Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 12, 2025
Rocket Lab has successfully executed its 66th Electron mission, deploying the QPS-SAR-11 satellite for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS). The launch marks Rocket Lab's second mission for iQPS in just 25 days and its fourth overall, all completed with full mission success. Lifting off from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand at 15:31 UTC on June 11, the mission-titled "The

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What if we could look at the Sun from a whole new angle, one we've never seen before? 

From Earth, we always look towards the Sun's equator. This year, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission broke free of this ‘standard’ viewpoint by tilting its orbit to 17° – out of the ecliptic plane where the planets and all other Sun-watching spacecraft reside. Now for the first time ever, we can clearly see the Sun’s unexplored poles.  

Using different instruments, Solar Orbiter can see what happens throughout the Sun's outer layers. The material in these layers never stays still, being

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 11, 2025
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has delivered the first very high-resolution images from the company's second Gen-3 satellite just 12 hours following its successful launch last Monday. "In today's national security environment, BlackSky's customers require space-based intelligence that moves at warfighter speed," said Brian O'Toole, BlackSky CEO. "BlackSky's newest Gen-3 satellite ha

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 10, 2025
China is positioning a satellite to test its ability to refuel another in orbit over Earth and extend its mission for several more years. China's Shijian-25 satellite is designed to refuel and service other satellites while they stay in geostationary orbit over Earth, SpaceNews reported. A geostationary orbit is one in which a satellite or another spacecraft maintains its locatio

Thanks to its newly tilted orbit around the Sun, the European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft is the first to image the Sun’s poles from outside the ecliptic plane. Solar Orbiter’s unique viewing angle will change our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar cycle and the workings of space weather. 

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jun 11, 2025
A Chinese private rocket firm has successfully tested transporting packages from Taobao, one of the country's largest e-commerce platforms, using a reusable rocket. The rocket was later recovered from the sea, marking a significant advancement in commercial space logistics. SEPOCH, a Beijing-based startup, completed its inaugural "rocket delivery" experiment on May 29 when its XZY-1 verifi

Beijing (AFP) June 11, 2025
China is counting on one crucial advantage as it seeks to grind out a deal to ease its high-stakes trade war with the United States - dominance in rare earths. Used in electric vehicles, hard drives, wind turbines and missiles, rare earth elements are essential to the modern economy and national defence. AFP takes a look at how rare earths have become a key sticking point in talks betwe