Space

The Mars ascent vehicle (MAV) will be very different from the ascent stage of the Apollo Lunar Module, the only craft ever to carry humans off the surface of another planetary body.

Given the success of the five-nation ISS partnership, the new director-general of the European Space Agency is hopeful any successor to the orbiting outpost will be founded on international cooperation. To this end, he has proposed a free-flying science lab that would continue ISS micro-gravity research in low Earth orbit while advancing technologies for orbital-debris mitigation. He has also floated a so-called “Moon Village” mission on the dark side of the lunar surface, offering the potential to further research and technology development in a low-gravity environment using humans, robots, or both.

Pentagon postures for a reality where satellites are threatened or even attacked.

Finding adds urgency to space agency’s quest to find life on other planets.

Spectroscopic data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have confirmed that dark streaks appearing on Martian slopes are the result of liquid water.

Spurred by consumer demand, enabled by consumer electronics, cubesats are becoming more capable and commercially viable, says Scotland-based developer Clyde Space.

Without a new spending bill by Sept. 30, the U.S. government could be forced to shut down.

The closure of Ex-Im leaves only one U.S. spacecraft builder able to obtain export financing: Palo Alto-based Space Systems/Loral, whose Canadian parent company can tap financial backing from Export Development Canada, even if construction of the satellite is performed in the U.S.

Scott Kelly has some tricks for enduring his year-long stay on the space station.

The technical centerpiece of China’s new launchers, the YF-100 engine, has now flown in the smallest member of the family, Long March 6. The rapid-response solid-propellant launcher Long March 11, meanwhile, should fly imminently.

Enceladus is home to a global subsurface ocean that sprays plumes of ice from its south pole.

SpaceX and other new players in the A&D field may change the way heritage providers do business.

Deep-space flight time and expense could be greatly reduced through the use of nuclear rocket engines and make Mars exploration more feasible.

For the foreseeable future, national security space launches will keep the United Launch Alliance and enginemaker Aerojet in business. But the outlook down the road is full of change and opportunity, as Blue Origin plans to build a new launch vehicle and test facility in Florida and will team up with ULA on a new Vulcan rocket.

Republican lawmaker says NASA shortchanged itself in delaying the first manned Orion flight.

Aerojet’s offer for ULA falls on deaf ears, leaving rocket maker without a ride in EELV program.

Historic space-launch facilities in Florida are getting a private-sector makeover

NASA doesn’t believe Orbital ATK can meet its announced schedule for returning Antares to flight.

Robust demand from the growing small satellite market has led Virgin Galactic to significantly increase the performance of its LauncherOne satellite launch service, the company announced today at the annual World Business Satellite Week in Paris.

The chairman of United Launch Alliance says the company is not seriously considering a recent proposal by Aerojet Rocketdyne to purchase the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture for a reported $2 billion in cash.

The botanist played by Matt Damon in The Martian has real-life counterparts in space and on the ground today.

Company reshuffles Falcon 9 manifest, moving a commercial satellite launch on an upgraded version of the rocket ahead of the Jason-3 ocean-monitoring mission for NASA.

Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral will be the site of a clean-sheet facility for launching Blue Origin’s planned orbital launch vehicle and testing its methane-fueled BE-4 rocket engine.

JPL concept outlines a slingshot concept for exploring multiple asteroids, comets and small planets in the outer Solar System in one mission.

Dr. Mohamed Nasser Al Ahbabi, director general of the UAE Space Agency, underlined the importance of satellite data analysis services related to earth observation, and the need to provide a uniform and systematic approach on efforts made by world countries to monitor the land, sea, and air.