Spaceflight

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Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev (right) accepts the ceremonial key to the International Space Station from NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn (left) on May 4, 2022.

Russian cosmonaut assumes command of space station ahead of SpaceX's Crew-3 departure

By Mike Wall published

NASA's Thomas Marshburn handed command of the ISS over to cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev today (May 4), the last day aboard the orbiting lab for Marshburn and the other members of SpaceX's Crew-3 mission.

People watch a TV broadcast showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch at the Seoul Railway Station on May 4, 2022 in Seoul, South Korea. An unidentified projectile was fired by North Korea toward the East Sea on May 4, according to reports from South Korea's military.

North Korea launches yet another ballistic missile test: reports

By Elizabeth Howell published

North Korea just launched another missile test, its 14th already in 2022.

An artist's depiction of work on the moon as part of the Artemis program.

Canada considers adding moon crimes to its Criminal Code

By Elizabeth Howell published

Canada is working on legislation that would allow legal action against crimes committed on the moon, among other space locations.

The U.S. Postal Service's James Webb Space Telescope stamp celebrates "the largest and most complex telescope ever deployed in space."

USPS to deploy new postage stamp for James Webb Space Telescope

By Robert Z. Pearlman published

Having been successfully deployed into a stable orbit between Earth and the Sun, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is now ready to enter a route closer to home: the United States' mail system.

NASA astronaut Suni Williams in the ISS kitchen.

New NASA video celebrates AANHPI Heritage Month with food and culture in space

By Jeff Spry published

NASA just released a video saluting AANHPI Heritage Month with a celebration of food and culture on the space station.

This NASA graphic depicts the amount of space junk orbiting Earth as of 2013, based on data from NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office. Image released on May 1, 2013.

Old Russian rocket motor breaks up in orbit, generating new cloud of space debris

By Mike Wall published

A small motor from a space tug that helped deliver three Russian satellites to orbit in 2007 went boom last month.

The SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts don their spacesuits on the space station on April 21, 2022.

SpaceX's Crew-3 astronaut mission will return to Earth early Friday

By Mike Wall published

The four spaceflyers will get to spend a few extra hours in orbit.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft sits atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida ahead of the planned launch of its Orbital Flight Test 2 mission to the International Space Station. That launch was scheduled to occur on Aug. 3, 2021, but issues with valves in Starliner’s service module have pushed it to May 19, 2022.

Boeing's Starliner capsule on track to launch on OFT-2 mission to space station May 19

By Mike Wall published

NASA and Boeing are confident that the valve glitch that grounded Starliner for eight months has been fixed.

Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, which hosted the first orbital launch of Russia's new Angara 1.2 rocket on April 29, 2022.

New Russian rocket launches military satellite on 1st mission

By Elizabeth Howell published

A lightweight member of Russia's Angara rocket family launched its first orbital mission last week, sending a military payload aloft.

The Lunar Pathfinder spacecraft will test a GPS receiver in orbit around the moon.

This device will make GPS work on the moon

By Tereza Pultarova published

Engineers are currently testing a device that will make GPS navigation work on the moon in the U.K. ahead of a 2024 launch of a demonstration mission.

This artist's conception shows how China's Tiangong space station will look when it's fully assembled.

China lays out big plans for its new Tiangong space station

By Andrew Jones published

China will launch six major missions before the end of the year to complete its Tiangong space station, which could soon link up with a powerful telescope and host international astronauts.

A helicopter catches the falling first stage of a Rocket Lab Electron booster shortly after it lofted 34 satellites on May 2, 2022.

Epic catch! Rocket Lab snags falling booster with helicopter after 34-satellite launch

By Mike Wall published

Rocket Lab caught a returning booster with a helicopter during an orbital launch today (May 2), notching a huge milestone for the company and its quest to make its Electron rocket partially reusable.

An artist's depiction of a rocket launching Mars samples off the planet's surface for the journey to Earth.

NASA wants your input on its Mars sample return project

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA is asking the public to comment on an environmental assessment for its Mars sample return effort.

NASA astronauts (from left) Raja Chari and Kayla Barron are pictured inside the U.S. Quest airlock suited up and preparing for a six-hour and 54-minute spacewalk to set up the International Space Station for its next roll-out solar array on March 15, 2022.

Watch how NASA astronauts communicate in space without speaking (video)

By Jeff Spry published

A new NASA STEM video explains how astronauts train to use nonverbal hand signals

Two views of Rocket Lab's Electron booster on its launch pad on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula ahead of the company's first mid-air recovery attempt launch set for May 2, 2022.

Rocket Lab delays Electron booster launch and recovery test to Monday

By Tariq Malik published

Rocket Lab has postponed the launch of an Electron rocket it hopes to recovery with a helicopter to no earlier than Monday (May 2).

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom is seen docked at the space-facing port on the International Space Station's Harmony module after a smooth arrival with four Crew-4 astronauts aboard on April 27, 2022.

SpaceX just flew its fastest Dragon astronaut trip to the space station ever

By Tariq Malik published

SpaceX just set a new record for its fastest Dragon astronaut trip yet.

Elon Musk shared this view of a batch of SpaceX Raptor 2 engines awaiting integration into a Starship rocket at the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas on April 26, 2022. Twitter fans saw an eerie resemblance to the Doctor Who villians, the Daleks.

Elon Musk shows off new SpaceX rocket engines for Starship. Twitter fans see Daleks.

By Tariq Malik published

Elon Musk seems pretty proud of his company SpaceX's new rocket engines. Twitter fans fear they're Daleks.

ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer shows off his bedtime routine aboard the International Space Station.

How do you get ready for bed in space? This astronaut video reveals all.

By Chelsea Gohd published

In a new video, European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer shares what it's like getting ready for bed while living in space aboard the International Space Station.

A Chinese Long March 11 rocket launches five small satellites into orbit from an ocean platform in the East China Sea on April 29, 2022.

China just launched a rocket with 5 satellites to orbit from a platform at sea

By Tariq Malik published

China launched five satellites into orbit on a rocket that lifted from a platform at sea on Saturday (April 30), marking the country's farthest liftoff from shore yet.

This photo, taken by Maxar Technologies' WorldView-2 satellite, shows missiles being loaded onto a Russian Kilo-class submarine (center, to left of tall yellow tower) in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on April 29, 2022.

Satellite photos show missiles being loaded onto Russian submarine. Dolphin pens, too.

By Mike Wall published

Maxar Technologies' WorldView-2 spacecraft spotted what appear to be Kalibr missiles sitting next to a docked Kilo-class submarine in Sevastopol, an important Black Sea port in the Crimean Peninsula.