Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
After nearly two decades in orbit around Mars, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has logged the 100,000th image of the planet's surface with its High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera. The milestone image, acquired on Oct. 7, shows mesas and sand dunes in Syrtis Major, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Jezero Crater, the landing site of NASA's Persevera

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory has captured its first images from space, providing ultraviolet views of Earth and the Moon and confirming that the spacecraft and its instruments are operating as intended. Taken on Nov. 17, months before the start of routine science observations, these first light images also preview the type of data the mission will collect on Earth's outer atmosphere.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
As Firefly Aerospace plans its next lunar delivery, a full-scale engineering model of its Blue Ghost Mission 2 system has completed vibration and acoustic testing at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Environmental Test Laboratory in Southern California. The same facilities that helped qualify NASA's Voyager spacecraft are now being used to verify that the tall commercial stack can handle the load

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
The construction industry, is long reliant on traditional methods, is undergoing a digital revolution. At the forefront of this shift is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the critical domain of cost estimation.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Dec 16, 2025
A Kinetica 1 rocket has placed the Arab Satellite 813 into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, marking a new phase of cooperation between the United Arab Emirates and China in space activities, according to the Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites. The satellite, described as a multirole mission platform, was launched from the Gobi Desert site in northwestern China a

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Dec 17, 2025
The Aerospace Corporation's DiskSat concept introduces a flat, disk-shaped small satellite bus designed to provide more power, surface area, and payload volume than a traditional CubeSat while keeping a standardized, containerized launch interface. A representative DiskSat demonstrator measures about 1 meter in diameter and roughly 2.5 centimeters thick, with an internal volume comparable to a 2

It has been a busy year for the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission. The satellite duo has already created more than 50 artificial solar eclipses in orbit since the mission operations began less than a year ago. The resulting data confirm Proba-3's ability to provide the missing puzzle piece in our observations of the Sun's enigmatic atmosphere – the corona.

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On 17 December, two new Galileo satellites lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This marked the 14th launch for Europe’s satellite navigation operational satellite programme, reinforcing Europe’s resilience and autonomy.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is responsible for carrying out the Galileo launch with Arianespace on behalf of the European Commission. The Galileo satellites were manufactured by OHB, under contract with ESA. Once in orbit, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) will bring the satellites into service and oversee their operation.

The flight, designated VA266, was the first launch of

On 17 December, two Galileo satellites lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 6 rocket. This marked the 14th launch for Europe’s Galileo constellation, reinforcing Europe’s satellite navigation capabilities, resilience and autonomy. 

Image: Europe at night from space