Space News

Arctic Melt Season Length Levels Off

While the sea ice melt season has lengthened dramatically in most of the satellite era, the trend unexpectedly stabilized around 2010.

LRO discovers large new lunar crater, finds interesting thermal emission phenomenon

Using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of scientists has discovered the largest, newly formed…

What’s Happening in Space Policy September 20-26, 2026

Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of September 20-26, 2026 and any insight we can offer about them. The Senate is in session this week. […]

APOD: 2026 September 20 – Analemma over the Callanish Stones

Russian Progress cargo ship arrives at International Space Station

The Progress M-25 docked at the space-facing port of Russia’s Poisk module at 9:44 a.m. EDT (1344 UTC) after a one-week delay.

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg

Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled during a window that opens at 6:47 p.m. PDT (9:47 p.m. EDT / 0147 UTC). It will be the 81st Starlink mission of the year.

DLR’s Suborbital MAPHEUS-17 Mission to Launch as Early as 1 October

The German aerospace agency DLR’s MAPHEUS-17 suborbital research mission is slated to launch from Sweden’s Esrange Space Center as early as 1 October. In a 16 September update, the agency confirmed that several key preflight tests had been completed and that final preparations for the mission were now underway. According to SSC Space, the MAPHEUS-17 […]

APOD: 2026 September 19 – A Zodiacal Night

ESA and The Pokémon Company International reveal Europe-wide exhibition and astronaut Pikachu experience

The European Space Agency (ESA) and The Pokémon Company International (TPCI) have launched an official collaboration to celebrate World Space Week 2026 from 4–10 October 2026.

China progresses plans for Mars sample return, asteroid flyby and more launch sites

As China integrates crewed and robotic missions to further its lunar exploration program, it is…

NASA Invites Media to Albania Artemis Accords Signing Ceremony

The Republic of Albania will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 12 p.m. EDT on Monday, Sept. 21, at NASA Headquarters in Washington, becoming the 73rd country signatory. NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson will host Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Ferit Hoxha and Ambassador of the Republic of Albania to the […]

NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion’s ‘Wind’

Using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star’s outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares. The research is part of NASA’s exploration of the extreme universe to better understand how the […]