BENGALURU/MUMBAI (Reuters) – India lost contact with a spacecraft it was trying to land on the moon on Saturday, its space agency said, in a setback for the nation’s ambitious plans to become the first country to probe the unexplored lunar south pole. The land... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As Hurricane Dorian advances on a course likely to slam the Florida peninsula within days, U.S. space agencies and aerospace companies are sheltering millions of dollars in hardware and assets along the Space Coast. Dorian, expected to s... More »
(Reuters) – An Iranian rocket exploded on its launch pad at Imam Khomeini Space Center in northern Iran before its scheduled launch on Thursday, an Iranian official said. The launch was due to have taken place despite U.S. warnings to Iran that it should avoid... More »
(Reuters) – SpaceX test-launched an early prototype of the company’s Mars rocket on Tuesday, unnerving residents near the Texas site and clearing another key hurdle in billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s interplanetary ambitions. After the launch, Musk congra... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a humanoid robot docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, TASS news agency reported, citing a live broadcast. The FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) robot is on a... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying a humanoid robot failed to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported, citing a live broadcast. The FEDOR (Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research)... More »
HOUSTON (Reuters) – A crew of veteran U.S. astronauts and aviators are training in Houston for a manned mission to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft, which could also be used to take tourists into space on future missions... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian humanoid robot was making its way on Thursday to the International Space Station after blasting off on a two-week mission to support the crew and test his skills. Known as FEDOR, which stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Ob... More »
(Reuters) – Direct observations from a NASA space telescope have for the first time revealed the atmospheric void of a rocky, Earth-sized world beyond our own solar system orbiting the most common type of star in the galaxy, according to a study released on Mo... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The first American spacecraft expected to land on the moon in nearly 50 years will be an unmanned robotic lander built by closely held Astrobotic Technology Inc and launched in two years by United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, the compan... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese government space agency successfully launched on Saturday its first rocket meant for commercial use, state television CCTV reported, as firms in the country compete to join a commercial satellite boom. Smart Dragon-1 rocket, which... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on Friday said Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will anchor the U.S. space agency’s program to build a spacecraft to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024, a boon for the state and a disappoint... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The head of NASA is set to announce plans on Friday to name the U.S. space agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama as headquarters for its human lunar lander program, signaling progress in its drive to put astronauts back on the... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, may have been smacked head-on by an embryonic planet 10 times Earth’s mass not long after being formed, a monumental crash with apparent lasting effects on the Jovian core, scientists said on T... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese startup LinkSpace on Saturday completed its third test of a reusable rocket in five months, stepping up the pace in China’s race to develop a technology key to cheap space launches in an expected global boom in satellite deployment.... More »
(Reuters) – United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp, blasted off into space on Thursday morning, one of the final satellites for the U.S. Air Force’s new secure communications network. The satellite was launched at 6:... More »
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Space Communication said on Wednesday its Amos-17 communications satellite was launched into space and was enroute to its orbital position after separating from its SpaceX rocket. The Israeli satellite operator is counting on Amos-17, whi... More »
(Reuters) – Small-satellite launch firm Rocket Lab announced on Tuesday a plan to recover the core booster of its Electron rocket using a helicopter, a bold cost-saving concept that, if successful, would make it the second company after Elon Musk’s SpaceX to r... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expanding its facilities in Florida to make room for the space company’s forthcoming super heavy-lift launch vehicle dubbed Starship, according to a draft of the plans seen by Reuters on Friday. Starship, a 384-f... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Astronomers have created the most precise map to date of the Milky Way by tracking thousands of big pulsating stars spread throughout the galaxy, demonstrating that its disk of myriad stars is not flat but dramatically warped and twisted... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A Chinese government space agency is expected to launch its first rocket meant for commercial use in August, putting pressure on other domestic rocket firms to develop their own launch vehicles ahead of an expected commercial satellite boom... More »
(Reuters) – A small crowd-funded satellite promoted by TV host and science educator Bill Nye has been propelled into a higher orbit using only the force of sunlight blowing against its sail in space, a novel propulsion developers say could “democratize” spacef... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – Beijing-based startup iSpace is planning up to eight commercial rocket launches next year, after last week becoming China’s first privately funded firm to put a satellite into orbit, its executives told Reuters. iSpace’s success has turned ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Observations of light coming from a star zipping in orbit around the humongous black hole at the center of our galaxy have provided fresh evidence backing Albert Einstein’s 1915 theory of general relativity, astronomers said on Thursday.... More »
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistan said on Thursday it aims to send its first astronaut into space by 2022 and will begin selecting candidates next year. Neighbour and long-time rival India put its first astronaut into space in 1984 as part of a Soviet-led mission... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – A rocket developed by iSpace put satellites into orbit after a launch from a state facility in northwestern China on Thursday, marking the first successful orbital launch by a privately funded Chinese firm. iSpace’s Hyperbola-1 rocket blast... More »
SRIHARIKOTA/BENGALURU, India (Reuters) – India launched a rocket into space on Monday in an attempt to safely land a rover on the moon, its most ambitious mission yet in the effort to establish itself as a low-cost space power. If successful, the $146 million ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Milky Way, home to our sun and billions of other stars, merged with another smaller galaxy in a colossal cosmic collision roughly 10 billion years ago, scientists said on Monday based on data from the Gaia space observatory. The unio... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – Capping a week of celebrations over the historic Apollo 11 mission, Vice President Mike Pence joined astronaut Buzz Aldrin on Saturday at the launch pad in Florida that sent the moonwalker and his two crew mates to space for hu... More »
BOULDER, Colo. (Reuters) – As the United States races to put humans back on the moon for the first time in 50 years, a NASA-funded lab in Colorado aims to send robots there to deploy telescopes that will look far into our galaxy, remotely operated by orbiting ... More »
(Reuters) – As countries and companies rush to build infrastructure on the moon, some researchers are planning to dig under its rocky soil to unlock mysteries about Earth that have eluded scientists since astronauts first stepped foot on its surface a half cen... More »
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India’s space agency said it delayed the launch of its second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, in the early hours of Monday due to a “technical snag” which was observed less than an hour before the scheduled liftoff. “A technical snag was ob... More »
SEATTLE (Reuters) – Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit on Wednesday released a rocket from the wing of a modified Boeing 747 jetliner in mid-air in a key test of its high-altitude launch system for satellites, the company said. In the penultimate mission before Vi... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – As NASA scrambles to meet U.S. President Donald Trump’s mandate to return humans to the moon by 2024, two longtime heads of NASA’s human exploration wing were demoted Wednesday in a slew of administrative shakeups, officials said in a... More »
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) – An unmanned full-scale NASA crew capsule blasted off from a Florida launchpad on Tuesday in a successful test of the spacecraft’s abort thrusters, an astronaut safety device that will be key as the agency works to return humans... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After investigating the nature of a mysterious and apparently cigar-shaped object called ‘Oumuamua spotted in 2017 speeding through our solar system, astronomers remain uncertain over how to classify it, but are confident it is not an al... More »
(Reuters) – A one-time NASA intern who bought a truckload of videotapes to resell them may end up a millionaire next month when Sotheby’s auctions what it says is the only surviving original recording of man’s first steps on the moon 50 years ago. In the years... More »
(Reuters) – NASA plans to send a drone named Dragonfly to Saturn’s biggest moon, Titan, the agency said Thursday, announcing the space agency’s latest high-profile mission to explore the solar system for clues on humanity’s origins. “Today I am proud to announ... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – From companies building palm-sized satellites to those aiming to propel satellites into space using cleaner fuels, a new wave of space technology startups are mushrooming in India, catching the attention of investors keen to join the space r... More »
VIENNA (Reuters) – European and U.N. bodies on Thursday outlined a joint push for global action on space junk, saying that debris orbiting the earth must be cleaned up as satellites launched by private companies and other new entrants are adding to the crowdin... More »
(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) – 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 »
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India will look to create its own space station following the completion of the country’s first manned mission into space in 2022, its space agency chief said on Thursday. The space station, where astronauts can stay for 15 to 20 days, wo... 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 »
(Reuters) – Relativity Space, a venture-backed rocket maker, said on Tuesday it will lease space from NASA in Mississippi, where its gigantic 3D printers will produce low-cost rockets to be used to launch small-payload satellites into orbit. The lease, for 220... 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 »
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 »
(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 »
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 »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The moon may be dynamic and tectonically active like Earth – not the inert world some scientists had believed it to be – based on a new analysis disclosed on Monday of quakes measured by seismometers in operation on the moon from 1969 an... 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 »
(Reuters) – The detailed manual used by U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to land on the moon in 1969 is going up for auction in July and could fetch up to $9 million, New York auctioneers Christie’s said on Wednesday. The 44-page ring-bound Apoll... 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 »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists on Monday provided the most comprehensive look to date at one of the solar system’s most exotic features: prime lakeside property in the northern polar region of Saturn’s moon Titan – if you like lakes made of stuff like liqui... 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 »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Using a global network of telescopes to see “the unseeable,” an international scientific team on Wednesday announced a milestone in astrophysics – the first-ever photo of a black hole – in an achievement that validated a pillar of scienc... 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 »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Scientists are expected to unveil on Wednesday the first-ever photograph of a black hole, a breakthrough in astrophysics providing insight into celestial monsters with gravitational fields so intense no matter or light can escape. The U.... 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 »
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 »
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 »
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) – Russia, a leading producer of natural resources, plans to join Luxembourg in mining for minerals in outer space, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Wednesday. Space mining has been the realm of science fiction, but a ... 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
(Reuters) – After studying a space rock some 4 billion miles (6.4 billion km) from Earth, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft set off on a new hunt for moons in the solar system’s most distant edge, searching for clues on our solar family’s creation, scientists sai... More »
(Reuters) – NASA’s New Horizons explorer successfully “phoned home” on Tuesday after a journey to the most distant world ever explored by humankind, a frozen rock at the edge of the solar system that scientists hope will uncover secrets to its creation. The nu... More »
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) – A NASA explorer is believed to have reached the solar system’s outermost region early Tuesday morning, flying close to a space rock 20 miles long and billions of miles from Earth on a mission to gather clues about the creation of the ... More »
