Space

Aviation Week Staff
Russia plans the inaugural launch of the Soyuz-5 medium-lift vehicle at the end of March, the deputy head of Roscosmos state corporation Dmitry Baranov says.
Operations & Safety

By Robert Wall
German rocket startup Isar Aerospace says it may return to the launchpad for its first attempt at an orbital launch as soon as March 19.
Operations & Safety

By Robert Wall
Military space systems require the kind of self-protection capability long associated with combat aircraft, the Spanish Space Commander argues.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Robert Wall
Italy is looking at how to quickly regenerate lost space systems in times of conflict as the country seeks to prepare for future wars.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Vivienne Machi
The Space Development Agency will test whether commercial deorbiting can keep its low-Earth-orbit architecture safe and sustainable.
Operations & Safety

By Irene Klotz
Blue Origin’s first lunar lander is en route to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for thermal vacuum testing ahead of launch later this year.
Space Exploration

By Michael Bruno
Eutelsat announced late Jan. 29 that the previously proposed sale of its ground segment to investor EQT Infrastructure VI will not occur.
Satellites

By Michael Bruno
Military satellite startup York Space Systems became a public traded company Jan. 29 after an initial public offering of stock on the New York Stock Exchange.
Satellites

By Vivienne Machi
A hypersonic reentry capsule built by space technology company Varda Space Industries successfully landed Jan. 29, marking the company’s first reentry of 2026.
Operations & Safety

By Robert Wall
ESA's head says a space summit French President Emmannuel Macron plans to host could provide direction on efforts to independently launch astronauts into space.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Vivienne Machi
Two French space companies are forming a strategic partnership to build deorbiting systems for use in low Earth orbit.
Satellites

By Vivienne Machi
U.S. Space Command envisions a massive on-orbit exercise involving a broad swath of military satellites to stress test its supply chain.
Operations & Safety

By Brian Everstine
The Space Development Agency wants to install terminals on aircraft, connecting them to the low-Earth-orbit Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
Satellites

By Mark Carreau
NASA plans to move up the four-person SpaceX Crew-12 Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
Space Exploration

By Irene Klotz
The human spaceflight community becomes sensitive this time of year, with three memorial dates on the calendar for NASA missions that ended in disasters.
Operations & Safety

By Robert Wall
The European Union is looking to take an incremental capability approach to field its IRIS2 secure satellite constellation will provide.
Satellites

By Robert Wall
German startup LiveEO says it plans to deploy a constellation of 3D Earth-imaging spacecraft, naming Reflex Aerospace as the satellite platform developer.
Satellites

By Robert Wall
ESA is moving forward on preparing contracts under its European Launcher Challenge as it waits for the UK to decide on how to allocate its budgetary commitment.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Robert Wall
Iceye is pushing Europe to get on with building an autonomous satellite intelligence system, proposing a 1,000-spacecraft construct called Constellation Europe.
Satellites

By Vivienne Machi
The U.S. Space Force and SpaceX launched the latest GPS III satellite on Jan. 27, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral SFS.
Satellites

By Robert Wall, Garrett Reim
Space maneuvers to avoid collisions are becoming more frequent.
Operations & Safety

By Mark Carreau
NASA is assembling an anomaly review board to investigate its loss of contact with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft.
Operations & Safety

By Irene Klotz
NASA is joining a White House initiative to recruit tech-savvy individuals to spend two years as government employees.
Budget, Policy & Regulation

By Guy Norris
NASA says the two-person flight crew of a vintage WB-57F high altitude research aircraft were unharmed after the aircraft made a gear-up landing.
Launch Vehicles & Propulsion

By Garrett Reim
Europe–notoriously slow moving–is feeling the heat on two sides.
Budget, Policy & Regulation