Space News

APOD: 2026 August 13 – Total Solar Eclipse Over Spain

Cascade Volcanoes Shrouded in Smoke

From the International Space Station, astronauts photographed Mount Hood and Mount Rainier as wildfire smoke spread across the Pacific Northwest in summer 2026.

Virgin Galactic delays resumption of commercial flights to 2027

Virgin Galactic says it will not start commercial flights of its new suborbital spaceplane until early 2027, a delay of a few months.

Space Force orders two more Impulse Space vehicles for maneuvering demonstrations

A $28 million contract expansion adds Victus Salo 2 and 3 to an earlier award for responsive-space missions

Pentagon missile buildup changing the factory floor

Startups are bringing software, robotics and manufacturing methods developed around commercial space into a defense industry under pressure to produce weapons faster

Space Command identifies capabilities it needs for the next space war

Gen. Stephen Whiting said there is a demand for offensive capabilities and called on the industry to develop ways to disable the critical nodes of large satellite constellations

Mike Fincke, a 30-year astronaut with experience across four spacecraft, retires from NASA

Mike Fincke trained on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner side of the Commercial Crew Program from January 2019 until his reassignment to the SpaceX Crew-11 mission. His fourth and final mission to the International Space Station launched on Aug. 1, 2025.

NASA Data Helps Commercial Space Plan Living Off Our Moon

The barren lunar landscape has some important resources, such as water and minerals like iron and titanium, but extracting and processing them will require special equipment. Where those resources can be found will dictate where to land and how to mine them. To help with that, Lunar Station Corp. is using a wealth of NASA […]

2026 Total Solar Eclipse in Spain

A total solar eclipse is seen from San Millán de los Caballeros, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. A total solar eclipse – the Moon passing between the Sun and Earth, completely blocking the face of the Sun – swept across parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, the Atlantic Ocean, Spain, and a small corner of […]

Amid failure, Wenchang celebrates milestone as China launches AI satellites and prepares for lunar south pole mission

China’s Wenchang Space Launch Site reached its milestone 50th launch at the end of July,…

NASA Upgrades Vertical Motion Simulator for Modern Mission Needs

Imagine stepping into a machine that can make you feel like you’re flying a spacecraft, piloting a next generation air taxi, or landing on the Moon, all without leaving the ground. NASA’s Vertical Motion Simulator, the largest of its kind in the world, does exactly that. And now, with new upgrades, it’s more powerful and […]

NASA Astronaut Mike Fincke Leaves NASA, Career Includes 4 Spaceflights

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke is departing the agency on Wednesday after 30 years of service. Throughout his career, he flew four missions, spent 549 days in space, and completed nine spacewalks in support of the International Space Station. “Few people have had the opportunity to shape as many chapters of NASA’s history as Mike Fincke,” […]