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An Orbital Debris Calibration Sphere, or ODERACS, is deployed from the space shuttle Discovery during the STS-63 shuttle mission in February 1995.

On This Day In Space: Feb. 4, 1995: STS-63 launches 'Orbital Debris Calibration Sphere'

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On Feb. 4, 1995, astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery launched an itty bitty satellite called an Orbital Debris Calibration Sphere.

A long-exposure photo of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching 53 Starlink satellites from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 2, 2023.

SpaceX's 200th Falcon 9 rocket launch looks absolutely gorgeous in these photos

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket notched its 200th successful orbital mission on Thursday (Feb. 2), and the company marked the milestone by sharing some stunning photos of the spaceflight action.

Artist's illustration of Astrobotic's Peregrine lander on the surface of the moon.

Private Peregrine moon lander will now touch down near 'geologic enigma'

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA has redirected the private Peregrine moon lander to a new touchdown site to increase science returns ahead of crewed Artemis missions.

India's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) launches for the first time, on Aug. 6, 2022. The mission failed, and the two satellites aboard the rocket were lost.

'Vibration disturbance' caused failure of new Indian rocket, ISRO says

By Mike Wall published

Indian space officials say they know what went wrong on the debut flight of the nation's new rocket last summer.

one of the hangars at spaceport Cornwall with large "spaceport Cornwall" letters across the front of the building above the entrance.

Spaceport Cornwall: The ultimate guide to the UK's first spaceport

By Ed Browne published

Reference Spaceport Cornwall is the UK's first licensed spaceport. Here we explore the air-launch hub in more detail.

Reference
Cosmic Girl plane flying high above the ground below and releasing the LauncherOne rocket seen just below the aircraft.

Virgin Orbit: Facts about the novel air-launch provider

By Ed Browne last updated

Reference We take a look at the small satellite launch provider Virgin Orbit, exploring the company's history, how it works, and the tech it uses.

Reference
a floating participant on a zero-g airplane flight stretches out their hands and smiles in front of a crowd of people floating in all directions

Zero-gravity parabolic flights get surge of demand for spaceflight work

By Elizabeth Howell published

Commercial astronauts, disability advocates and private space experiment makers are adding more parabolic airplane flights to Zero-G's manifest.

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.

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann (at left) and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) perform a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station on Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023.

With a 'wiggle and nudge,' spacewalking astronauts install stubborn array mount outside space station

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Two spacewalking astronauts wiggled a stubborn strut into place, completing the installation of a solar array platform outside the International Space Station.

Joe Acaba, NASA's new chief of the astronaut office, poses for a portrait in the Mission Control Center at Johnson Space Center in Houston in September 2020.

With moon crews to assign, Joe Acaba named NASA's new chief astronaut

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

As NASA nears selecting its first crew to fly to the moon in more than 50 years, the agency has a new leader for its astronaut corps, Joe Acaba, who has flown into space on three missions.

NASA's Artemis 1 mission launches toward the moon atop a Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 16, 2022.

Artemis 1 moon rocket looks ready for astronaut missions, NASA says

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Space Launch System megarocket aced its first-ever liftoff late last year and appears ready to take the next big step — launching astronauts.

The six astronauts of China's Shenzhou 14 and Shenzhou 15 missions to the Tiangong space station pose for a crew photo in orbit in November 2022.

Europe won't send astronauts to China's Tiangong space station after all: report

By Mike Wall published

At the moment, the European Space Agency doesn't have the money or the political "green light" for crewed missions to China's Tiangong space station.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

SpaceX launches 53 Starlink satellites on milestone 200th Falcon 9 rocket flight

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX launched 53 of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Thursday morning (Feb. 2).

Astronauts perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.

Watch 2 astronauts perform 2nd spacewalk of 2023 today

By Mike Wall published

NASA astronaut Nicole Mann and Japan's Koichi Wakata are scheduled to make the second spacewalk of 2023 on Thursday morning (Feb. 2), and you can watch it live.

uniformed military personnel surround a stretched-out american flag within view of gravestones in arlington cemetery. far in the background are military members standing

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery

By Elizabeth Howell published

Collins, who died in 2021 at age 90, was the first person to orbit the moon solo during Apollo 11 in 1969.

still from a black-and-white video showing a prototype space module exploding and pieces flying

Kapow! Inflatable space station module blows to pieces in video explosion

By Elizabeth Howell published

Sierra Space successfully finished its third module test for the Blue Origin-led Orbital Reef private space complex for NASA, on the long road to replace the International Space Station.

diagram of a nuclear reactor

Rolls-Royce unveils early-stage design for space nuclear reactor

By Elizabeth Howell published

The company is working with the U.K. Space Agency to develop nuclear power and propulsion options for spaceflight.

An image of Jupiter captured by JunoCam during the mission's 48th flyby.

NASA loses more than 200 Jupiter photos after Juno probe camera glitch

By Meghan Bartels published

For the second flyby in a row, a key camera studying Jupiter has struggled to snap photos as usual.

seven astronauts in flight suits posing for a portrait

20 years after Columbia shuttle tragedy, NASA pledges 'acute awareness' of astronaut safety

By Elizabeth Howell published

Seven astronauts lost their lives on space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, due to a series of technical and organizational problems at NASA.

Former NASA astronauts Bob Behnken (left) and Doug Hurley are seen after being awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by Vice President Kamala Harris during a ceremony in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 in Washington, DC.

SpaceX crewmates Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken awarded Space Medal of Honor

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Former NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken have been presented with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the highest U.S. honor reserved for spaceflight veterans.