Space

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V blasted off from a fog-shrouded launchpad at Vandenberg AFB, California, on May 5 to send NASA’s InSight spacecraft and a pair of experimental cubesats on their way to Mars.

The British government is considering establishing its own constellation of navigation satellites.

Space officials seek to inspire a new generation of engineers who can travel to space or develop new technologies for energy and water conservation.

Military budget grows fastest in Asia and Middle East, Greece adjusts F-16 upgrade plans, Lockheed fires up fourth SBIRS satellite, and India’s Tejas tests air-to-air missile.

Firefly Aerospace is targeting an operational tempo of one mission every two weeks as it ramps up tests of the Lightning and Reaver engines.

SpaceX’s Block 5 is optimized for rapid reusability and multiple reflights, designed to meet the needs of its U.S. government and commercial customers.

The U.S. GAO has cited a troubling trend in cost and schedule growth among 26 major NASA projects, with a combined cost estimate of $61 billion.

The fourth satellite of the U.S. Air Force’s Space Based Infrared System constellation has achieved “first light,” beaming back its first images to Earth.

Engineers have completed performance testing of a prototype nuclear fission reactor capable of producing 1 kW of electricity, NASA said.

A congressman is confident that a $350 million NASA appropriation will pay for a second Mobile Launch Platform for the Space Launch System at KSC.

The UAE Space Agency, represented by Dr. Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, discussed avenues for future cooperation with a high-profile delegation from Italy.

Low-cost launch company Rocket Lab says it remains on track to conduct up to eight Electron missions by the end of 2018.

NASA's Johnson Space Center is shouldering critical systems engineering and integration roles for the human-tended Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot became the 32nd recipient of the Rotary NASA Award for Space Achievement on April 27.

CAPE CANAVERAL - New Shepard, a reusable suborbital human space transportation system developed by privately owned Blue Origin, blasted off on April 29 for an eighth test flight beyond the atmosphere, marking another step toward the start of commercial launch service.

Replacing the heat shield is not expected to affect the mission’s launch readiness date of July 17, 2020, NASA says.

The Coast Guard, which anticipates a massive increase in sea-lane traffic throughout the Arctic in the coming years, is investigating the operational use of cubesat technology in its missions.

In addition to expendable rockets, Congress may require the Pentagon to consider reusable rockets such as those from SpaceX and Blue Origin for military launches.

A former space shuttle astronaut helps us see that what happens in orbit makes a big difference to people’s lives on the ground.

To support a higher flight rate, the company sought out and adopted manufacturing processes and personnel from other industries.

Contracts to SpaceX, Orbital ATK and Sierra Nevada for cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) beginning in late 2019 are costing NASA more than twice what it paid under the first round of Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) awards, according to NASA's Inspector General.

The Sentinel-3B satellite, part of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation program, was successfully launched April 25 by a Rockot vehicle from Plesetsk, Russia.

New mega-constellations of satellites are forcing a rethink about how to manage traffic in low Earth orbit.

More SS2s are in production as The Spaceship Co. broadens its portfolio to include other aerospace and transport products.

Launch service operator Arianespace has postponed the next launch of the Ariane 5, after satellite owner Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) decided to ship its spacecraft back to Bangalore.