(Reuters) – NASA’s flagship space launch system being built by Boeing is taking years longer than expected with cost overruns of nearly $2 billion, an audit found on Wednesday, raising questions about meeting a goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024. The... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Three astronauts instrumental in the groundbreaking U.S. space program of the 1960s and 70s gathered at the Paris Air Show on Tuesday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the mission that first put a man on the moon. Walter Cunning... More »
LE BOURGET, France (Reuters) – The explosion that destroyed a SpaceX astronaut taxi in April “no doubt” delays NASA’s drive to return Americans to the International Space Station from U.S. soil later this year, the U.S. space agency’s chief said on Tuesday. Bu... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The Canadian government’s contracting arm is backing a proposed new satellite system that will use big data analytics to provide commercially available data about the Earth and its orbit amid growing concerns about the risks posed by space de... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – A next-generation drone being developed by several European nations must be price competitive or the project designed to project European unity and strength in an increasingly uncertain world will flounder, France’s defense minister warned on... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India said on Wednesday it will launch its second lunar mission in mid-July, as it moves to consolidate its status as a leader in space technology by achieving a controlled landing on the moon. The mission, if successful, would make India... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s air force said on Monday “spatial disorientation” likely caused one of its pilots to fly his F-35 stealth fighters into the Pacific Ocean in April, hitting the water at more than 1,100 kph (683 mph). The Lockheed Martin Corp jet disap... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday criticized NASA for aiming to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024 and urged the space agency to focus instead on “much bigger” initiatives like going to Mars, undercutting his previous support for the lunar... More »
WASHINGTON/SEATTLE (Reuters) – NASA will allow private citizens to stay at the International Space Station (ISS) for month-long getaways at a cost of about $35,000 per night, the U.S. space agency said on Friday. The shift reverses a long-standing prohibition ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit said on Thursday it plans to bring its satellite launch system to Japan in partnership with airline operator ANA Holdings Inc, which will provide maintenance and possibly aircraft. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne... More »
HOUSTON (Reuters) – The first U.S. astronauts chosen to fly aboard a SpaceX capsule built for NASA shrugged off a spate of design and test mishaps, saying such setbacks were “part of the process” and the new technology was far more advanced than the space shut... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China successfully launched a rocket from a ship at sea for the first time on Wednesday, state media reported, the latest step forward in its ambitious space program. The Long March 11 rocket blasted off from a platform on a large semi-subm... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s former top nuclear envoy, Kim Yong Chol, accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to an art performance, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in the power structure. Sunda... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Former partners and rivals of Jet Airways Ltd are launching replacement routes and looking for new codeshare partners as they scramble to fill a lucrative gap left by the collapse of the India’s once-largest international airline. Jet, which ... More »
SEATTLE/ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Stratolaunch Systems Corporation, the space company founded by late billionaire and Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen, is closing operations, cutting short ambitious plans to challenge traditional aerospace companies in a n... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Developers of a multi-rotor hover craft billed as the first flying vehicle to be powered by hydrogen fuel cells unveiled a full-scale model on Wednesday in Southern California, in a show-and-tell that raised some eyebrows but never left... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton is “inordinately ignorant” to argue that North Korea’s recent missile tests violated United Nations resolutions, the North’s foreign ministry said in a statement carried by state media on Monday. A s... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) reputation has taken a hit as a result of the Boeing Co 737 MAX grounding, United Airlines President Scott Kirby said on Monday. “The brand of the FAA has certainly been impacted by this,” ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump, declaring a national emergency because of tensions with Iran, swept aside objections from Congress on Friday to complete the sale of over $8 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates ... More »
(Reuters) – Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX has raised more than $1 billion in financing in the last six months as it aims to roll out an ambitious high-speed internet service by using a constellation of satellites to beam signals from space. The c... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – SpaceX, the private rocket company of high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, launched the first batch of 60 small satellites into low-Earth orbit on Thursday for Musk’s new Starlink internet service. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the s... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – A top NASA executive hired in April to guide strategy for returning astronauts to the moon by 2024 has resigned, the space agency said on Thursday, the culmination of internal strife and dwindling congressional support for the ... More »
MELBOURNE, Fla. (Reuters) – NASA has picked space technology company Maxar Technologies Inc as the first contractor to help build its Gateway platform in lunar orbit, a crucial outpost for America’s mission to relay astronauts to the moon in 2024, the U.S. age... More »
(Reuters) – Britain’s Manchester Airport said on Monday it had fixed a fuel supply problem at the airport caused by a power issue, which led to flight delays on Sunday. “The engineers have now resolved the power issue which affected the fuel supply,” the airpo... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – Boeing Co has won a hard-fought contest to sell wide-body aircraft to Air New Zealand Ltd, beating a challenge from Europe’s Airbus, industry sources said on Monday. The carrier, which currently operates only Boeing wide-body jets on long-hau... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – A SpaceX launch already scrubbed once due to inclement weather was postponed again nearly 24 hours later on Thursday, this time for “about a week,” in order to update satellite software and “triple-check everything,” Elon Musk’... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX postponed a planned Wednesday night blastoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first 60 satellites for his new Starlink internet service, citing excessive winds over the Florida launch site. Launc... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX postponed its planned Wednesday night blastoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the first cluster of satellites for his new Starlink internet service, citing excessive winds over the Florida launch site. The mis... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration asked Congress on Monday to increase NASA spending next year by an extra $1.6 billion as a “down payment” to accommodate the accelerated goal of returning Americans to the surface of the moon by 2024. The increas... More »
SANTANDER, Spain (Reuters) – A Saudi ship, prevented by rights groups from loading an arms cargo at the French port of Le Havre on Friday, arrived at the Spanish port of Santander early on Monday. It was not clear what the Saudi ship was doing in Santander or ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos unveiled on Thursday a mockup of a lunar lander being built by his Blue Origin rocket company and touted his moon goals in a strategy aimed at capitalizing on the Trump administration’s renewed push to... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Forty-one people on board a Russian Aeroflot passenger plane were killed on Sunday, including two children, after the aircraft caught fire as it made a bumpy emergency landing at a Moscow airport, Russian investigators said. Television foota... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. trade officials rejected Tesla Inc’s bid for relief from President Donald Trump’s 25-percent tariffs on the Chinese-made Autopilot “brain” of its Model 3 and other electric vehicles, one of more than 1,000 product denials linked to ... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Nearly two weeks after a fiery explosion during a ground test of its new crew capsule, SpaceX confirmed on Thursday that the vehicle was destroyed, but neither the company nor NASA, its primary customer, have publicly acknowled... More »
(Reuters) – “It’s a challenge to describe that noise,” says Reuters senior photographer Mike Blake, after witnessing his first rocket launch. “It’s a sound of rippling energy. Reverberating, cracking. It’s something that stays with you.” Blake worked with Joe ... More »
BERLIN Reuters) – Facing tough competition from China, the United States and even tiny Luxembourg, Germany is racing to draft new laws and attract private investment to secure a slice of an emerging space market that could be worth $1 trillion a year by the 20... More »
LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case. But when t... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – A NASA safety panel said on Thursday that Saturday’s accident on a SpaceX astronaut capsule happened after eight engines were test fired, but offered scant details on what caused the mishap or the extent of the damage. NASA’s Aerospac... More »
(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX suffered an anomaly in one of its Crew Dragon capsules while conducting engine tests at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Saturday, the company said. “The initial tests completed successfully but the final test r... More »
JINCHANG, China (Reuters) – About 100 excited Chinese teenagers completed a five-hour tour of a space colony against a desolate backdrop not unlike the desert planet of Tatooine, the home world of Luke Skywalker. They were not on the set of Star Wars, but at a... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The aerospace company behind Israel’s failed first moonshot said on Saturday it would pursue a second mission with funds raised from private donors and the public. The robot craft Beresheet, built by non-profit SpaceIL and state-owned Isr... More »
YEHUD, Israel (Reuters) – Israeli spacecraft Beresheet crashed onto the moon on Thursday after a series of technical failures during its final descent, shattering hopes of a historic controlled landing on the lunar surface. The unmanned robotic lander suffered... More »
(Reuters) – The most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, launched its first commercial mission on Thursday from Florida in a key demonstration for billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company in the race to grasp lucrative mi... More »
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The preliminary report on the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash will very likely be released this week, Ethiopia’s transport ministry spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. “It will very, very likely be released this week but there could be... More »
SEATTLE/LONDON (Reuters) – A Boeing Co software fix for the grounded 737 MAX will prevent repeated operation of an anti-stall system at the center of safety concerns and deactivate it altogether if two sensors disagree widely, two people familiar with pilot br... More »
OTTAWA (Reuters) – As Boeing Co and global airlines work to restore public confidence in the 737 MAX after two deadly crashes, they will have a play book they can use. This is not the first time that Boeing has faced a crisis after launching a new plane with i... More »
SINGAPORE/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Boeing Co said it invited more than 200 global airline pilots, technical leaders and regulators for an information session on Wednesday as it looks to return the 737 MAX to commercial service. The meeting is a sign that Boeing... More »
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said on Monday the airline would work with investigators in Ethiopia, the United States and elsewhere “to figure out what went wrong with flight 302”. We will “work with Boeing and our colleagu... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co has delayed by at least three months its first uncrewed flight to the International Space Station under NASA’s human spaceflight program, and pushed its crewed flight until November, industry sources said on Wednesday. Reuters rep... More »
ADDIS ABABA/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that killed 157 people had “clear similarities” with October’s Lion Air crash, Ethiopia said on Sunday, shown by initial analysis of the black boxes recovered from the wreckage of the ... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. officials have not yet validated data from the black boxes of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed killing all 157 people on board, emphasizing the investigation remains in the very early stages, two officials briefed on the matter told Re... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jetliners, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the probe. The Transportation Department... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian-made Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Thursday, carrying three astronauts into space, two of whom survived a mid-air rocket failure in October. The Soyuz MS-12 took off at 1914 GMT, as planned, ... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Two astronauts who survived a dramatic launch mishap in October said on Wednesday they were confident this time about reaching the International Space Station, though they said a small fault had been discovered on their rocket during final c... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Toyota Motor Corp, one of the world’s largest automakers, and Japan’s space agency said on Tuesday they had agreed to cooperate in developing a manned lunar rover that runs on fuel cell technologies. Although Japan has no plan currently to ma... More »
BRASILIA (Reuters) – The United States and Brazil have negotiated an accord to safeguard U.S. space technology the South American nation hopes will be used in commercial rockets lifting off from its launch site near the equator, the Brazilian government said o... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Boeing said on Monday the investigation into the Ethiopian Airlines crash is in its early stages and there is no need to issue new guidance to operators of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft based on the information it has so far. “Safety is our numbe... More »
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s aviation regulator on Monday grounded nearly 100 Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 aircraft operated by its airlines, more than a quarter of the global fleet of the jets, after a deadly crash of one of the planes in Ethiopia. An Ethiopia... More »
DUBAI (Reuters) – Flydubai remains confident in the airworthiness of its Boeing 737 planes, an airline spokeswoman said on Monday, a day after an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crashed. Flydubai operates a fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft, including the MAX 8. China... More »
(Reuters) – Ethiopian Airlines has grounded its Boeing Co 737 MAX 8 fleet until further notice, the airline said on its Twitter account on Monday, a day after a crash killed all 157 people on board one of its planes of the same type. “Although we don’t yet kno... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s civil aviation regulator said on Monday that it has asked domestic airlines to suspend the commercial operations of all Boeing 737-8 planes by 6:00 p.m. local time (5.00 a.m. ET), a day after a deadly crash of a 737 MAX 8 by Ethiopi... More »
(Reuters) – Boeing Co said late Sunday it will postpone the planned ceremonial debut of its 777X widebody aircraft after Sunday’s crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane that left 157 dead. A Boeing spokesman said there was no delay to the 777X program. Boeing sa... More »
NAIROBI/ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet bound for Nairobi crashed minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board and raising questions about the safety of the Boeing 737 MAX 8, a new model that also crashed in Ind... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – An unmanned capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX splashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, successfully completing a mission crucial to NASA’s long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from U.S. soil later this year. After a... More »
(Reuters) – An unmanned capsule from Elon Musk’s SpaceX was due to return to earth on Friday after a short-term stay on the International Space Station, capping the first orbital test mission in NASA’s long-delayed quest to resume human space flight from U.S. ... More »
AVALON, Australia (Reuters) – Major global defense contractors want to sell Australia on cutting-edge technology such as high-altitude, solar-electric powered drones and optionally manned aircraft to keep an eye on the oceans. Airbus SE, Italy’s Leonardo SpA, ... More »
(Reuters) – British engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said on Sunday it had scaled back efforts to join a Turkish program to build a new fighter jet with Turkey’s Kale Group. Talks between Kale and Rolls-Royce ran into problems last year because of a dispu... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – A SpaceX rocket with an unmanned crew capsule blasted off on Saturday for the International Space Station, in a key milestone for Elon Musk’s space company and NASA’s long-delayed goal to resume human spaceflight from U.S. soil... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday is hosting major chief executives who joined a Trump administration advisory board on workforce issues. Last month, the White House said the chief executives of Apple Inc, Walmart Inc, IBM Corp, Lockheed Mart... More »
(Reuters) – The U.S. Air force said on Friday it had stopped accepting Boeing Co’s KC-46 tankers since Feb. 20 and is working with the company to resolve the issue of foreign object debris (FOD) that were found in the aircraft. “No aircraft have been accepted ... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Europe needs its own technology to guard against a growing threat to its satellites from space junk ranging from dead satellites to tiny particles, according to a top adviser to the European Space Agency (ESA). With the world increasingly re... More »
SEATTLE/PARIS (Reuters) – A rocket carrying six satellites built by Airbus SE and partner OneWeb blasted off from French Guiana on Wednesday, the first step in a plan to give millions of people in remote and rural areas high-speed internet beamed down from spa... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Looking for a quick way to stop North Korean missiles immediately after lift-off, the Pentagon is studying as a near-term option whether a group of F-35 fighter jets hovering around North Korean airspace could pick off freshly-launched r... More »
AVALON, Australia (Reuters) – Boeing Co has been shifting spare parts between its distribution centers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world in preparation for Brexit, an executive said on Tuesday. Britain’s potential exit from the European Union wi... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – NASA gave its final go-ahead on Friday to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to conduct its first unmanned test flight of a newly designed crew capsule to the International Space Station on March 2. The approva... More »
MOJAVE, Calif. (Reuters) – A Virgin Galactic rocket plane on Friday soared to the edge of space with a test passenger for the first time, nudging British billionaire Richard Branson’s company closer to its goal of suborbital flights for space tourists. Virgin ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – A Japanese space probe named after a falcon, Hayabusa 2, has touched down on an asteroid more than 300 million km (186 million miles) from Earth on a mission to seek clues about the origins of life, Japan’s space agency said on Friday. The sp... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel’s first lunar lander on a mission that if successful will make the Jewish state only the fourth nation to achieve a controlled touchdown on the... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida on Thursday night carrying Israel’s first lunar lander on a mission that if successful will make the Jewish state only the fourth nation to ever to achieve a controlled touchdow... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – NASA has warned SpaceX and Boeing Co of design and safety concerns for their competing astronaut launch systems, according to industry sources and a new government report, threatening the U.S. bid to revive its human spaceflight program lat... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Two astronauts who survived a midair rocket failure in October said on Thursday they had received counseling following their brush with death and felt ready to fly again next month. Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin and U.S. astronaut Nick H... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Israel’s first spacecraft designed to land on the moon is set to blastoff from Florida on Thursday in the first privately-funded lunar mission, as the Jewish state seeks to become only the fourth nation to reach the surface of ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are in Beijing this week as Chinese and American negotiators try to hammer out a trade deal to ease a trade war and avert an increase in U.S. tariffs ... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing’s 747 jumbo jet, an aircraft that democratized global air travel in the 1970s but fell behind modern twin-engine passenger jets, has bounced back from near death to mark its 50-year flying anniversary on Saturday, thanks to a cargo m... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, has signed a deal with Canada’s Telesat to launch part of a satellite constellation aimed at providing speedy internet access to governments and businesses globally, the companies said on Thurs... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The launch of a Russian Soyuz rocket set to carry satellites into space for U.S startup OneWeb has been delayed after an anomaly was discovered on the rocket, company chairman Greg Wyler said on Thursday. The rocket was set to take off next ... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A defect has been discovered on part of a Russian space rocket that is due to launch next month carrying satellites into orbit for U.S. startup OneWeb, two Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday. The Russian Soyuz is scheduled to blast ... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries on Tuesday said it has partnered with Germany’s OHB System for a European Space Agency moon mission, which includes developing a lunar lander. Work with the European agency will be managed by OHB, w... More »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Europe’s Arianespace is discounting the price of satellite launches with its Ariane 5 rockets as it competes against U.S. rival SpaceX for customers before the release of the cheaper Ariane 6 rocket next year, a senior executive said on W... More »
PARIS/BERLIN (Reuters) – France’s Dassault Aviation said on Monday it had received a contract from the French government to update the Rafale fighter jet as plans simultaneously gather speed for a longer-term project to build a Franco-German successor. The so-... More »
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – Boeing Co unveiled a speedier and higher-flying version of a concept plane on Tuesday aimed at sharply reducing fuel use thanks to its elongated ultra-light wings. The so-called Transonic Truss-Braced Wing aircraft boasts a 170-foot (52 m... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese space probe successfully touched down on the far side of the moon on Thursday, China’s space agency said, hailing the event as a historic first and a major achievement for the country’s space program. The Chang’e-4 lunar probe, la... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A Chinese space probe is moving into position to land on the dark side of the moon for the first time, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, a mission seen as an important step as the country looks to push forward its space p... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A third prototype of China’s home-built C919 narrowbody passenger jet completed its first test flight on Friday, its manufacturer said, in another step forward in the nation’s push to become a global civil aerospace player. The C919, which ... More »
(Reuters) – A SpaceX rocket carrying a U.S. military navigation satellite blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Sunday, marking the space transportation company’s first national security space mission for the United States. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Police have arrested a man and a woman after rogue drone operators crippled London’s Gatwick Airport for three days by repeatedly flying onto the airfield, sparking a major security response. Britain’s second-largest airport was back in oper... More »
(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX scrapped Saturday’s launch of a long-delayed navigation satellite for the U.S. military due to strong upper level winds. The next launch attempt will be on Sunday at 8:51 a.m. EST/ 13:51 UTC, according to Space X officials. The l... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States has agreed to help South Korea send flu medication to North Korea, a South Korean official said on Friday, after the United States said it would help deliver aid to the North despite stalled nuclear talks. North Korean leade... More »
(Reuters) – Thunderstorms forced Elon Musk’s SpaceX to postpone Thursday’s launch of a navigation satellite for the U.S. military, which was poised to be the rocket company’s first national security space mission for the United States. SpaceX said its Falcon 9... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Spacex said on Thursday that poor weather conditions forced the cancellation of a scheduled morning launch of its Falcon 9 rocket that was to carry a global positioning system (GPS) satellite into space for the U.S. Air Force. The company ... More »
