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The Falcon Heavy rocket taking off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 6, 2018.

SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy rocket launched Elon Musk's Tesla into space 5 years ago

By Mike Wall published

Five years ago today (Feb. 6), SpaceX's brawny Falcon Heavy rocket left Earth for the first time ever, sending a car into orbit around the sun.

An aerial view of debris of a collapsed building after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Malatya, Turkey on Feb. 6, 2023.

Turkey earthquake prompts United Nations to activate emergency satellite mapping

By Brett Tingley published

The United Nations Satellite Centre has activated its emergency mapping service following a devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria to provide imagery that aids in disaster relief.

Roy Bridges (at left) and Senator Mark Kelly are the 2023 inductees into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Senator Mark Kelly, Roy Bridges to enter Astronaut Hall of Fame

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame will induct two space shuttle pilots: Roy Bridges, who flew at the start of the program, and Mark Kelly, who helped bring it to a close, at a public ceremony in May.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Amazonas Nexus telecom satellite for Spanish company Hispasat on Feb. 6, 2023.

SpaceX launches big telecom satellite, lands rocket on ship at sea

By Mike Wall last updated

SpaceX launched a commercial communications satellite to orbit on Monday (Feb. 6) and landed a rocket on a ship at sea.

On Feb. 6, 1971, NASA astronaut Al Shepard became the first person to play golf on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission

On This Day In Space: Feb. 6, 1971: Astronauts play golf on the moon

By Hanneke Weitering last updated

On Feb. 6, 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon.

SpaceX's Starship covered in frost during a landmark fueling test on Jan. 23, 2023.

SpaceX eyeing March for 1st Starship orbital flight, Elon Musk says

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX will try to launch its huge Starship rocket to Earth orbit for the first time next month, provided the vehicle passes its remaining tests, Elon Musk said.

Graphic illustration with "space calendar" in large blue neon letters and 2023 below it in smaller white letters. Below the title are four neon images depicting a meteor or comet, a telescope, a rocket launch and an astronaut's helmet. There is a starry background to the entire image.

Space calendar 2023: Rocket launches, skywatching events, missions & more!

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference Keep up with all the rocket launches, astronomical events and mission milestones for 2023 with our space calendar.

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four astronauts inside of a launch tower tunnel with views of the ocean behind them

SpaceX Crew-6 astronauts gear up for Feb. 26 launch to space station

By Elizabeth Howell published

Crew-6 will head to the International Space Station after its Feb. 26 launch, but three of its four crewmembers are preparing for the next generation of missions to the moon.

two women astronauts in space shuttle holding hardware

How astronaut diversity changed for the better in a single NASA class recounted in 'The New Guys' book

By Elizabeth Howell published

Thirty-five new astronauts joined the corps in 1978, among them women and people of color who reshaped the agency forever, a new book shows.

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.

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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.

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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.