Space

The four Artemis II crewmembers continued their outbound journey from Earth to the Moon on April 3, 99,900 mi. from Earth and 161,750 mi. from their lunar destination.

The White House wants to cut NASA’s budget by nearly one quarter in fiscal 2027.

Continuing an annual tradition dating back to 1957, Aviation Week Network editors honored a wide variety of industry accomplishments.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

The agency wants commercial companies to take on a larger role in its Artemis lunar exploration initiative.

After 20 years of development, an Orion spacecraft flies with crew for the first time.

Artemis II mission crewmembers conducted a translunar injection maneuver on April 2 that placed their Orion capsule on a trajectory around the Moon.

The French and Japanese governments have committed to developing a satellite deorbiting mission in the next five years through a joint industry agreement.

With launch costs slashed in recent years, one startup is targeting what it sees as the next barrier in space: making it cheaper—and easier—to actually operate there.

Astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft Integrity awoke midway through their first sleep cycle since launch on April 1 to oversee an orbit-raising maneuver.

The space company is scaling its lunar plans to match NASA’s new ambitions and returning to a rapid launch cadence.

More than 60 years ago, the U.S. launched its first and so far only nuclear fission reactor into space. NASA aims to change that in 2.5 years.

Artemis II crewmembers took manual control of their spacecraft for a series of planned proximity maneuvers in Earth orbit late April 1 before their journey around the Moon.

CAPE CANAVERAL—After decades of development and false starts, NASA on April 1 launched the first crew in more than 50 years on a mission to leave Earth orbit and travel to the vicinity of the Moon.

As Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman prepares for the end of his time leading the U.S. Space Force, he is looking 15 years into the future and 232 years into the past.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded Vantor—formerly Maxar Intelligence—a new contract to surveil high-interest objects in space.

With no technical issues and a favorable weather outlook, NASA on April 1 fueled the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for liftoff between 6:24-8:24 p.m. EDT on the Artemis II flight test.

New rockets that were supposed to solve a persistent launcher shortage are falling short amid delays and technical setbacks.

Northrop Grumman plans to test a new nozzle for the Graphite Epoxy Motors (GEM) used on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan and Atlas rockets.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX two additional missions on behalf of the Space Development Agency (SDA) to launch no earlier than late fiscal 2027.

Intuitive Machines is working to repurpose the solar electric power and propulsion element (PPE) spacecraft bus of NASA’s paused lunar-orbiting Gateway space station for the agency’s Mars mission.

The cover of the issue dated July 28, 1969, shows astronauts Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. planting a U.S. flag on the Sea of Tranquility 46 min. after Armstrong took man's first step on the lunar surface.

The Swedish government will use a traditional spring government budget update to boost its space spending plan, allocating additional funds to SSC Space.

Japan has designated its upgraded Type 12 surface-to-surface missile (SSM) as the Type 25 surface-to-surface guided missile.

Virgin Galactic is set to begin ground tests of its first new-build Delta-class spaceship, paving the way for follow-on flight tests at Spaceport America in Q3.