Spaceflight

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The Starliner team works to finalize the mate of the crew module and new service module for NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test that will take NASA astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita "Suni" Williams to and from the International Space Station.

Boeing delays 1st Starliner astronaut mission again, targets July 21 liftoff

By Mike Wall published

The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi has been pushed back by several additional months, with liftoff now targeted for July 21 at the earliest.

Peter Lord, co-founder and creative director at Aardman, holds up the stop motion animation figure of Shaun the Sheep that flew on NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the moon. Behind him is Shaun's European Space Agency astronaut portrait.

'Baa'-ck from the moon, Shaun the Sheep to go on Artemis post-flight ESA tour

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Europe's first lunar "lamb-assador" returned home as he prepares to be herded off on a post-flight tour. Shaun the Sheep arrived at Aardman Animations after splashing down from the moon.

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China plans to use parachutes to control its rocket debris problem

By Andrew Jones published

China is finalizing testing of a parachute system to help control falling rocket debris downrange.

NASA human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders will retire at the end of April 2023 after 31 years with the agency.

NASA human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders to retire at end of April

By Josh Dinner published

Kathy Lueders will step down as associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate at the end of April, the agency announced on Monday (March 27).

artist's impression of an astronaut with the moon behind. the astronaut is spacesuited and the reflection of their helmet shows the gloved hands holding a camera, reflected in the helmet visor. far behind is the sun peeking behind the moon, and a half-full earth.

How to watch NASA's Artemis 2 moon crew reveal live online on April 3

By Elizabeth Howell published

On April 3, we'll learn the identities of the three Americans and one Canadian who will fly around the moon on the Artemis 2 mission, and you can watch the big reveal live.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 56 of the company's Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on March 24, 2023.

Watch SpaceX launch 56 Starlink satellites, land rocket at sea today

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX plans to launch 56 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit and land the returning rocket on a ship at sea today (March 29), and you can watch it live.

The asteroid Vesta as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft.

On This Day In Space: March 29, 1807: Heinrich Olbers discovers asteroid Vesta

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On March 29, 1807, the German astronomer Heinrich Olbers discovered the asteroid Vesta.

cubesat satellite with solar panels extended beside the moon

Tiny Lunar Flashlight moon probe is in trouble. NASA has one month to fix it.

By Elizabeth Howell published

Lunar Flashlight launched in December 2022 and has not made it to the moon yet. NASA still has some ideas to get the lunar probe on track in April as engineers battle fuel problems.

an illustration of a spacecraft in orbit above venus with its solar panel arrays extended

NASA Venus mission VERITAS becomes collateral damage amid budget pressures

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

NASA's decision to indefinitely postpone the highly anticipated VERITAS mission to Venus has outraged and confused the team members.

A Kuaizhou 1A rocket lifts off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on March 22, 2023 carrying four Tianmu 1 satellites.

Chinese solid rocket launches 4 weather satellites to orbit (video)

By Andrew Jones published

A Chinese solid rocket sent four meteorological satellites into orbit last week, marking the nation's 12th launch of 2023.

747 airplane dropping a small rocket with the curve of earth within view

Virgin Orbit extends employee furlough after finance deal falls through: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

Talks with two separate buyers collapsed over the weekend as Virgin Orbit seeks more cash to continue launch operations, a media report suggests.

Graphic illustration showing the layers of Mars against the backdrop of space.

Mars: Everything you need to know about the Red Planet

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

Reference Mars, the fourth planet from the sun is famed for its rusty red appearance. Here we explore the Red Planet in more detail and see why scientists find it so intriguing.

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The Russian Soyuz MS-22 space capsule descends under its main parachute as it lands on the steppes of Kazakhstan on March 28, 2023.

Leaky Soyuz spacecraft at space station returns to Earth in speedy landing

By Tariq Malik last updated

A Soyuz space capsule that suffered a major coolant leak in December departed the International Space Station without a crew early Tuesday (March 28)

Cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky shared this photo of the International Space Station on Twitter on Sept. 29, 2021. He and two colleagues were relocating a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from one port to another at the time.

International Space Station: Live updates

By Elizabeth Howell published

Find out what's going on at the International Space Station.

An animation depicting Europe's JUICE spacecraft approaching Jupiter's moon Ganymede.

JUICE: A complete guide to Jupiter's icy moon exploring mission

By Tereza Pultarova last updated

Reference The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, is a European Space Agency mission to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons: Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

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an image of the moon contrasted against the blackness of space

Private Japanese moon lander sends home stunning image from lunar orbit

By Andrew Jones published

The Hakuto-R spacecraft operated by the Japanese company ispace snapped the image of a sunlit section of the moon following its arrival in lunar orbit on March 20.

artist's impression of an astronaut with the moon behind. the astronaut is spacesuited and the reflection of their helmet shows the gloved hands holding a camera, reflected in the helmet visor. far behind is the sun peeking behind the moon, and a half-full earth.

NASA to name Artemis 2 crew next week, the first moon astronauts in 50 years

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA will kickstart human moon exploration again with the announcement of the Artemis 2 crew of four astronauts on April 3. Three Americans and a Canadian will fly.

a small uncrewed helicopter flies above a sandy planet's surface

Saturn moon Titan could hold the clues to life's origin. This NASA drone could find them

By Josh Dinner published

The Dragonfly rotorcraft-lander will be one of NASA's most diversely capable planetary exploration craft that will be used to search for signs of life on Saturn's moon Titan.

a satellite photo of devastation left in the wake of a powerful tornado

Devastation from deadly Mississippi tornado spotted from space (satellite photos)

By Elizabeth Howell published

At least 25 people are dead across the state after a deadly tornado on Sunday (March 26).

Buoyancy waves often leave "ripples" in clouds like those seen over the Pacific Ocean in this image from NASA’s Terra satellite captured on Oct. 4, 2020.

NASA rockets search for hurricane-like swirls at the edge of space

By Robert Lea published

A pioneering new experiment uses rockets to study hurricane-like swirls near where Earth's atmosphere meets space.