Space Industry News: Headlines from Across the Industry

36,858 headlines. We show the headline and the publisher's own teaser; the full story is at the source.

JAXA’s Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia NASASpaceflight · 5 Dec 2020 Hayabusa2’s sample return capsule has landed in Woomera, Australia, today, 5 December — or 6 December local time at Woomera. The exact landing location is now being determined, but a tweet from the mission’s official acc...
Chinese mission accomplishes first-ever robotic docking in lunar orbit Spaceflight Now · 5 Dec 2020 The Chinese Chang’e 5 mission accomplished the first robotic docking between two spacecraft orbiting the moon Saturday, when a lunar ascent spacecraft linked up with an Earth return vehicle and transferred a container of...
Japanese asteroid sampling mission on course for return to Earth Spaceflight Now · 5 Dec 2020 Six years after departing Earth, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft released a spinning capsule Saturday containing pristine asteroid material for a scorching re-entry and landing in the remote Australian outback, where teams...
NASA considering commercial Mars data relay satellites SpaceNews · 5 Dec 2020 A constellation of commercial satellites could serve as a communications relay system for future NASA missions, such as an orbiter later this decade to search for subsurface ice there.
NASA is about to have double Dragons at its space station Ars Technica · 4 Dec 2020 Also, NASA has agreed to fly on a Falcon 9 that has already been used three times.
New Artemis 1 schedule uncertainty as NASA EGS ready to continue SLS Booster stacking NASASpaceflight · 4 Dec 2020 The NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is prepared to continue integration of the vehicle for the Artemis 1 lunar mission, but space agency and contractor management fo...
NASA Invites Media to Discuss Science Priorities for Artemis III Moon Landing NASA · 4 Dec 2020 NASA is hosting a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EST Monday, Dec. 7, to discuss the release of a report defining the agency’s science priorities for the Artemis III mission, which will launch the first woman and next man...
Chang’e-5 spacecraft prepare for historic lunar orbit rendezvous, sample relay SpaceNews · 4 Dec 2020 China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft will attempt a first-ever robotic rendezvous and docking in lunar orbit Saturday ahead of delivering lunar samples to Earth.
Virgin Galactic prepares for low-key first spaceflight from New Mexico SpaceNews · 4 Dec 2020 When Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo takes to the skies above New Mexico later this month, it will do so without the crowds and publicity once expected for the historic flight.
NASA Invites Media to Briefing on Next Test of SLS Rocket Core Stage NASA · 4 Dec 2020 NASA will host a media teleconference at 12 p.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 10, to discuss the next test in the Green Run testing series for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage that will fly on the agency’s Artemis...
Blue Origin continues work on BE-7 lunar lander engine SpaceNews · 4 Dec 2020 Blue Origin has achieved a new milestone in the development of the engine that will power the lunar lander it seeks to provide for NASA’s Artemis program.
Blue Origin's BE-7 Engine Testing Further Demonstrates Capability to Land on the Moon Blue Origin · 4 Dec 2020
Rocket Report: Billionaire backs Scottish spaceport, Relativity bags a bundle Ars Technica · 4 Dec 2020 "Fatigue fracture surfaces were confirmed in the apertural area."
NSF says it’s too early to decide whether to replace Arecibo SpaceNews · 4 Dec 2020 Two days after its dramatic collapse, National Science Foundation officials said it is too soon to determine whether the giant radio telescope at Arecibo Observatory will be, or should be, replaced.
Photos: Upgraded Dragon cargo capsule rolls out to pad 39A Spaceflight Now · 4 Dec 2020 Ready for a flight to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s first upgraded Dragon cargo capsule rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week in preparation for launch on top of a Falcon 9...
Space station to receive new commercial airlock from Nanoracks Spaceflight Now · 4 Dec 2020 A new privately-funded doorway is scheduled to head for the International Space Station this weekend in the trunk of a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule, adding to the research lab’s capacity for scientific experiments in anot...
Solid rocket stages and how they perform mission-precise orbit insertions NASASpaceflight · 3 Dec 2020 Most rocket launches culminate with liquid-fueled upper stage engines turning off at exactly the precise millisecond a host of parameters — such as flight path angle, orbital inclination, apogee, and perigee — are all me...
Soyuz rocket lifts off from Plesetsk with Russian relay satellites Spaceflight Now · 3 Dec 2020 Three Russian Gonets communications satellites launched late Wednesday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, riding a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage into orbit on the second successful Soyuz mission in less than 24 hours.
NASA Expands Informal Learning Institutions Engaging Next Generation of Explorers NASA · 3 Dec 2020 NASA’s Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) program has selected three additional informal education organizations to promote learning in STEM with the goal of inspiring the next generati...
NASA Selects Heliophysics Missions of Opportunity for Space Science Research and Technology Demonstration NASA · 3 Dec 2020 NASA has selected two SmallSat missions – a study of Earth’s outer most atmosphere and a solar sail spaceflight test mission – to share a ride to space in 2025 with the agency’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Prob...
SpaceX Falcon 9 fires up ahead of groundbreaking Cargo Dragon launch Teslarati · 3 Dec 2020
NASA Selects Companies to Collect Lunar Resources for Artemis Demonstrations NASA · 3 Dec 2020 NASA has selected four companies to collect space resources and transfer ownership to the agency: Lunar Outpost of Golden, Colorado; Masten Space Systems of Mojave, California; ispace Europe of Luxembourg; and ispace Jap...
Aevum unveils smallsat-launching drone aircraft SpaceNews · 3 Dec 2020 Small launch startup Aevum on Dec. 3 unveiled its Ravn X vehicle, a reusable drone aircraft and rocket combination designed to launch small payloads to orbit.
Meet Ravn X—a fully autonomous, air-launched rocket for small satellites Ars Technica · 3 Dec 2020 “Our aircraft is a first stage because it actually contributes delta V.”
Gaia's new data takes us to the Milky Way's anticentre and beyond ESA · 3 Dec 2020 The motion of stars in the outskirts of our galaxy hints at significant changes in the history of the Milky Way. This and other equally fascinating results come from a set of papers that demonstrate the quality of ESA's...
Republicans confirm Rogers as ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee SpaceNews · 3 Dec 2020 Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) on Dec. 3 was officially selected as the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee in the 117th Congress.
China’s Chang’e 5 sample return craft takes off from the moon Spaceflight Now · 3 Dec 2020 Wrapping up a busy two days on the lunar surface, a Chinese spacecraft carrying moon soil took off from a makeshift launch pad and fired back into orbit Thursday on the first leg of its journey back to Earth.
White House asks Congress to remove Europa Clipper SLS requirement SpaceNews · 3 Dec 2020 The White House is asking Congress to remove language from an appropriations bill that would direct NASA to launch the Europa Clipper mission on the Space Launch System as a long-running dispute on how to launch the miss...
(Update: Sunday) SpaceX’s high-altitude Starship launch debut slips to Monday Teslarati · 3 Dec 2020 Update #2: Per new Temporary Flight Restrictions, there’s now a chance that SpaceX has rescheduled Starship’s (now slightly less) high-altitude launch debut...
Hubble captures fading of the Stingray Nebula [heic2020] ESA · 3 Dec 2020 Astronomers have caught a rare glimpse of a rapidly fading shroud of gas around an aging star. Archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveal that the nebula Hen 3-1357, nicknamed the Stingray nebula, has...
NDAA negotiators reach agreement, bill headed for House and Senate votes SpaceNews · 3 Dec 2020 House and Senate negotiators on Dec. 3 released a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.
NASA selects four companies for lunar sample purchases SpaceNews · 3 Dec 2020 NASA has made awards to four companies worth exactly $25,001 to obtain lunar samples, part of an effort by the agency to establish a precedent for ownership and use of space resources.
Space Force planning a ‘disruptive’ acquisitions command SpaceNews · 2 Dec 2020 Gen. John Raymond said the Space Force is close to finalizing the layout of its future acquisitions command, a large organization that will consolidate multiple agencies that currently operate independently.
Soyuz 2’s 110th mission launches three civilian communication satellites NASASpaceflight · 2 Dec 2020 The Russian Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a mission to deliver three Gonets-M communications satellites into a 1,400 km near-polar orbit.
It’s happening: Starship may fly to 15km as early as Friday Ars Technica · 2 Dec 2020 For this test, Starship will ascend above nearly 90 percent of the atmosphere.
ESA signs contract for first space debris removal mission SpaceNews · 2 Dec 2020 The European Space Agency (ESA) has finalized an 86 million euro ($104 million) contract with Swiss start-up ClearSpace SA to complete the world's first space debris removal mission.
Senate committee advances NASA CFO nomination SpaceNews · 2 Dec 2020 The Senate Commerce Committee voted Dec. 2 to advance the nomination of Greg Autry to be NASA’s chief financial officer, a position that he would likely fill for no more than several weeks.
China releases a super-clear image of the Moon taken by Chang’e 5 probe Ars Technica · 2 Dec 2020 There’s also video showing the descent of the spacecraft.
Stratospheric ballooning company Space Perspective raises $7 million SpaceNews · 2 Dec 2020 Space Perspective, a startup planning to offer tourists trips to the edge of space in a high-altitude balloon, has raised $7 million in a seed round that will allow the company to test its technologies.
Space balloon company raises funds, will conduct first test flight next year Ars Technica · 2 Dec 2020 No ticket price has been revealed, but it likely will be on the order of $125,000.

Launch and satellite data: Jonathan McDowell's GCAT (CC BY 4.0) and CelesTrak. Rockets, spacecraft and agencies: Launch Library 2 by The Space Devs and Wikidata. News headlines link to their publishers via the Spaceflight News API and RSS feeds. Records come from several sources and are matched automatically, so treat the directory as a research aid, not an authority. How the data is built and checked.