Stay updated with the latest events in spaceflight.
SAN FRANCISCO – Space startup veteran Mark Matossian has joined forces with a software engineer and a best-selling author to establish Whipsmart Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on space […] The post Mark Matossian co-founds Whipsmart Ventures to fund space and deep tech appeared first on SpaceNews.
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The flight comes as Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to make landfall in Texas on Thursday. Liftoff of the Starship Flight 13 mission is scheduled during a 90-minute window that opens at 5:45 p.m. CDT (6:45 p.m. EDT / 2245 UTC).
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Continuing agency efforts to bring space closer to home, NASA+ is heading to more streaming platforms. On Thursday, NASA announced its programming is on Fire TV Channels. Fire TV customers can easily access this content by asking Alexa+ on compatible devices. Future programming on Fire TV may include science mission launches, a test flight for […]
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Crews at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans transport the 130-foot-tall Artemis IV liquid hydrogen tank out of a production cell inside the main factory building into a detached test building on a separate portion of the 829-acre site on May 15, 2026. The liquid hydrogen tank will form part of the core stage for […]
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NASA MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission scientists have uncovered a key puzzle piece in understanding certain types of auroras on Mars, finding that they form in a similar way to Earth-based auroras. Results published Thursday in Nature Communications show the same mechanism that circulates and catapults charged particles into Earth’s atmosphere is happening at […]
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In this episode, David Ariosto speaks with Varda CEO Will Bruey at the Ascend conference. They discuss how Varda hopes to play a role bridging medicine and low Earth orbit […] The post Will Bruey on rethinking the role of pharmaceuticals in low Earth orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.
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Change of Command
ROSCOSMOS cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will hand over the International Space Station command to NASA astronaut Jessica Meir.
Farewell Ceremony
NASA will livestream the farewell ceremony and hatch closing of the Soyuz MS-278crew ahead of its return to Earth.
Spacecraft Undocking
The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft will undock from the International Space Station ahead of reentry and landing in Kazakhstan.
Founded: 1998-11-20
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component was launched into orbit in 1998, with the first long-term residents arriving in November 2000. It has been inhabited continuously since that date. The last pressurised module was fitted in 2011, and an experimental inflatable space habitat was added in 2016. The station is expected to operate until 2030. Development and assembly of the station continues, with several new elements scheduled for launch in 2019. The ISS is the largest human-made body in low Earth orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth. The ISS consists of pressurised habitation modules, structural trusses, solar arrays, radiators, docking ports, experiment bays and robotic arms. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, and American Space Shuttles.
Founded: 1986-02-20
Mir was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.
Founded: 1973-05-14
Skylab was a United States space station launched and operated by NASA, and occupied for about 24 weeks between May 1973 and February 1974 – the only space station the U.S. has operated exclusively. In 1979 it fell back to Earth amid huge worldwide media attention. Skylab included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems necessary for crew survival and scientific experiments. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a weight of 170,000 pounds (77,000 kg). Lifting Skylab into low earth orbit was the final mission and launch of a Saturn V rocket (famous for carrying the manned Moon landing missions). Three missions delivered three-astronaut crews in the Apollo command and service module (Apollo CSM), launched by the smaller Saturn IB rocket. For the final two manned missions to Skylab, a backup Apollo CSM/Saturn IB was assembled and made ready in case an in-orbit rescue mission was needed, but this backup vehicle was never flown.