Space

By Chen Chuanren
The Australian Department of Defense has confirmed that it will set up a space division under the ambit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) by early 2022.
Space

By Irene Klotz
After a test run on the International Space Station, Orbit Fab plans to launch a free-flying fuel-depot demonstration mission in June to push development of satellite-refueling and in-orbit service technologies.
Defense

By Michael Bruno
The new three-story building, next to York’s other two buildings, will allow for a fourfold increase in production capacity once fully utilized.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Kayla Barron, a U.S. Navy lieutenant commander and nuclear engineer, will join three other U.S. and European astronauts aboard the SpaceX Crew-3 mission, which is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month tour of duty as soon as Oct. 23.
Space

By Mark Carreau
New technologies could effectively address the growing threat to operational spacecraft posed by orbital debris, according to Darren McKnight, senior technical fellow at Leo Labs.
Space

By Thierry Dubois
A system designed to enhance the performance of the Ariane 6 but that has contributed to the launcher’s development delays has now completed qualification testing.
Space

By Steve Trimble
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on May 15 launched 52 Starlink satellites and two rideshare payloads into orbit after lifting off from pad 39A at Kennedy
Space

By Steve Trimble
The second launch failure of an Electron vehicle on the company’s 20th mission is now being investigated by the FAA to identify the root cause.
Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin
China has become the third nation after the U.S. and the Soviet Union to land a spacecraft on Mars.
Space

By Guy Norris
Just over a week after conducting the first successful high-altitude flight and landing of a full-scale Starship prototype, SpaceX has revealed details of how it intends to perform the first orbital test flight of the complete two-stage vehicle and Super Heavy booster.
Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin
The next two piloted flights to the International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz MS spacecraft later this year will be carrying civilians—a film crew first, and later, tourists.
Space

By Michael Bruno
Arqit, a four-year-old British startup aiming to provide quantum encryption for communications, announced May 12 it will become a publicly traded company after a two-step merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
Commercial Space

By Irene Klotz
The former senator pledges a bipartisan approach to the space agency and continued support for commercial space.
Space

By Mark Carreau
NASA’s Artemis initiative, poised to resume human exploration of the Moon and pave the way for expeditions to Mars, is already paying economic dividends across the U.S., those preparing for the Artemis I launch say.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Space Force intends to establish a commercial solutions office at Space Systems Command to better leverage industry’s work in satellite communications and tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
Space

By Jen DiMascio
The U.S. Space Force released three requests for prototype proposals to industry, laying the groundwork for a competition for the next set of national security space launches.
Space

By Guy Norris
Rocket Lab is poised to conduct the first of two additional tests of Electron launch vehicles specially modified for reusability which, if successful, could pave the way for the first mid-air recovery of a booster for re-use as early as next year.
Space

By Guy Norris, Irene Klotz
Ingenuity begins operational test phase with one-way flight to new forward base ahead of rover’s intended route.
Space

By Maxim Pyadushkin
After a successful launch, an uncontrolled 18-ton booster landed in the Indian Ocean.
Space

By Mark Carreau
This week is to mark the final ground-based, clean-room deployment of the James Webb Space Telescope’s primary mirror as the observatory is prepared for an ocean voyage from Northrop Grumman facilities in California to its launch site in French Guiana for a planned Oct. 31 liftoff.
Space

By Irene Klotz
As he settles into his new job as NASA administrator, former Florida Sen. Bill Nelson took an early step into the agency’s international arena, with a stern warning to China—and any other country or entity—that flies rockets without the means to control them, such as what happened with China’s most recent Long March 5B booster.
Space

By Mark Carreau
Newly sworn in NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has appointed Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana to serve as the agency’s associate administrator, its highest ranking civil servant.
Space

By Lee Hudson
The U.S. Space Force has delivered two multi-manifest satellite vehicles that are carrying multiple payloads to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for integration aboard the rocket that is to launch the fifth Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS-5) satellite in mid-May.
Space

By Guy Norris
Virgin Galactic said electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues which stalled sub-orbital tests of its SpaceShipTwo Unity have been resolved but added that the spaceplane’s return to flight could be further delayed by a newly discovered maintenance issue on Eve, the company’s WhiteKnightTwo carrier aircraft.
Commercial Space

Osiris-Rex, NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission, departed Bennu, a primitive Solar System body and the long mission’s home for nearly 2 1/2 years, on May 10.
Space