Space

NASA’s Artemis I Orion crew capsule carried out its second and final major maneuver for departing the Moon on Dec. 5.

The iROSA they installed was one of two delivered aboard SpaceX's 26th NASA-contracted resupply mission.

Successful execution of DRO departure burn is the first of two major maneuvers needed to place the uncrewed capsule on course toward a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

The 1 min. 45-sec. DRO departure maneuver is scheduled for Dec. 1 at 4:55 p.m. EST, followed by a 3 min. 27 sec. Earth return lunar flyby maneuver on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. EST.

Shifting space debris tracking to the Commerce Department will free Spacecom up to focus on the “why” of movement in space.

NASA has awarded ICON of Austin, Texas, a $57.2 million contract to develop a 3D printer for building lunar infrastructures such as landing pads, roads and habi

Pleased with the progress of the Artemis I mission Orion/Space Launch System at its midpoint, mission managers have decided to add seven new test objectives focused on learning more about the spacecraft’s response to the deep-space thermal environment and propulsion system performance.

The rocket carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu blasted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 11:08 p.m. local time on Nov. 29.

Oberon will form part of a wider ISR constellation called Istari, the UK’s planned billion-pound eye in low Earth orbit.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced space exploration targets with an ambition to reach the Moon by 2032 and Mars by 2045.

China is also welcoming astronauts from other countries to enter its Tiangong space station and conduct experiments there.

SpaceX’s 26th NASA-contracted Dragon cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station autonomously docked with the seven-person orbital laboratory’s U.S. segment Harmony module at 7:39 a.m. EST on Nov. 27.

NASA’s Artemis I Orion spacecraft successfully executed a second major maneuver using propulsion from the capsule’s European Space Agency-provided service module on Nov. 25.

The European Space Agency’s ministerial council concluded with a €16.9 billion ($17.2 billion) budget for the coming years, a 17% increase and the highest ever thanks to a broad agreement on most of the proposed programs.

The Vega-C light launcher is set to perform its first mission for Arianespace, which will see Avio’s upgraded rocket place two Airbus Pleiades satellites into orbit.

Europe’s three leading countries in space launchers have issued a joint statement that sets the stage for further cooperation on Ariane, Vega and micro-/mini-launcher programs within the framework of the European Space Agency.

Startup Rosotics has raised $750,000 in “pre-seed funding” to develop a rapid induction metal 3D printer for making large aerospace parts.

NASA’s frontline personnel are giving their Artemis I test flight high marks so far.

The delay has been attributed to “the development of the ground test equipment rather than the ship itself.”

Turkey’s new UCAV; U.S.-Japan missile defense test; Defense exec foresees supply chain price hikes; Space Force-Blue Origin agreement.

Startup STELLS Space Corp. plans to launch a mobile recharging station to the Moon by 2025.

On the eve of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ministerial council, 21 startup companies are requesting that member states approve a resolution for an open competition every time an institutional payload has to be placed into orbit.

German space startup Polaris Spaceplanes has performed the first flight of its spaceplane demonstrator built under a contract from the German defense ministry.

Five days into the Artemis I flight test, the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft soared past the Moon, successfully conducting a 2-min. 30-sec. firing of its shuttle-era maneuvering engine on Nov. 21 to set up a slingshot maneuver into deeper space.

SpaceX has delayed by a day the planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center of the company’s 26th NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station, to address a small leak in a thermal control system.