Tag: NASA
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Rubio Launches Space Catalyst Partnership to Direct U.S. Foreign Aid Toward Space Companies
Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled the State Department’s flagship space diplomacy initiative, the Space Catalyst Partnership, during an official visit to Lima on September 10, 2026. The initiative will direct foreign-assistance funding toward projects that use U.S. space goods and services, making space cooperation a tool for expanding overseas opportunities for American companies. Peru…
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NASA Powers On Roman Space Telescope Instruments During Journey to L2
Roman is still traveling to its destination in space, with NASA gradually powering on and checking its instruments along the way. NASA has activated the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument and completed initial checks of its Coronagraph Instrument, the agency said Sept. 15. The observatory, launched Aug. 30 on a SpaceX…
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Russia Launches Progress 96 Cargo Ship With Three Tons of Supplies for ISS (Video)
A Russian Soyuz rocket launched the robotic Progress 96 freighter from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Sept. 16, 2026 at 9:33 a.m. EDT (1333 GMT). Progress 96 is loaded with about 3 tons of food, propellant and other supplies for the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: NASA Russia launched the uncrewed Progress…
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NASA’s Roman Space Telescope Fuel Savings Extend Potential Mission Life to 22 Years
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could support at least 22 years of science operations—more than double its original 10-year fuel budget—after a highly accurate trajectory-correction burn used less than one-tenth of the propellant allocated for the maneuver, the agency announced September 14. Roman launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT on August 30 aboard a SpaceX…
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Victor Glover Takes Cal Poly Leadership Role After Artemis II Moon Mission
NASA astronaut Victor Glover has moved to emeritus status after piloting the Artemis II mission around the Moon in April 2026 and has begun a full-time role as executive advisor to California Polytechnic State University President Jeff Armstrong. Glover started the Cal Poly position on September 1 and plans to relocate from Houston to California…
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Trump Orders Study of NASA-Led U.S. Space Academy as Civilian-Military Questions Emerge
President Donald Trump signed an executive order at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on August 28, 2026, directing a federal commission to assess the feasibility of creating a United States Space Academy. The proposed NASA-led institution would train engineers, scientists, spacecraft operators and other professionals for civilian, commercial and national-security space activities, but its…
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Rocket Lab Challenges NASA’s $700 Million Mars Orbiter Award to Blue Origin
Rocket Lab filed a formal protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office on September 11, challenging NASA’s decision to award Blue Origin a $700 million contract to develop, launch and operate the Mars Telecommunications Network. NASA selected Blue Origin on September 1 for the communications orbiter, which must be delivered by December 31, 2028 and…
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Both Bound for the Moon: Why Are NASA’s SLS and SpaceX’s Starship So Different?
On one side is the orange-and-white SLS. On the other is Starship, resembling a stainless-steel tower. Both are part of the United States’ architecture for returning humans to the Moon, yet they have almost nothing in common—from their appearance and engines to how they are intended to operate. Their respective roles: SLS Block 1 and…
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NASA and IBM Open-Source Lunar Foundation AI Model to Accelerate Moon Science
NASA and IBM have released the NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model, one of the first publicly available foundation models developed specifically for scientific exploration of the Moon. Trained on a large, multi-instrument lunar dataset assembled by researchers from both organizations, the model is designed to extract new insights from decades of observations and support scientific and…
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NASA Opens State Competition for U.S. Space Academy as Congressional Questions Loom
NASA has invited U.S. governors to compete to host and sponsor the proposed United States Space Academy, issuing a Request for Information on September 10 that seeks details on potential locations, infrastructure and supporting aerospace ecosystems. States may submit one response each by 6 p.m. EDT on October 26, even as the institution’s legal authority,…