In the first week of September, the space industry will witness four orbital launches and a single sub-orbital crewed launch. SpaceX kicked off the week with its Starlink Group 6-12 mission, followed by two consecutive missions by China, the Ceres-1S and Chang Zheng 4C. Virgin Galactic will also launch its fourth crewed mission in four […]

After spending more than six months in space, the four crew members of the SpaceX Crew-6 mission are preparing to splashdown in the waters near Florida. The mission, which launched on March 2 and docked with the International Space Station (ISS) the following day, undocked on September 3 and is scheduled to return to Earth […]

In a significant milestone for European space exploration, the European Space Agency (ESA) successfully conducted a test of its all-new Ariane 6 launch vehicle on 1 September 2023. The test, which took place at the German aerospace agency DLR’s engine test centre in Lampoldshausen, Germany, involved firing the vehicle’s two upper stage engines to simulate […]

Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, is currently in production for the Artemis III and IV lunar landing missions. The company is also finalizing assembly of the Artemis II vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The goal of the Orion program is to deliver one spacecraft every year for future […]

India’s space program achieved another milestone with the launch of its first solar research mission, Aditya-L1, on Saturday. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the mission aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) XL rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. Aditya-L1 is dedicated to studying the Sun and will be the first […]

ESA’s Hera asteroid mission has arrived at the ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands, marking a significant milestone in the project. After being transported from its birthplace in Bremen, Germany, the van-sized spacecraft was placed inside an environmentally controlled container and left overnight in the airlock to allow for dust to settle and humidity to […]

Validation testing for ESA’s new Ariane 6 launch vehicle is well underway, with recent tests focusing on the upper stage engines. These tests involved firing the Vinci engine and a smaller Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), simulating their operation during a flight. The tests took place at the German Aerospace Center DLR’s engine test centre in […]

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for an exciting mission to study the Sun with its Aditya-L1 solar observatory. Set to launch on 2 September 2023, this mission will provide valuable scientific data as the spacecraft orbits in an unstable orbit. To ensure the success of this mission, ISRO has enlisted the support […]

SpaceX is gearing up for its second Integrated Flight Test (IFT) of the Starship. Booster 9, which completed its pre-flight testing, is waiting for its partner for the second launch. Ship 25 has already been tested previously, so only full stack testing and regulatory approval are pending for the second flight. Booster 9 initially had […]

In the vast expanse of space, astronauts face numerous challenges to their daily routines and biological rhythms. With the Huginn mission, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen aims to shed light on the effects of sleeping in space through two innovative experiments: Circadian Light and Sleep in Orbit. Circadian rhythm, our internal clock that influences our sleep-wake […]