A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket lifted off from Vandenberg AFB in California on April 26 to put a classified payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.
Keeping the International Space Station’s U.S. segment steadily staffed at five astronauts is continuing to contribute significantly to the research and technology demonstrations underway aboard the orbiting science laboratory.
NASA’s Mars Ingenuity Helicopter conducted a third flight test on April 25, zipping downrange as far as 164 ft. and temporarily out of view of cameras on the Perseverance rover.
SpaceX’s NASA-contracted Crew-2 Dragon successfully docked with the International Space Station early April 24, delivering a four-member, multinational crew for a six-month tour of duty.
The celebration of the 60th anniversary of Yury Gagarin’s first orbital flight sparked a new discussion in Russia about its space exploration priorities.
The SpaceX Crew-2 astronauts experienced several minutes of unexpected suspense as they prepared for a scheduled 8-hr. sleep period following their 5:49 a.m. EDT liftoff on April 23 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center due to the potential close approach of a space debris fragment.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center an hour before dawn on April 23, sending a Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts on a one-day journey to the International Space Station (ISS.)
Satellite manufacturer Airbus Defense and Space has committed to one launch and an undisclosed number of optional launches with Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum micro-launcher.
UK startup Satellite Vu has raised £3.6 million ($5 million) in seed funding to begin building a thermal-imaging satellite constellation that will be able to measure the energy efficiency of any building in the world from low Earth orbit.
Celebrated as the first person to sequence DNA in space, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins returned from her second voyage to the International Space Station (ISS) April 17 having helped to advance the far-reaching technology and eager to see it become part of future human expeditions to the Moon and Mars.
Bill Nelson, a former Democratic senator from Florida, soared through a hearing on his nomination to become the next NASA administrator before a Senate committee he once helped to lead.
Virgin Orbit has signed a six-flight contract to deliver a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites being developed by Qinetiq and HyperSat into low Earth orbit.
While it supports NASA’s ongoing Mars helicopter test campaign, the rover Perseverance on April 20 completed its first run of another technology demonstration, successfully converting some of the planet’s carbon dioxide atmosphere into oxygen.
As the U.S. Space Force plans to establish a Space Systems Command this summer, service leadership is already rallying Congress to alter the new command’s reporting structure for two important offices—the Space Development Agency and the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
Technicians have removed the Space Launch System core stage from its test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in preparation for a weeklong trip to Kennedy Space Center, NASA said on April 21.
High winds and rough seas downrange of Kennedy Space Center prompted NASA on April 21 to delay for one day the SpaceX Crew-2 launch to the International Space Station, with liftoff now targeted for 5:49 a.m. EDT on April 23.
