Stay updated with the latest events in spaceflight.
Astrobotic showed off the lunar lander it plans to launch later this year that will be the vanguard of NASA’s new lunar base ambitions. The post Astrobotic unveils Griffin-1 lunar lander appeared first on SpaceNews.
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Description NASA astronaut Jessica Meir inspects optical fibers while installing hardware updates to the agency’s Cold Atom Lab, or CAL, aboard the International Space Station on May 8, 2026. About the size of a minifridge and operated from Earth, CAL chills atoms to temperatures below minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), so close […]
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A strike that saw entrances to the Guiana Space Centre barricaded has ended, with Arianespace CEO David Cavaillolès saying the labour dispute has not affected tomorrow’s planned Ariane 6 launch from the site. Radio-Télé Péyi Guyane reported that the UTG, or Union of Guyanese Workers, had filed an indefinite general strike notice on 14 June, […] The post Arianespace CEO Says Strike Will Not Affect Ariane 6 Launch appeared first on European Spaceflight.
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MILAN — Switzerland’s decision not to participate in the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation program during the 2028–2034 funding cycle has revived a broader debate over the value of contributing […] The post Swiss decision to not contribute to Copernicus tests program’s value model appeared first on SpaceNews.
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Researchers have confirmed a new class of objects within our Milky Way galaxy: survivors called 'bulge fossil fragments.' Terzan 5 is the prototype of these remnants of our galaxy's early formation. Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescopes researchers have shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified. Instead, it is something much odder and rarer.
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Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only […]
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Spacecraft Undocking
The SpaceX CRS-34 Dragon spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station ahead of its reentry, splashdown and recovery.
Press Event
NASA will host an audio-only media teleconference to preview the Katalyst Space mission to boost the orbit of NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft, called LINK, will attempt to rendezvous with Swift and raise its altitude, extending its science mission lifespan and advancing a key capability for the future of space exploration. The LINK spacecraft will launch on Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL rocket later this month from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Participants in the media teleconference include: - Shawn Domagal-Goldman, division director, Astrophysics, NASA Headquarters in Washington - Brad Cenko, principal investigator, Swift, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland - Kieran Wilson, principal investigator, LINK, Katalyst Space - Robert Lamontagne, vice president, strategic partnerships, Katalyst Space - Wes Collier, vice president, launch systems, Northrop Grumman The Swift mission, which launched in 2004, leads NASA’s fleet of telescopes in studying changes in the high-energy universe, like gamma-ray bursts, which are the most powerful explosions in the cosmos. When a rapid, sudden event takes place in the sky, Swift serves as a “dispatcher,” providing critical information that allows other “first responder” missions to follow up to learn more about how the universe works. After 21 years, Swift’s low Earth orbit has begun to rapidly decay because of increased solar activity. Rather than allowing the observatory to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the end of their lifetimes, NASA is using this opportunity to advance U.S. spacecraft servicing technology. In September 2025, NASA awarded a contract to Katalyst to mount a robotic servicing mission for Swift in less than a year. The mission will use LINK to rendezvous with Swift and boost it to a higher altitude, demonstrating a key capability for the future of space exploration.
EVA
Two astronauts will replace a high-definition camera on camera port 3, install a new navigational aid for visiting spacecraft, called a planar reflector, on the Harmony module’s forward port, and relocate an early ammonia servicer jumper — a flexible hose assembly that connects parts of a fluid system — along with other jumpers on the station’s S6 and S4 truss.
Founded: 1998-11-20
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000. It has been inhabited continuously since that date. The last pressurised module was fitted in 2011, and an experimental inflatable space habitat was added in 2016. The station is expected to operate until 2030. Development and assembly of the station continues, with several new elements scheduled for launch in 2019. The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
Founded: 1986-02-20
Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.
Founded: 1973-05-14
Skylab was a United States space station launched and operated by NASA, and occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974 – the only space station the U.S. has operated exclusively. In 1979 it fell back to Earth amid huge worldwide media attention. Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems necessary for crew survival and scientific experiments. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a weight of 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg). Lifting Skylab into low earth orbit was the final mission and launch of a Saturn V rocket (famous for carrying the manned Moon landing missions). Three missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo command and service module (Apollo CSM), launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket. For the final two manned missions to Skylab, a backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB was assembled and made ready in case an in-orbit rescue mission was needed, but this backup vehicle was never flown.