now it comes with a $230 discount.
Boeing Starliner launch Saturday ruled out as helium leak analysis continues
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket that will carry Starliner, pictured on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral prior to its first launch attempt in early May 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.
Plans to launch Boeing’s oft-delayed Starliner spacecraft on its first crewed test flight Saturday were put on hold Tuesday night to give managers more time to evaluate a small helium leak in the ship’s propulsion system. A new launch target was not announced.
SpaceX launches first batch of satellites for the NRO’s reconnaissance satellite constellation
A Falcon 9 heads to orbit with a payload for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. Image: SpaceX.
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) began start building a constellation of unknown size with a middle-of-the-night launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission, dubbed NROL-146, featured an undisclosed number of satellites riding onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Space Force orders 'jetpack' to give 2 years of maneuverability to military satellite
In a first-of-its-kind mission, Starfish Space will attach a "jetpack"-like satellite to a U.S. military satellite to give it two years of additional propulsion and maneuverability.
Dream Chaser space plane arrives in Florida ahead of 1st launch to ISS (photo)
Dream Chaser is almost ready for its first mission. The space plane Tenacity and a cargo module are at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for final testing ahead of an ISS launch.
Doctor Who 'Boom': Who are the marines really fighting on Kastarion 3?
The Doctor has his foot on a landmine throughout this high-concept adventure for episode 3 — but who's the real enemy on Kastarion 3?
China's Chang'e 6 mission gearing up for early June landing on moon's far side
China's robotic Chang'e 6 sample-return mission to the lunar far side is now in orbit around the moon, gearing up for its landing attempt.
Observe the sun in detail and save 25% on Celestron's EclipSmart binoculars
Celestron's EclipSmart binoculars are specialists for solar observation and now they're 25% off on Amazon
A comet approaching Earth could become brighter than the stars this fall
By the end of this summer, we may have a good idea as to whether we'll have a bright naked-eye comet gracing our early autumn evening sky, known as C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS).
SpaceX launches next-gen US spy satellites and sticks the landing early on Wednesday May 22
SpaceX plans to launch the first batch of satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office's "proliferated architecture" early Wednesday morning (May 22).
Plants signal NASA satellites with waning 'glow' ahead of flash drought
NASA scientists have discovered signs of an impending flash drought months before the onset by observing the brightness of "glowing" plants from space.
EarthCARE pre-launch press briefing
Video: 00:51:05
ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission is designed to advance our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.
After Swirling Around a Black Hole, Matter Just Falls Straight In
The physics surrounding black holes is just plain weird. A gravitational well so strong that not even light can escape can do some pretty strange things to normal matter. Over the decades, plenty of theories have been put forward about what those strange things might be. And now, a new paper from physicists at the University of Oxford has proved that, once again, Einstein’s theory of gravity was right.
The Habitable Worlds Observatory Could See Lunar and Solar ‘Exo-Eclipses’
A future space observatory could use exo-eclipses to tease out exomoon populations.