Space FrontPage

A new peer-reviewed study published in Nature has issued one of the strongest warnings yet about the growing impact of satellite megaconstellations on the low Earth orbit (LEO) environment and the future of astronomical research. With companies such as SpaceX, Amazon, and OneWeb—and national governments including those of the United States and China—pushing ahead with plans for fleets of hundreds to tens of thousands of satellites, scientists say the consequences for space-based and ground-based observations could be profound.

Rocket Lab is preparing to expand its role in the global launch market, announcing the successful completion of final qualification tests for the innovative fairing that will top its upcoming Neutron rocket. The partially reusable launch vehicle, built to challenge SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in medium-lift missions, is slated to make its debut flight early next year.

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth early Tuesday, landing on the frozen steppe of Kazakhstan after an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Their Soyuz MS-27/73S spacecraft touched down at 12:03 a.m. EST (0503 UTC; 10:03 a.m. local time), ending a mission that spanned nearly 4,000 orbits and more than 104 million miles traveled.

SpaceX closed out its 2025 national security launch campaign on Tuesday with a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), marking both its final intelligence payload of the year and what is expected to be the last Falcon 9 booster landing at Landing Zone 2 (LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral. The mission, designated NROL-77, successfully deployed its payload, the NRO confirmed late Tuesday.

SpaceX has secured a major green light for expanding Starship operations to Florida, marking a significant shift for the world’s most powerful launch system after completing all of its test flights to date from Starbase in South Texas.

LandSpace, one of China’s leading private aerospace companies, has successfully flown its Zhuque-3 (ZQ-3) rocket for the first time, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s push toward reusable launch systems—despite a dramatic booster failure during recovery.

South Korea’s newest Earth-observation spacecraft, KOMPSAT-7, safely reached a Sun-synchronous orbit on Monday afternoon following a smooth launch aboard Arianespace’s Vega-C rocket. The mission lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, marking another milestone in Seoul’s expanding ambitions in space-based imaging and reconnaissance.

 A German astronaut will become the first European to travel to the Moon under NASA’s Artemis program, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced on Thursday during its high-level Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen. The decision marks a historic milestone for Europe’s human spaceflight ambitions, made possible by major European contributions to lunar exploration hardware.

The long-disputed effort to move the space shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian to Houston has gained a powerful new champion: Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead NASA. According to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Isaacman has formally pledged support for relocating the historic orbiter to the Johnson Space Center (JSC).

In a landmark decision that signals Europe’s ambition to strengthen its foothold in space, the European Space Agency (ESA) on Thursday announced it has secured a record €22.1 billion budget to fund its programs over the next three years. The agreement was reached during a pivotal ministerial council meeting held in Bremen, underscoring the continent’s intensified push for technological independence and enhanced space security.

Researchers have uncovered compelling new evidence of complex organic chemistry emerging from the hidden ocean of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus, offering fresh clues in the search for extraterrestrial life. A newly published analysis of NASA Cassini mission data reveals a diverse suite of organic molecules—some never detected before—embedded within ice grains blasted out from the moon’s subsurface sea.

NASA is entering a critical new phase of preparation for its return to the lunar surface, as astronauts begin intensive underwater training and engineers complete a major milestone in testing the next-generation moonwalking suit that will support the Artemis III mission. The Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) — developed by Axiom Space under NASA’s xEVAS (Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services) contract — is steadily progressing toward full qualification, combining decades of lessons from Apollo and the International Space Station with modern engineering and improved safety features.