India is set to take a major leap in its space ambitions with plans to launch an uncrewed orbital mission later this year, paving the way for the country’s first human spaceflight in early 2027, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced Tuesday.

 NASA has successfully extracted molecular oxygen at a commercial scale from simulated lunar soil, a significant milestone that brings the agency closer to establishing a long-term human presence on the Moon.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has granted SpaceX permission to conduct up to 25 Starship launches per year from its Starbase facility in South Texas—five times the previously authorized limit. The decision, finalized on May 6, follows a detailed environmental review and marks a significant regulatory green light for SpaceX’s ambitious Starship program.

SpaceX continues accelerating preparations for the ninth integrated test flight of its colossal Starship launch system, executing a series of key propulsion trials this week at its Starbase facility in South Texas. The company is methodically stepping through its preflight checklist, including multiple static fire tests aimed at validating engine performance under flight-representative conditions.

In a pivotal step toward returning astronauts to the Moon, Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has officially completed and transferred NASA's Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission to the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team at Kennedy Space Center. The milestone marks the conclusion of spacecraft assembly and testing and signals the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed mission in NASA’s Artemis program.

Firefly Aerospace's Alpha rocket has been grounded indefinitely following a failed launch earlier this week, prompting a formal investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA confirmed that Firefly must identify and address the root cause of the mishap before the rocket can return to flight, a process that may also require modifications to the company’s launch license.

After six weeks of meticulous preparation and testing, NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) space observatory has officially commenced its groundbreaking science mission. Launched on March 11, the observatory began full science operations on May 1, and it is now capturing approximately 3,600 unique images each day in a bold endeavor to map the entire sky in extraordinary detail — a mission that promises to reshape our understanding of the universe.

On the very day Americans celebrate National Space Day, the White House unveiled its proposed federal budget for Fiscal Year 2026, sending shockwaves through the science and aerospace communities. The proposal includes sweeping cuts to discretionary spending, with NASA bearing a heavy share of the reductions. If enacted, NASA’s budget would shrink by a staggering 24.3%, dropping from approximately $24.8 billion in FY2025 to $18.8 billion in FY2026.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) successfully launched the first operational batch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO) on Sunday evening, marking a critical step in Amazon’s ambitious plan to deploy a 3,232-satellite constellation to deliver global internet service. However, the mission unfolded under an unusual veil of secrecy and faces mounting pressure from regulatory deadlines and market competition.

Firefly Aerospace’s sixth Alpha rocket launch encountered a critical anomaly shortly after stage separation, resulting in the Lockheed Martin LM 400 technology demonstration satellite being placed into a significantly lower than intended orbit—or potentially not achieving a stable orbit at all.

NASA's Curiosity rover has uncovered new geological evidence pointing to a once-active carbon cycle on ancient Mars, offering a compelling window into the Red Planet's former potential to support life.

After a dramatic fall from its high-flying days as a publicly traded rocket startup, Astra is charting a comeback with a $44 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop its next-generation launch vehicle, Rocket 4. The mobile, two-stage rocket is designed to deliver military cargo across the globe in under an hour—an ambitious goal that, if realized, could transform rapid-response logistics.