Space

An IMAX camera recorded astronauts repairing the attitude control system of NASA’s Solar Maximum satellite, which space shuttle Challenger captured for the repair.

The service modules for NASA’s first six Artemis Moon-mission Orion crew capsules are relying on propulsion from refurbished Orbital Maneuvering Systems.

Suborbital space tourism company Virgin Galactic is eyeing a 2028 entry-into-service for its next new mothership.

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain at Kennedy Space Center while ULA repairs their ride to space, the first Atlas V to launch crew.

China has completed the first launch of the Long March 6C rocket, a new variant of the Long March 6A rocket.

A fully costed, decade-long spending plan from the Australian Defense Department lays out its priorities in the coming years.

The first launch of Rocket Lab’s proposed medium-lift Neutron is slipping to no earlier than mid-2025 due to development of its Archimedes engine.

The long-awaited flight was scrubbed to address an issue with an oxygen relief value in the upper stage of the spacecraft’s Atlas V launch vehicle.

Muon Space plans a 2026 launch of its FireSat constellation, a group of small satellites designed to spot wildfires.

A Russian space weapon the U.S. claims is in development would occupy a unique orbital area and might threaten all other spacecraft in low-Earth orbit.

NASA has selected six exploration concepts to receive up to $600,000 in additional development funding.

Unseenlabs, a French startup, plans to launch its Generation NexT constellation of radio frequency detection satellites in 2026.

It’s been a big year for United Launch Alliance, the Lockheed Martin- and Boeing-owned joint venture that has been remaking itself for the commercial space age.

Lockheed Martin is withdrawing its bid to take over the rest of small satellite startup Terran Orbital’s stock it did not already own.

China has launched the Chang’e 6 lunar probe, on what it hopes will be the first mission to collect soil samples from the far side of the Moon.

The long-awaited crewed debut of Boeing’s Starliner caps off a 13-year effort to certify multiple commercial providers of low-Earth-orbit astronaut transport.

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

NASA’s inspector general has identified a range of technical issues of concern that arose during the uncrewed 2022 Artemis I mission.

Startup Danti has raised $5 million to further develop its natural language processing satellite image search engine.

The three NASA Crew-8 astronauts and their Russian cosmonaut colleague undocked their SpaceX Dragon capsule from the ISS and redocked on May 2.

NASA on May 1 selected nine companies for a dozen concept studies aimed at expanding the exploration of Mars.

Launch is planned for 10:34 p.m. EDT on May 6 atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral.

The company plans to issue 20.8 million shares, with an offering price to be posted on May 27, according to a financial filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The country is shaking up space exploration, commerce and the broader geopolitical picture.

Firefly Aerospace and Northrop Grumman remain on track to debut the new Antares 330 launch vehicle in 2025.