The first of Russia's upgraded Soyuz crew transports departed the International Space Station (ISS) late Oct. 29 and descended to Earth in remote Kazakhstan to end a 115 day assignment aboard the orbiting science laboratory for NASA's Kate Rubins, Russia's Anatoli Ivanishin and Japan's Takuya Onishi.

Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle has returned to flight two years after a spectacular liftoff explosion en route to the International Space Station with a load of supplies.

Two Chinese astronauts have lifted off for the the Tiangong 2 docking target, a Salyut-class mini-space station acting as a training ground for operations at the larger orbital laboratory planned for launch in 2022.

Engineers at Blue Origin validated the “full-envelope” escape system for its six-seat suborbital passenger capsule with a successful abort test Oct. 5 16,000 ft. above the West Texas desert.

The looming U.S. presidential election and the possibility of changes in Congress have many in the nation’s civil space community worried.

SpaceX is spending “10s of millions” of company funds on an ambitious architecture to fulfill founder Elon Musk’s dream of setting up a self-sustaining human “civilization” on Mars.

The vice administrator of the China National Space Administration said the relay spacecraft designed to communicate with the planned Chang’e 4 lander on the Moon’s far side would also be available to international users operating there.

Investigators examining the Sept. 1 pad explosion have found evidence of an apparent rupture in the helium system used to pressurize the upper-stage liquid oxygen tank.