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Exoplanet system artwork NASA announces new astronauts as safety panel recommends strategic planning for space exploration

NASA announced a new class of astronauts that will be eligible for missions to the moon on the same day the agency’s safety advisers called for strategic planning to ensure success in those exploration efforts.
Chinese private firm Galactic Energy puts five satellites in orbit with second launch

Rocket company Galactic Energy launched its second Ceres-1 rocket late Dec. 6, becoming the first Chinese private firm to reach orbit twice.
ULA launches STP-3 mission with national security and NASA payloads

A United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Dec. 7 launched the Space Test Program-3 (STP-3) mission for the U.S. Space Force. The rocket lifted off at 5:19 a.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Rocket engine supplier Ursa Major raises $85 million in new funding round

Ursa Major, a Colorado-based manufacturer of liquid engines for small space launchers and hypersonic vehicles, announced Dec. 7 it has closed an $85 million Series C fundraising round.
Japanese tycoon 'excited' ahead of trip to ISS

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa said Tuesday he was feeling "excited" ahead of his mission to the International Space Station, which marks Russia's return to space tourism.
Maezawa, a space enthusiast who made his wealth in online fashion, and his production assistant, Yozo Hirano, will spend 12 days on the ISS.
Their Soyuz rocket operated by Russia's Roscosmos space agency will blast off from the Moscow-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday.
"I feel excited. I'm like an elementary student waiting for a school trip," Maezawa said at a press conference on the eve of the launch.
"I want to see the earth from space.
JWST – A New View of the Universe
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The world’s next generation cosmic observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, is due for launch on an Ariane 5 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana in late December.
Developed and constructed over more than 30 years, Webb is a remarkable feat of engineering and technology – with the largest astronomical mirror ever flown in space, sophisticated new scientific instruments, and a sunshield the size of a tennis court.
Webb is a joint project between NASA, ESA, and the Canadian Space Agency and will reveal the Universe in a whole new light. Optimised for infrared wavelengths, its detectors will be
India, Russia agree to enhance space cooperation

India and Russia agreed Dec. 6 to strengthen cooperation in the space sector, including human spaceflight programs and satellite navigation.
Welcome to fast space

Reconnecting the ecosystem. From December 13th to 16th Euroconsult will host the World Satellite Business Week in Paris, 822 days after the last one.
