Rockets, satellites, deep-space missions, and the new space economy taking off.
59 articles
China launched a pair of secretive TJS-27 satellites and orbited the next-generation Tianlian data-relay satellite in a single mission, SpaceNews reports.
The probe passed just 2,800 miles above Mars at about 12,000 mph, using the planet's gravity to accelerate toward 16 Psyche — a metal world thought to be a dead planet's exposed core.
OPTIMISM, a refurbished Mars rover design, would cost more than $1 billion to send to the lunar surface, SpaceNews reports.
The crew — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen — will now spend an additional eight months in training. The delay does not affect the Artemis III surface-landing target, the agency said.
NASA completed fueling of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, clearing the way for an August 30 Falcon Heavy launch to L2 — nine months ahead of the original schedule.
Three successful flights, a caught booster, and an orbital refueling demonstration. The V3 stack is doing what the V1 and V2 programs promised — and on a much tighter cadence.
The Katalyst Space-built rescue vehicle has suffered electrical problems affecting its reaction control wheels, with the rendezvous with NASA's aging Swift observatory delayed to late August.
Starship Flight 13 lifted off from Starbase Texas's Pad 2 on July 16 but shut down moments after engine ignition. SpaceX has not yet committed to a new launch date as engineers review the booster's anomaly.
SpaceX has now launched roughly 1,002 Starlink satellites in 2026 across 37 dedicated missions. The deployment pace is the highest annual cadence in the constellation's history and shows no sign of slowing.
China has confirmed an August launch for a new quantum internet satellite, building on the Micius/Mozi platform. The team behind the original Micius satellite has also been awarded an international quantum-research prize.
SpaceX executed two Falcon 9 missions on July 16 - a Starlink batch and 21 SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer E satellites for the Pentagon's proliferated LEO constellation. The combined 45-satellite day is one of the densest launch days of 2026.
Before its July 16 abort, Starship Flight 13 was planned as the first mission to fly V3 Starlink satellites and to validate a slate of full-reusability improvements that SpaceX has been working toward since Flight 11.
Starship Flight 13's abort, Starlink's record 1,002-satellite year, and China's quantum-internet satellite launch all land in the same month. The shape of the next decade in orbit is being set right now.
Starship has touched down on the Martian surface intact, marking a historic milestone for human space exploration. SpaceX now aims to establish a permanent outpost within a decade.
Starlink, Amazon's Kuiper, and China's Guowang have collectively connected one billion people. Satellite internet is no longer a luxury — it's becoming basic infrastructure.
Rocket Lab's medium-lift Neutron rocket reached orbit on its first attempt, deploying a constellation of broadband satellites and becoming the first new orbital-class reusable since Falcon 9.
A successful ground test of a nuclear thermal propulsion engine brings the prospect of dramatically faster crewed Mars missions within reach.