Space

The first U.S. missile defense review in nine years will present the Space Sensor Layer as a necessary upgrade for U.S. forces to confront a growing array of hypersonic boost-glide and cruise missiles.

2019 to be moment of truth for Arianespace as demand evolves and European institutions are hoped to sign contracts.

The Iridium constellation will provide global tracking and communications capabilities not previously available to commercial aviation.

“To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," the company says.

From transonic truss-braced wing designs to learning lessons from Apollo, Graham Warwick and Guy Norris report from this year’s AIAA SciTech conference in San Diego, California.

Thirty-four new pieces of debris were recently added to the growing junk heap in Earth orbit.

After closing out 2018 with a company record 21 launches, SpaceX aims to keep the pace, begin flying astronauts and test a prototype Mars spaceship

Greater demands on engine performance have ranked high among the challenges for China’s Chang’e 4 lunar mission.

Compared with a coronagraph, a starshade has a wider field of view and can allow the telescope to see planets closer to their star.

A new year’s prediction: 2019 will see “big money” finally buy in on aerospace—or decide to leave it for another generation. The chances are 50-50.

A future sat constellation aimed at tracking zigzagging hypersonic glide vehicles will soon enter the prototyping stage, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency says.

As the Ariane 6 program faces an unfavorable market, Europe’s institutional players have yet to put their money where their mouths are.

Quantum Challenge; flying-car progress; Airbus IDs drones; generative design; Vanuatu drones.

NASA’s New Horizons mission team greeted the first signals on Jan. 1, confirming their spacecraft had successfully carried out its close flyby of Ultima Thule.

But the final frontier remains the playground of only the most adventurous investors—and for good reasons.

From physical facilities to reimagined exhibits, the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum prepares for an overhaul.

Globally, more than 100 orbital launches took place in 2018, the highest rate in two decades. China, flying from Xichang, Jiuquan and Taiyuan, led the way, followed by U.S.

Earthrise image, Bible reading transcended objectives of first human flight into deep space.

Three years after a stunning, wondrous peek at Pluto, NASA’s New Horizons is poised for next encounter.

Orders for large geostationary communication satellites fall, but small birds flock to LEO and beyond.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised to deliver the first satellite of the U.S. Air Force’s next-generation GPS III network remained on the ground Dec. 18 after an automated abort.

SpaceX scrubbed its first two GPS III satellite launch opportunities.

Though China surpassed the U.S. launch rate in 2018, private U.S. “new space” companies are ramping up activity.

Electric regional progress; Pseudo-satellite takes shape; Drone flies through walls; Single-person multicopter; Algae makes jet fuel in Japan.

The year ahead holds milestones in human space transport, airliner first flights and new launches and more, but it also promises significant uncertainty.