Space

The EIB is looking to boost funding for the region’s space companies and close a gap in financial backing for the sector compared to the U.S.

The U.S. Space Force says its ability to outpace threats in orbit hinges on whether it can revamp how it organizes, buys and fields capabilities.

NASA has awarded Northrop Grumman two additional Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) missions to the International Space Station.

The European Space Agency is seeking around $4.5 billion from its member states to support its space transportation program covering the 2026-29 period.

ESA will keep the window open for member states to sign on to a new security-focused Earth-observation program for a year.

The United Arab Emirates is shifting its space program focus to economic gains and security, blending civil-military efforts in a bid to become a space power.

Japan has big ambitions for its space industry. But before the country can realize those dreams, it needs rides to space to test its technologies.

When ESA meets in Bremen this week for its annual ministerial, decisions about government support for sovereign launch activities will draw intense interest.

China has launched the Shenzhou-22 capsule to the Tiangong space station as part of a recovery mission after an earlier spacecraft was damaged by space debris.

A crater photographed by the Mars Orbiter Camera on the Mars Global Surveyor was seen on the northern Elysium Planitia (see page 52), on Mars on the cover of the July 19, 1999 issue.

Northrop Grumman’s initial Cygnus XL resupply capsule for the International Space Station has been temporarily unberthed from the orbital lab’s U.S. segment.

Amazon has started shipping “preview” examples of its 1-Gbps flat panel satellite antenna to enterprise customers to test using its Leo satellite constellation.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner orbital spacecraft will make another uncrewed flight to the International Space Station.

Scott Tingle has been named NASA’s new chief astronaut, succeeding Joe Acaba.

The UAE has launched the second cohort of "Space Mission And Satellite Engineering" Program.

Airbus has been selected by Oman’s Space Communications Technologies to build a high-capacity Ka-band satellite based on its OneSat geostationary spacecraft.

AST SpaceMobile plans to launch its BlueBird 6 sat, what it calls the “largest commercial communications array ever deployed in low Earth orbit,” on Dec. 15.

The Eastern Range is working with NASA to be able to host SpaceX Starship-Super Heavy flights from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in early- to mid-2026.

SpaceX is investigating an accident that heavily damaged the Super Heavy booster being prepared for a flight test from Starbase, Texas, early next year.

The U.S. Space Force expects to award contracts for space-based midcourse interceptors in February.

The launch window at the Alcantara Space Center in Brazil now runs to Dec. 22, the company says.

The Eastern Range marked its 100th launch of year on Nov. 20, an unprecedented milestone.

Blue Origin became the second company to nail the landing of an orbital-class booster.

The U.S. Space Force is finalizing an outline of its ideal force structure to serve as a basis for budgets and planning.

The ESA will request €600 million from member states at a ministerial council later this month for the first cargo mission of the Argonaut lunar lander.