Washington (AFP) Mar 18, 2025
A pair of astronauts stranded in space for more than nine months were finally headed home Tuesday after their capsule undocked from the International Space Station. The SpaceX craft carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams detached from the orbital outpost at 0505 GMT, ending their prolonged mission that has captivated global attention. The NASA duo are joined onboard by American Nick Ha

ESA Impact: Top 2025 space photos so far

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Mar 14, 2025
Across the street from the Flamingo Visitor's Center at the foot of Florida's Everglades National Park, there was once a thriving mangrove population - part of the largest stand of mangroves in the Western Hemisphere. Now, the skeletal remains of the trees form one of the Everglades' largest ghost forests. When Hurricane Irma made landfall in September 2017 as a category 4 storm, violent w

Logan UT (SPX) Mar 17, 2025
Following the 3,000th orbit of NASA's AWE (Atmospheric Waves Experiment) aboard the International Space Station, researchers publicly released the mission's first trove of scientific data, crucial to investigate how and why subtle changes in Earth's atmosphere cause disturbances, as well as how these atmospheric disturbances impact technological systems on the ground and in space. "We've r

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 14, 2025
Ursa Major has secured a multi-year contract valued between $10 million and $15 million to deliver fully integrated geostationary orbit (GEO) propulsion systems for a customer engaged in critical space operations. This agreement encompasses the design, manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing of a propulsion system engineered for six-degree-of-freedom maneuverability, enhancing operatio

Boston MA (SPX) Mar 14, 2025
Sensing and communication systems based on quantum-mechanical phenomena can greatly outperform today's systems, in terms of accuracy and reliability, and are considered a pivotal part of developing next-generation networks. Developing quantum information and decision systems that come close to meeting the theoretical quantum advantages has been a longstanding challenge. Now, a team of researcher

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 14, 2025
BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) has successfully delivered its first AI-powered analytics derived from its newly deployed, high-resolution Gen-3 satellite imagery, achieving this milestone just three weeks after the satellite's launch on February 18. This rapid turnaround highlights the capability of BlackSky's AI-driven detection and identification systems, which efficiently convert fine-

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 17, 2025
China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has taken a pivotal step in contributing to national space ambitions with the launch of the Hong Kong Space Robotics and Energy Center. This newly established facility is set to play a significant role in China's upcoming Chang'e-8 lunar mission. The center, operating under the InnoHK Research Clusters and led by the Hong Kong Univers

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2025
Varda Space Industries, Inc., a company focused on microgravity-enabled life sciences and atmospheric reentry solutions, has successfully deployed its third orbital capsule, W-3, marking its second mission of the year. This achievement follows closely on the heels of its W-2 mission, which safely touched down in Australia on February 27, 2025. The W-3 spacecraft, mounted on a Rocket Lab Pi

Washington DC (UPI) Mar 15, 2025
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlik satellites into orbit Saturday morning, a little more than 12 hours after the private company teamed up with NASA to send four astronauts to the International Space Station - also from Florida. In addition, SpaceX sent 74 satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a rideshare mission called Transporter 13 late Friday from California.