Spaceflight

Latest

An artist's depiction of one of the twin Voyager spacecraft exploring interstellar space.

Celebrate NASA's Voyager missions at 45 with this free webcast tonight

By Tariq Malik published

The Voyager missions are icons of cosmic exploration, and you can celebrate their 45th anniversary with a free webcast tonight (Aug. 18).

SpaceX's Starship SN24 prototype test-fires two Raptor engines at sunset in Boca Chica, Texas on Aug. 9, 2022.

SpaceX's giant Starship rocket to launch communications satellite in 2024

By Mike Wall published

The Japanese company Sky Perfect JSat has chosen Starship to launch its Superbird-9 communications satellite to geosynchronous transfer orbit in 2024.

Artemis 3 artist's illustration showing SpaceX Starship on the moon with Earth in behind

NASA's Artemis 3 mission: Landing humans on the moon

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference Artemis 3 is a planned landing mission that will put humans on the surface of the moon. It is scheduled to touch down in 2025, assuming previous missions go to plan.

Reference
Artist's illustration of Artemis 2 mission including the Orion spacecraft with Earth in background

NASA's Artemis 2 mission: Taking humans to the moon's orbit

By Elizabeth Howell published

Reference Artemis 2 will launch a crew of astronauts to the moon's orbit in a system using the Space Launch System megarocket and Orion spacecraft.

Reference
The 2022 edition of NASA's "Around the Moon and Home Again" Snoopy poster promotes Artemis I mission success.

Snoopy is 'home again' on revived NASA poster promoting Artemis I mission success

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

NASA's Space Flight Awareness program has a created a new Snoopy poster based on an old design.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope in its deployed form as seen in an artist's illustration.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission: Live updates

By Elizabeth Howell published

Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

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.

The Artemis 3 mission is expected to land near the moon's south pole in 2025.

Watch NASA unveil landing sites for Artemis 3 human return to the moon

By Tereza Pultarova published

NASA will unveil potential future landing sites for human return on the surface of the moon and you can watch the briefing on Space.com tomorrow (Aug. 19), or directly on the space agency's website.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Sunday, April 3, 2022, as the Artemis I launch team conducts the wet dress rehearsal test at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission: Live updates

By Tariq Malik published

See the latest news about NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission here.

spacecraft flying in earth orbit with three manekins shown in a cutaway

Artemis 1 will help NASA protect astronauts from deep space radiation

By Elizabeth Howell published

Three mannequins and several biological and radiation experiments will assess the radiation environment near the moon during Artemis 1.

A close-up of a portion of Saturn's ring system showing distinct bands of blue, orange, yellow, and white.

Celebrate 45 years of Voyager with these amazing images of our solar system (gallery)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference NASA's twin probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have been exploring the cosmos for 45 years. Here, we take a look at some of their best images.

Reference
A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule approaches the International Space Station with nose cone open

Watch a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule leave the space station Friday

By Mike Wall published

A SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule will leave the International Space Station Friday morning (Aug. 19), and you can watch the departure live.

A rendering of the Japanese lunar lander OMOTENASHI above the lunar surface.

Artemis 1 will carry tiny Japanese lunar lander to the moon

By Stefanie Waldek published

The OMOTENASHI mission is the only secondary payload on Artemis 1 that will have a controlled landing on the surface of the moon.

A view of the total solar eclipse that occurred on Aug. 21, 2017, as seen from Oregon.

On This Day In Space: Aug. 18, 1868: Total solar eclipse leads to discovery of helium

By Hanneke Weitering published

On Aug. 18, 1868, a French astronomer named Pierre Jules César Janssen discovered helium during a total solar eclipse. Learn how it happened On This Day in Space!

Facilities for a payload fairing separation test for China Rocket's Smart Dragon 3 rocket.

China prepares to launch yet another new solid rocket, the Smart Dragon 3

By Andrew Jones published

China is continuing to boost its options for launching small satellites with a new rocket called the Smart Dragon 3, which is expected to fly for the first time soon.

Russian cosmonaut on the space station with blue Earth in the corner

Spacesuit power problem cuts Russian spacewalk short outside space station

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

A spacewalk outside the International Space Station was cut short Wednesday (Aug. 17) after Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev experienced an electrical problem with his Orlan spacesuit.

A symbolic baton is handed off inside the Vehicle Assembly building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 15, 2022, ahead of the rollout of the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Complex 39B.

Symbolic baton rides with NASA Artemis 1 rocket on rollout for launch

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

A small metal rod joined NASA's new moon-bound rocket for an overnight move to the launch pad, serving as a symbolic marker for the milestone event at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's Artemis 1 Space Launch System megarocket and Orion capsule on their Florida launchpad under a blue sky.

Watch NASA Artemis 1 moon mission radiation science briefing today

By Tariq Malik published

NASA has one more Artemis 1 news conference today as the agency looks toward launch.

artemis 1 behind lake

NASA's Artemis 1 megarocket rolls back to launch pad for moon mission

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Artemis 1 Space Launch System is on its way to the moon following its four-mile journey to a Kennedy Space Center launch pad.

Vulcan Centaur rocket launching

Vulcan Centaur rocket: The space workhorse of tomorrow

By Andrew May published

Reference The Vulcan Centaur rocket is United Launch Alliance's new methane-fueled rocket due to launch in late 2022.

Reference