Space News

President Trump Signs Executive Order to Create US Space Academy

To strengthen the nation’s space workforce and develop the next generation of space leaders, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order on Friday to establish the nation’s first U.S. Space Academy. The order highlights how space is a critical domain for American national security, economic growth, scientific discovery, and technological innovation. The proposed academy […]

Orbex’s Sutherland Spaceport Assets Sold to Scottish Development Agency

Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has acquired the assets of Sutherland Spaceport Ltd, an Orbex subsidiary that was established to develop a vertical launch site on the north coast of Scotland. In a 25 August announcement, HIE said it had acquired the assets from the company’s joint liquidators and would now review how the […]

Sophie Adenot's third spacewalk (U.S. Spacewalk 99)

ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot will take part in her third spacewalk during U.S. Spacewalk 99 on Tuesday 1 September. NASA live coverage will begin at 13:00 CEST, with the spacewalk expected to start at approximately 14:30 CEST and last around six and a half hours.

Watch Sophie Adenot’s third spacewalk live

After two successful spacewalks on 18 August (EVA-97) and 25 August (EVA-98), watch ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot venture into the vacuum of space for the third time on Tuesday 1 September, during EVA-99.

Week in images: 24-28 August 2026

Week in images: 24-28 August 2026

Ariane 6 launch with MTG-I2 – highlights

The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 (MTG-I2) satellite, has been launched on board an Ariane 6 launcher from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. Liftoff was on 27 August 2026 at 22:11 CEST (17:10 local time).

Rocket Report: Europe splashes some cash on launch startups; Pallas-1 nears debut

"From here on, Starlink missions out of Florida will fly on Starship."

Observing Samba and Tango’s reentries

The final two of ESA's pioneering Cluster spacecraft, Samba and Tango, will end their journeys as they burn up in our atmosphere on 31 August and 1 September respectively. Their targeted reentries mark the end of a mission that has transformed our understanding of Earth's magnetic environment. The final moments also offer a rare scientific opportunity for reentry observations from a plane.

A navigation odyssey

Homer’s The Odyssey chronicles Odysseus’s journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. A distance of approximately 530 km as the crow flies, yet it takes Odysseus ten years and countless adventures to arrive—without his crew or his boat. What could Odysseus’s journey have looked like if he had modern-day satellite navigation systems, such as Galileo, at his disposal?

APOD: 2026 August 28 – The Sky Turns Above Paranal

The Forested Floodplains of Congaree National Park

The meandering Congaree River sustains towering forest ecosystems and fashions oxbow lakes as it shifts across its floodplain.

MTG-I2 completes Europe’s latest weather trio

The second Meteosat Third Generation Imager satellite (MTG-I2) has been launched on board Ariane 6, flight VA270, from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. It will complete the first family of MTG satellites, delivering data for weather forecasting over Europe and northern Africa with unprecedented quality, quantity and frequency.