Space Exploration

Latest about Space Exploration

A blue and white rocket on the launch pad with towers on each side.

Blue Origin delays 1st New Glenn rocket launch due to rough seas for landing

By Tariq Malik published

Bad weather for a rocket landing has pushed Blue Origin's first New Glenn launch to Jan. 12.

Launches & Spacecraft
Top three images acquired of Mercury by the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft during its sixth Mercury flyby on 8 January 2025 as selected by the ESA

Mercury looks stunning in images from BepiColombo spacecraft's 6th and final flyby

By Robert Lea published

BepiColombo made its sixth and final flyby of Mercury on Wed (Jan. 8) capturing images of the tiny planet hinting at the mysteries it will soon investigate.

Launches & Spacecraft
rows of starlink satellites in the lower left portion of the image with Earth in the background and a slither of black space in the lower right side of the image.

Starlink satellites: Facts, tracking and impact on astronomy

By Tereza Pultarova last updated

Reference Starlink satellites have been developed by SpaceX to provide internet to remote locations. Here we explore the controversial megaconstellation in more detail.

Reference
a satellite's view of white smoke roiling from an orange orb along a coastline

Satellites watch as LA wildfires burn out of control in California (video)

By Meredith Garofalo published

A deadly wildfire continues to burn in parts of Los Angeles in Southern California, NOAAs satellites continue to monitor the location of the fire and smoke across the region.

Satellites
SpaceX's upper-stage Starship spacecraft inside a hangar at the company's Starbase facility in South Texas. SpaceX posted this photo on X on Jan. 8, 2025.

SpaceX to launch Starship megarocket's Flight 7 test mission on Jan. 13

By Mike Wall published

SpaceX aims to launch Starship Flight 7 on Monday (Jan. 13), an ambitious test that will feature an attempted launch-tower catch of the first-stage booster.

Launches & Spacecraft
a handful of white and tan buildings, one with a large blue nasa logo, sit in the foothills of mountains.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab closed due to raging LA fires

By Mike Wall published

The approaching Eaton wildfire has forced the closure of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, NASA's lead center for robotic planetary exploration.

Space Exploration
The two docking satellites of India's Space Docking Experiment mission, or SpaDex.

Watch India attempt its 1st space docking between satellites live this week after delays

By Tariq Malik last updated

ISRO's SpaDeX satellites will try to dock in orbit on Jan. 8 around 9:30 p.m. EST (0230 Jan. 9 GMT/0800 IST).

Missions
a tall, black and white rocket lifts off into a mostly cloudy sky from a Florida launch pad

SpaceX launches 21 new Starlink satellites from Florida

By Robert Z. Pearlman last updated

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink internet satellites lifts off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025.

Launches & Spacecraft
a spacecraft with two stubby wings flies above a blue-and-white planet with an orange glow surrounding it

Space Force's secretive X-37B space plane soars past 1 year in orbit

By Leonard David published

The U.S. Space Force X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV-7) has silently slipped past one-year of flight time.

Tech
This photomontage shows each of the sample tubes deposited by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover at the Three Forks sample depot, as viewed by the WATSON camera on the end of the rover's robotic arm.

NASA won't decide on overhaul for Mars Sample Return mission until mid-2026

By Mike Wall published

NASA is considering two ways to get its precious Mars samples back to Earth but won't pick a winner for another 18 months or so.

Missions
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