Beijing, China (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
For engineer Shi Shengpu and his colleagues, this Spring Festival will be their first spent at the Mohe Satellite Data Receiving Station of the China Remote Sensing Satellite Ground Station, which began operations on Dec 12 in Mohe, China's northernmost city in Heilongjiang province. Developed by the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Mohe faci

Ithaca, NY (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
If humankind is to explore deep space, one small passenger should not be left behind: microbes. In fact, it would be impossible to leave them behind, since they live on and in our bodies, surfaces and food. Learning how they react to space conditions is critical, but they could also be invaluable fellows in our endeavor to explore space. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi can

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
An unusual high energy outburst captured by the China led Einstein Probe space telescope is offering a rare look at how an intermediate mass black hole may tear apart and consume a white dwarf star. During a routine sky survey on July 2 2025 the mission's Wide field X ray Telescope detected a rapidly varying X ray source that immediately stood out from ordinary cosmic objects and triggered

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
Astronomers have used nearly two decades of infrared and optical observations to watch a massive star in the Andromeda galaxy quietly collapse into a black hole instead of ending its life with a bright supernova explosion. The object, cataloged as M31-2014-DS1, sits about 2.5 million light years from Earth in the neighboring Andromeda galaxy. A typical massive star death produces a powerfu

Paris, France (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
Many students learn memory tricks to remember the order of the Solar System's planets, with rocky worlds close to the Sun and gas giants farther out. Astronomers have now found a nearby planetary system that breaks that familiar pattern. An international team led by Thomas Wilson of the University of Warwick used ESA's Characterising Exoplanet Satellite, Cheops, along with other spac

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
China has launched a Smart Dragon 3 carrier rocket from a sea based platform off the coast of Yangjiang in Guangdong province, placing seven satellites into orbit on Thursday afternoon. Liftoff occurred at 2:37 pm local time from a dedicated launch service ship, after which the solid propellant rocket deployed all seven spacecraft into their preset orbits. The payloads included a rem

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 16, 2026
China has carried out its first maritime recovery of a rocket first-stage booster, retrieving the main stage of a Long March 10 heavy-lift carrier rocket from the South China Sea following a key test flight earlier this week. The China Manned Space Agency reported that the booster was recovered on Friday morning from a designated splashdown zone, marking the first time China has recovered

Hanoi, Vietnam (AFP) Feb 15, 2026
Vietnam has granted a licence to Elon Musk's Starlink to operate its satellite internet services in the communist country, a government agency said. The radio frequency regulator said local unit Starlink Services Vietnam Co. can initially deploy four gateway stations and a maximum of 600,000 terminal devices in Vietnam. The licensing requires Starlink to ensure "no interference with exis

Washington, United States (AFP) Feb 14, 2026
Four astronauts docked at the International Space Station on Saturday for a months-long research mission, replacing a crew forced to return to Earth early over a medical issue. The US space agency's Crew-12 arrived at the orbiting laboratory after a journey of about 34 hours that started with blastoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. "We have bridged the lega