Space Force moves to double its ranks and master orbital servicing
The U.S. Space Force is charting two bold courses at once: doubling its active-duty headcount by 2030 and testing satellite refueling in geo…
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Reporting, analysis and dispatches signed by our newsroom. The fine machinery of international spaceflight, told for those who care about the details.
Block 3 Debut and IPO Filing: SpaceX's Defining Week
SpaceX is pulling two major levers at once: unveiling the Block 3 Starship on its twelfth test flight while filing for a stock market listin…
Psyche Swings Past Mars, Now Bound for a Metal World
NASA's Psyche spacecraft executed a precise gravity assist at Mars on May 15, 2026, skimming within 4,609 kilometers of the surface. No prop…
Psyche captures striking Mars imagery during gravity assist flyby
On its way to metallic asteroid 16 Psyche, NASA's spacecraft swung past Mars in May 2026 to pick up speed. The flyby yielded sharp, multispe…
SMILE lifts off to map Earth's magnetic shield in unprecedented detail
After more than a decade of joint development between ESA and China's CNSA, the SMILE spacecraft is now in orbit and ready to deliver the fi…
Psyche Swings Past Mars, Sets Course for Metal World
Flying within 4,609 kilometers of Mars, NASA's Psyche spacecraft completed a gravity assist that boosted its speed toward asteroid 16 Psyche…
Psyche Turns Its Cameras on Mars During a Gravitational Slingshot
Before continuing its journey to a metallic asteroid, NASA's Psyche spacecraft swung past Mars and captured striking multispectral images — …
SMILE Launches to Map Earth's Magnetic Shield in Detail
On 19 May 2026, a Vega-C rocket carried ESA's SMILE spacecraft into orbit from French Guiana. The joint European-Chinese mission aims to ima…
Starship Flight 12: A System Rebuilding Itself from the Ground Up
Flight 12 of Starship is shaping up as a pivotal test, pairing a heavily revised Super Heavy Block 3 booster with a new Ship variant. For NA…
Smile satellite launches to map Earth's magnetic shield in unprecedented detail
Lifting off on a Vega-C rocket from Kourou on 19 May 2026, the Smile spacecraft begins a multi-year investigation into space weather, geomag…
Starship Flight 12: A New Pad, New Ship, Old Pressure
Flight 12 of Starship combines a brand-new launch complex, a heavily revised upper stage, and mounting pressure from NASA and commercial par…
Artemis III Recast as an Earth Orbit Mission Before Moon Return
NASA has outlined preliminary plans for a redesigned Artemis III mission, now focused on Earth orbit rendezvous and docking tests with comme…
293 articles in total