Tag: NASA
-
NASA Awards First Moon Base Contracts to Four Companies
Which Companies Won NASA’s First Moon Base Development Contracts? NASA awarded the first contracts for lunar base development to four companies on May 26, marking a significant expansion of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program beyond basic payload delivery to permanent infrastructure development. The contracts focus on lander and drone systems that will support…
-
SpaceX’s Starship V3—still a work in progress—mostly successful on first flight
SpaceX launched the first test flight of its upgraded Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster Friday, with mostly positive results. The powerful rocket, propelled by 33 methane-fueled main engines, climbed away from SpaceX’s Starbase launch facility in South Texas at 5:30 pm CDT (6:30 pm EDT; 22:30 UTC) Friday. Within a few seconds, the 408-foot-tall…
-
SpaceX Launches Starship V3 in Major Test Flight Ahead of Planned IPO
SpaceX has launched its new Starship V3 rocket in a high-profile test flight from Texas after an earlier launch attempt was postponed because of a launch-tower malfunction. The uncrewed rocket lifted off shortly after 17:30 local time on Friday, marking the first flight of the latest Starship configuration, which stands approximately 124 meters tall. According…
-
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft returns unfamiliar views of a familiar world
Not quite halfway through a six-year sojourn through the Solar System, a NASA spacecraft used a close encounter with Mars last week as a dress rehearsal for its arrival at the Solar System’s largest metal asteroid in 2029. The Psyche mission launched more than two-and-a-half years ago, in October 2023, from Kennedy Space Center, Florida,…
-
Astrolab to Send Scientific Payloads to Lunar South Pole on FLIP Rover Mission
Astrolab is preparing to send a series of scientific payloads to the Moon later this year aboard its FLIP rover mission aimed at supporting future lunar exploration near the Moon’s south pole. The company said its FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform rover, known as FLIP, will carry multiple research instruments designed to study lunar surface conditions,…
-
ESA Chief Calls for Independent European Human Spaceflight Capability
European Space Agency Director General Josef Aschbacher has called for Europe to establish its own independent human spaceflight capability, arguing that the continent has become overly dependent on decisions made by foreign partners. In an opinion article published on May 18, Aschbacher said recent changes to the United States’ Artemis programme architecture and Europe’s reduced…
-
Potomac Database Systems Targets Lunar Data Market With New Moon Missions
Potomac Database Systems has unveiled plans to develop a series of lunar missions aimed at collecting and selling scientific and operational data from the Moon. The Washington-based company said it intends to focus on supplying commercial and government customers with lunar surface data through three different mission concepts designed to support future exploration and development…
-
Matt Anderson Confirmed as NASA Deputy Administrator
What Does Matt Anderson’s Confirmation Mean for NASA’s Commercial Space Strategy? The U.S. Senate confirmed Matt Anderson as NASA’s deputy administrator on May 18, 2026, installing the agency’s second-in-command at a critical juncture for American space policy. Anderson steps into the role as NASA manages a $25 billion annual budget while accelerating the Artemis Program,…
-
NASA, SpaceX launch Dragon mission with 6,500 pounds of science and supplies to the space station
A SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft, C209, is seen atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: SpaceX Update May 15, 6:33 p.m. EDT (2233 UTC): SpaceX confirms successful separation of the Dragon spacecraft. The third time was the charm as SpaceX successfully launched its Cargo…
-
NASA Seeks Industry Partners for Mars Telecommunications Network RFP
What does NASA’s Mars telecommunications network RFP mean for commercial space? NASA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) on Thursday for industry partners to develop the Mars Telecommunications Network, marking a significant shift toward commercial partnerships for deep space communications infrastructure. The network will deploy high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet to provide…