A Shaky Step Forward for Starship Flight 9
The ninth flight test of SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy rocket took place on May 27, 2025, achieving a marginal improvement over the previous two missions. Although Ship 35 completed a successful ascent, fuel leaks and a loss of control in space prevented the spacecraft from completing most of its intended objectives.
Butch and Suni Return as Crew-10 Arrives on Station
NASA and SpaceX’s Crew-10 mission, a long duration mission to the International Space Station, lifted off successfully at 7:03 pm on March 15, putting on a spectacular show for members of the press and those along the East Coast.
Athena and IM-2 Lost After Landing
Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission came to an abrupt end after an unsuccessful landing attempt on March 6. Although the spacecraft reached the surface intact, Athena toppled over after touchdown, leaving its solar panels in shadow and unable to recharge its batteries.
Familiar Spectacle and Setbacks From Starship Flight 8
SpaceX launched Starship’s eighth integrated test flight on Thursday, March 6th, producing a remarkably similar showing to its seventh flight. Exactly seven weeks after that test was cut short by an upper stage failure, the system encountered another anomaly.
Blue Ghost Makes “Picture Perfect” Moon Landing
Firefly Aerospace scored their first successful Moon landing early Sunday morning. As their Blue Ghost lander touched down on the
Intuitive Machines Aims High for Second Moon Landing
Intuitive Machines has embarked on its second Moon landing attempt for NASA’s CLPS initiative with the launch of IM-2.
On Chasing Shadows: A New Exploration of Uranus
At the December 2024 annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU24), NASA provided updates on the status of NASA’s upcoming Uranus Flagship mission and the precursor projects that will enable it.
Blue Ghost and HAKUTO-R Take Flight
Two robotic moon landers shared a ride into space in the early morning of Wednesday, January 15th. Hours earlier, Blue Ghost, built by Firefly Aerospace in the United States, and HAKUTO-R, built by ispace of Japan, were comanifested in the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, stacked one on top of the other.
Starship Faces Complications after Flight 7 Anomaly
On January 16th, 2025 SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy launched on its seventh flight test, in what aimed to be a test of block upgrades of the Starship upper stage. While IFT-7 looked fairly similar to previous test flights during the first few minutes of ascent, problems quickly developed, ultimately resulting in the dramatic loss of the Starship vehicle over the Caribbean Sea.
New Glenn Earns Its Wings
At 2:04 AM local time on January 16th, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket rose from Launch Complex 36 at Space Canaveral Space Force Station for the first time. The launch of the 320-foot rocket represented the culmination of a decade and a half’s worth of development, and over a full year of assembly and testing.
NASA Chooses Nuclear Fission Power for Humans on Mars
NASA has made its first key architecture decision on the branching road to Mars: nuclear fission will power the first human missions on the Martian surface.
Blue Fire and Green Lights for New Glenn
The first integrated New Glenn launch vehicle has completed a hotfire test of its seven BE-4 main engines. The hot fire test was New Glenn’s final major pre-launch test campaign ahead of its debut mission – slated for very early 2025.
Astranis Aims to Breathe New Life into GEO
On December 29, 2024, a new breed of geostationary satellites took flight – powered into space by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. From One to Many, the first Astranis Block 2 mission, is the first operational deployment of the California based company’s MicroGEO fleet, with ultimate goal of providing connectivity across the globe.
NASA Set to Update Moon to Mars Architecture with ACR24
NASA is developing the latest version of its overarching vision for space exploration: the Moon to Mars Architecture. Amid an environment of questions about the Artemis Program, the agency’s year-long Strategic Analysis Cycle is drawing to a close this November with the 2024 Architecture Concept Review, called ACR24.
Starship Completes Flight 6, Aborts Tower Catch
SpaceX’s Starship-Super Heavy launch vehicle completed a sixth flight test on Tuesday, November 19th, capping off an eventful year for this unique development program.