Space

The U.S. Senate on May 18 confirmed the nomination of Matthew Anderson to serve as NASA's second highest ranking official, as part of a block vote on numerous nominees.

Vega C rocket launches ESA-China Smile satellite to study solar wind effects.

Grace Gratton, a junior studying space physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, shares her groundbreaking research and advice on dedication as a 2026 20 Twenties winner.

Aviation Week editors discuss the state of X-planes, how they have historically performed and what challenge the next X-plane program should take on.

Axiom Space launches Japanese subsidiary to expand Asia-Pacific space research and partnerships.

Axiom Space launches Japanese subsidiary to expand Asia-Pacific space research and partnerships.

The Week Ahead in Aerospace & Defense

NASA’s weather-delayed Cargo Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station was successfully launched on May 15.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $398 million contract to develop and build the Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype (PTS-P).

NASA seeks proposals for Mars telecom system to ensure robust communications, with delivery by 2028 and operations supporting missions through 2035.

York Space pursues acquisitions, faces classified program cost increases and manages supply-chain delays.

BELL lands new 407GXi order ... SIDUS SPACE reports Q1 losses ... New CEO for HERMEUS ...

Are the trillions of investment pouring into artificial intelligence a speculative bubble? Are orbiting data centers the frothy peak of that financial hubris?

Virgin Galactic plans to close seat sales tranche in Q3, resume passenger flights by year end, and expand spaceport operations globally.

Intuitive Machines acquires Goonhilly Earth Station to expand its space-to-ground network and support lunar and deep space missions with resilient communications.

Landspace's ZQ-2E rocket achieves readiness for constellation deployments after delivering payload to polar orbit during its latest launch.

Innospace plans Hanbit-Nano rocket relaunch in Q3 with SpaceBey deployer after first mission failure and aims to strengthen South Korea's space ambitions.

House panel approves NASA's 2027 budget at $24.44B, rejecting White House's proposed 23% cut, and backs Artemis, Mars and nuclear propulsion plans.

Telecommunications heavyweights AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon want to work more closely together to deploy satellite-provided direct-to-device communications.

China’s megaconstellations threaten to shift the balance of power in space.

NATO is bolstering several initiatives to streamline space domain awareness data collection and to integrate it into training and operations.

Unfavorable weather conditions on May 13 again delayed the planned launch of SpaceX’s 34th NASA-contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station.

A U.S. Space Force-led on-orbit refueling demonstration is now slated for next year.

Startup Star Catcher Industries plans to demonstrate orbital optical power beam before the end of the year.

After a seven-month hiatus, SpaceX is preparing to resume flight tests of the Starship-Super Heavy with launch of a re-engineered, orbital-class vehicle slated for May 19.