Rocket Lab launches BlackSky satellites
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket placed two BlackSky imaging satellites into orbit Nov. 17 on the rocket’s first launch in three and a half months.
NASA selects Intuitive Machines for CLPS lunar landing mission
NASA awarded a $77.5 million contract to Intuitive Machines Nov. 17 for the delivery of four payloads to the surface of the moon in 2024.
SpaceX's Musk: 1st Starship test flight to orbit in January
SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Wednesday that his company will attempt to launch its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship to orbit in January, but he's not betting on success for that first test flight.
"There's a lot of risk associated with this first launch, so I would not say that it is likely to be successful, but we'll make a lot of progress," he said during a virtual meeting organized by the National Academy of Sciences.
Musk said he's confident Starship—launching for the first time atop a mega booster—will successfully reach orbit sometime in 2022. After a dozen or so orbital test flights next year, SpaceX then would start launching valuable satellites and other payloads to orbit on Starships in 2023, he said.
NASA has contracted with SpaceX to use Starship for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Musk plans to use the reusable ships to eventually land people on Mars.
The shiny, stainless steel Starship and its first-stage booster—called the Super Heavy—will be the biggest rocket ever to fly, towering 394 feet (120 meters). Liftoff thrust, Musk noted, will be more than double that of NASA's Saturn V rockets that carried astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.
Live coverage from the Intermediate Ministerial Meeting
Government ministers in charge of space activities in ESA’s Member States meet on 19 November at an Intermediate Ministerial Meeting in Matosinhos, Portugal. Join us on ESA Web TV for live coverage, including an inflight call with ESA Astronaut Matthias Maurer on the International Space Station.
Washington state flooding
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The US State of Washington is under a state of emergency following days of severe wind and rain leading to extensive flooding in parts of the state. Different satellites in orbit carry different instruments that can provide us with a wealth of complementary information to understand and to 
Transform our inventions into commercial applications
ESA develops a vast array of innovative technologies and applications to make Europe's space endeavours happen. Many of these inventions are protected by patents, resulting in a portfolio of around 580 patents or patent applications. ESA is now offering you the opportunity to find and mature real-world applications of these inventions.
Solar Orbiter’s riskiest flyby
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Solar Orbiter’s riskiest flyby Minerva’s plan to revolutionize space domain awareness with NFTs
After securing a $150 million credit facility, Minerva intends to create an ecosystem where information on space objects can be collected, compared and verified with non-fungible, meaning unique, digital tokens.
Tyvak wins $8.4 million military contract for experiment in very low Earth orbit
The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate awarded an $8.4 million contract to Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems for an experiment in very low Earth orbit projected to launch in 2024.
