The only way to create a sustainable program of exploring the moon and Mars with humans, beyond the initial flush of achievement, is by fully integrating science into our planning. We won’t be able to answer the important science questions without human missions, and we can’t fly the human missions without science support from the […]

The post Sending astronauts to the moon and Mars must be more than a photo op appeared first on SpaceNews.

EchoStar has abandoned its plans to create a direct-to-device satellite constellation in low Earth orbit, selling spectrum to SpaceX while canceling a brand-new contract with MDA Space.

The post EchoStar sells spectrum to SpaceX, cancels MDA satellite contract appeared first on SpaceNews.

Dmitry Poisik surveyed the room. “How many of you guys represent owner/operators?” he asked a crowd of a few dozen people attending a side session at the SmallSat 2025 Conference in Salt Lake City on Aug. 11. No one raised their hands. That didn’t seem to surprise Poisik, the program manager for the Office of […]

The post ‘The awkward, teenage phase’ of space sustainability appeared first on SpaceNews.

Only a bold satellite operator takes on SpaceX, especially in the nascent race to connect smartphones from space, where Starlink’s rapidly expanding broadband network is pushing for domination. But Lynk Global’s leaders see an opening for a nimble, capital-efficient contender in a sector that also includes AST SpaceMobile, which is now fully funded to deploy […]

The post Lynk Global CEO Ramu Pontarazu on life after SPAC appeared first on SpaceNews.

The FAA approved a significant increase in Falcon 9 launches from one Florida pad as it takes public input on plans for Starship launches from another.

The post FAA approves increase in Falcon 9 launches while studying Starship environmental impacts appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Blue Origin $1.3 million and Anduril $1 million under the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program

The post Blue Origin, Anduril win military ‘rocket cargo’ study contracts appeared first on SpaceNews.

China added a third trio of spacecraft to a group of remote sensing satellites Saturday, marking the country’s 52nd launch of the year.

The post China launches new set of Yaogan-40 satellites into polar orbit appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Pentagon on Sept. 5 announced a slate of senior leadership shifts, including new appointments to key command and planning posts.

The post Pentagon announces senior U.S. Space Force leadership changes appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA expects to spend up to $1.5 billion to support at least two companies to demonstrate crew-tended space stations as part of a revised approach to transition from the ISS.

The post NASA releases details on revised next phase of commercial space station development appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – Orbital Sidekick hyperspectral sensors revealed new information on damage sustained by Iran’s Fordow nuclear fuel enrichment plant after U.S. armed forces bombed the site in June. OSK’s Global Hyperspectral Observation Satellite (GHOSt) constellation exposed the outline of a rectangular subsurface structure, indicating “the potential collapse or damage of the underground facility,” according to […]

The post Orbital Sidekick hyperspectral imagery sheds light on damage caused to Iranian nuclear facility appeared first on SpaceNews.

China conducted a pair of launches sending an experimental spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit and three further satellites into polar orbits.

The post China launches experimental Shiyan-29 to GEO, commercial Ceres-1 carries 3 satellites appeared first on SpaceNews.

SAN FRANCISCO – GHGSat and ExxonMobil Corp. announced a partnership Sept. 5 to monitor and mitigate methane emissions for onshore operations in North America and Asia. Collaboration between GHGSat, a Canadian firm focused on greenhouse-gas monitoring, and the multinational oil and gas company began in 2020 with field trials to demonstrate space-based technology for methane […]

The post GHGSat to provide methane monitoring for ExxonMobil appeared first on SpaceNews.

A new space race is heating up across the pond — not to be the first to reach the moon, but to provide a credible and flexible legal framework capable of turbocharging the space sectors in the United Kingdom and Europe.  The intensity of this drive has increased over the summer of 2025. On June […]

The post A steady space? Bringing stellar legal certainty to space issues appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s acting administrator said he was “angry” after a predecessor told Congress the agency was behind China in sending astronauts to the moon.

The post Duffy pushes back against testimony that NASA is falling behind China in lunar exploration appeared first on SpaceNews.

During the 39th annual Small Satellite Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, in August, SpaceNews hosted a group of industry leaders on our Space Minds podcast to discuss the latest in smallsats and where this part of the industry is headed. These excerpts from our conversations, which have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity, […]

The post How the smallsat business is evolving: Excerpts from the Space Minds podcast appeared first on SpaceNews.

For years, satellite sensors have transmitted vast quantities of imagery to the ground, where analysts then discarded views obscured by clouds, identified natural features or objects and shared pictures with customers. The entire process took days. Recently, companies have cut the timeline to hours — or even less — through frequent contact with ground stations, […]

The post Earth observation firms are trying to solve a latency problem with ‘Dynamic Targeting’ appeared first on SpaceNews.

A Spanish startup is entering the emerging reentry vehicle market with plans to develop a reusable capsule offering frequent flights.

The post Orbital Paradigm readies first reentry mission appeared first on SpaceNews.

The new year-long program seeks to prepare military leaders for a “contested” space domain

The post Space Force graduates first class of officers trained for ‘great power competition’ appeared first on SpaceNews.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper has clinched its first airline deal, partnering with JetBlue to bring LEO connectivity to about 75 aircraft from 2027 in another blow to legacy geostationary players.

The post Project Kuiper scores first airline win as JetBlue picks LEO over GEO appeared first on SpaceNews.

In this week’s episode of Space Minds, host David Ariosto speaks with Riley Duren, CEO of Carbon Mapper and veteran of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The post Carbon Mapper and tracking super pollutants appeared first on SpaceNews.

2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards Nominations Are Due Sept. 12 We are thrilled to announce that nominations for the 2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards are now open. Established in 2017 as the […]

The post Honoring the Best in Space: 2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards Nominations Open appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA has named Amit Kshatriya as its new associate administrator in a move meant to emphasize the role of exploration at the agency.

The post NASA names exploration official as associate administrator appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Protected Tactical Satcom-Global (PTS-G) program marks the military’s first major attempt to deploy constellations of small satellites in the geostationary belt

The post Space Force to use small satellites for geostationary communications appeared first on SpaceNews.

Portland, Oregon-based AscendArc has sold its first small geostationary communications satellite to KT Sat, South Korea’s flagship operator.

The post AscendArc lands South Korea’s KT Sat as anchor small GEO customer appeared first on SpaceNews.