Heads up, future space travelers: No more commercial astronaut wings will be awarded from the Federal Aviation Administration after this year. The FAA said Friday it’s clipping its astronaut wings because too many people are now launching into space and it’s getting out of the astronaut designation business entirely. The news comes one day ahead Read more about FAA: No more commercial astronaut wings, too many launching. You still get to be on a list.[…]

Astrophysicists believe the heliosphere protects the planets within our solar system from powerful radiation emanating from supernovas, the final explosions of dying stars throughout the universe. They believe the heliosphere extends far beyond our solar system, but despite the massive buffer against cosmic radiation that the heliosphere provides Earth’s life-forms, no one really knows the Read more about Studying our solar system’s protective bubble[…]

The ranks of orbit-capable spaceflight companies just grew ever so slightly. TechCrunch reports Astra has reached orbit for the first time when its Rocket 3 booster launched shortly after 1AM Eastern today (November 20th). The startup put a mass simulator into a 310-mile-high orbit as part of a demonstration for the US Air Force’s Rapid Read more about Launch startup Astra reaches orbit for the first time[…]

[…] South Australian company Neumann Space has developed an “in-space electric propulsion system” that can be used in low Earth orbit to extend the missions of spacecraft, move satellites, or de-orbit them. Now Neumann is working on a plan with three other companies to turn space junk into fuel for that propulsion system. Japanese start-up Read more about ‘Gas station in space’: new plan to make rocket fuel from junk in Earth’s orbit[…]

In a test of its missile technology, Russia destroyed an old space satellite on Monday, littering Earth’s orbit with fragments and forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to temporarily take shelter. The cloud of debris was generated when Cosmos 1408, a 2,200-kg defunct signals intelligence satellite launched in 1982, was blown up by a Read more about ISS crew shelters from debris after Russia blows up old sat – US angry[…]

A U.S. space launch start-up has, for the first time, demonstrated a kinetic-based system that’s intended one day to put small spacecraft into orbit. The SpinLaunch concept, which feels ripped right from the classic age of science fiction, is based around a vacuum-sealed centrifuge that spins an unpowered projectile at several times the speed of Read more about Space Launch Start-Up Spinlaunch Just Used A Giant Centrifuge To Fling A Projectile Into The Upper Atmosphere[…]

this report from the New York Times about a “particularly unusual” star about 150 light-years away that’s orbited by three planets: What’s unusual is the inclinations of the outer two planets, HD 3167 c and d. Whereas in our solar system all the planets orbit in the same flat plane around the sun, these two Read more about Star System With Right-Angled Planets Surprises Astronomers[…]

The astronauts who will depart the International Space Station on Sunday will be stuck using diapers on the way home because of their capsule’s broken toilet. NASA astronaut Megan McArthur described the situation Friday as “suboptimal” but manageable. She and her three crewmates will spend 20 hours in their SpaceX capsule, from the time the Read more about No toilet for returning SpaceX crew, stuck using diapers – had just eaten chilli and tacos[…]

Chinese astronauts began Saturday their six-month mission on China’s first permanent space station, after successfully docking aboard their spacecraft. The astronauts, two men and a woman, were seen floating around the module before speaking via a live-streamed video. […] The space travelers’ Shenzhou-13 spacecraft was launched by a Long March-2F rocket at 12:23 a.m. Saturday Read more about New crew docks at China’s first permanent space station[…]

New Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules say astronaut hopefuls must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety. That means Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson may not yet be astronauts in the eyes of the US government. These are the first changes since the FAA wings programme began in Read more about FAA changes definition of “Astronaut” on day Bezos flies to space[…]

The rocket ship launched the 70-year-old and his crew from Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert. Tropical storms had delayed the launch before setting off at around 3.30pm. Branson – known as ‘Astronaut 001’ – soared into space in his blue spacesuit aboard Virgin Space Ship Unity, a 62ft rocket-powered space plane nestled between Read more about Richard Branson becomes first billionaire in space[…]

Virgin Orbit had a successful first commercial launch, meaning there’s now officially another small satellite launch provider in operation with a track record of delivering payloads to space. Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket took off from its carrier aircraft at around 11:45 AM EDT today, and the spacecraft had a successful series of engine fires and Read more about Virgin Orbit successfully launches its first commercial payloads to space[…]

China has launched three astronauts into orbit to begin occupation of the country’s new space station. The three men – Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo – are to spend three months aboard the Tianhe module some 380km (236 miles) above the Earth. It will be China’s longest crewed space mission to date and Read more about China has an inhabited space station: Shenzhou-12 delivers first crew to Tianhe module[…]

[..] To promote space resilience and operational effectiveness, the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to announce that we have teamed up with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) Space Programme to launch the Space to Innovate Campaign. […] The first challenge drop, called the “Alpha challenge drop” in the Space to Innovate Read more about Finding next-gen space tech: DASA launches the Space to Innovate Campaign[…]

The inevitable has occurred. A piece of space debris too small to be tracked has hit and damaged part of the International Space Station – namely, the Canadarm2 robotic arm. The instrument is still operational, but the object punctured the thermal blanket and damaged the boom beneath. It’s a sobering reminder that the low-Earth orbit’s Read more about Space Debris Has Hit And Damaged The International Space Station[…]

Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane, carrying two pilots, soared into the upper atmosphere on its third mission to reach space Saturday morning. The success cues up Virgin Galactic to begin launching paying customers within the next year as the company works to finish its testing campaign at its new headquarters in New Mexico. Spaceplane VSS Unity Read more about Virgin Galactic 3rd test flight to space successful[…]

The Tianwen-1 mission, China’s first interplanetary endeavor, reached the surface of the Red Planet Friday (May 14) at approximately 7:11 p.m. EDT (2311 GMT), though Chinese space officials have not yet confirmed the exact time and location of touchdown. Tianwen-1 (which translates to “Heavenly Questions”) arrived in Mars’ orbit in February after launching to the Read more about China’s 1st Mars rover ‘Zhurong’ lands on the Red Planet | Space[…]

OSIRIS-REx, a NASA spacecraft tasked with collecting rocks and dust from a nearby asteroid named Bennu, is coming back home after almost five years away. The spacecraft, officially named Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer, officially fired its engines to begin its Earthward journey on May 10. Its return trip will take two Read more about NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Is Racing Back to Earth With a Scoop of Asteroid Bennu[…]

China today launched the main module of its new space station into low Earth orbit. The ambitious project is set to be China’s answer to the International Space Station, which has never included China in its membership. The 55-foot core module is called Tianhe, or Harmony of the Heavens. It blasted off from the Wenchang Read more about China’s Space Station Is Closer to Reality With Launch of Core Module[…]

Humans have explored and exploited near-earth space for more than six decades. More recently, the past two decades have seen the start of a New Space Era, characterized by more spacefaring nations and companies and a growing risk of collisions and conflict. Yet the basic treaties and mechanisms that were crafted 50 years ago to Read more about Responsible Space Behavior for the New Space Era: Preserving the Province of Humanity[…]

A band of dust that follows Venus along its entire orbital path has finally been viewed in full, thanks to a series of fortuitous maneuvers involving NASA’s Parker Solar Probe. Astronomers suspected it was there, but now we know it’s real: a band of particles distributed along Venus’s orbital path around the Sun. […] A Read more about Parker Solar Probe Captures View of Venus’s Orbital Dust Ring[…]

Stuff in Space is a realtime 3D map of objects in Earth orbit, visualized using WebGL. The website updates daily with orbit data from Space-Track.org and uses the excellent satellite.js Javascript library to calculate satellite positions. About the author Contact: info@stuffin.space See Stuff in Space on GitHub Source: Stuff in Space

In recent days, NASA published three aerial photos taken by Ingenuity. These aren’t the first photos taken by the rover. It has previously sent back images of its shadows taken with its downward-facing navigation camera. And let’s not forget its watchful and proud surrogate parent, the Perseverance rover, which snaps magnificent photos of the helicopter Read more about These Are Ingenuity’s First Color In-Flight Photos of Mars[…]