Trump signs a memo to clear the regulatory path to three launches a day
Trump signs a memo to clear the regulatory path to three launches a day

The United States conducted 178 orbital launches and re-entries last year, but the White House now wants at least a thousand a year by 2030. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Thursday directing federal agencies to clear the path to that num…

This company’s plans to deploy space mirrors could jeopardize the night sky for many

A company that plans to beam sunlight from space to Earth on demand might unintentionally brighten the night sky for many more people than intended, according to a new study. Later this year, the US company Reflect Orbital plans to launch a test satellite called Eärendil-1 that will extend an 18-by-18-meter mirror in orbit. The…

NASA gives up on trying to rescue the Swift telescope
NASA gives up on trying to rescue the Swift telescope

Plans to rescue NASA’s Swift Observatory satellite from falling into Earth’s atmosphere are seemingly dead in the water. The agency and Katalyst Space announced yesterday that the Link spacecraft will no longer capture or boost the Swift telescope to a higher altitude due to an ongoing “attitude control issue,” but will instead conduct rendezvous and […]

Muon Space raises $250m from backers including Google and Salesforce
Muon Space raises $250m from backers including Google and Salesforce

Muon Space has raised $250m in a round backed by Google and Salesforce, according to their announcement. It is the largest cheque yet written to a company whose best-known product is a constellation that watches for wildfires. The rise had been visible…

China lands a rocket booster on the ground for the first time
China lands a rocket booster on the ground for the first time

The Chinese startup LandSpace recovered the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket on Wednesday. It is one of only a handful of private companies to land an orbital-class booster. Reuters reported that the feat places LandSpace alongside SpaceX and Blue Or…

The role of the astronaut is in flux
The role of the astronaut is in flux

When the four astronauts on board NASA’s Artemis II swung around the moon earlier this year, they set a new record for the farthest humans have ever ventured from Earth, surpassing the distance set by Apollo 13 in 1972 by some 4,000 miles.  While no space mission can live up to the historic touchdown of…

Black Hole Stars Are Apparently Real and Help Explain a Long-Standing Mystery

Astronomers may have discovered a bizarre new type of star with a black hole at its center.

Life on Mars? It Remains a Tantalizing Topic for Scientific Study

Earth’s neighbor still has secrets that science is trying to figure out, and one of them is potential signs of life.

Job titles of the future: Space travel agent
Job titles of the future: Space travel agent

Roman Chiporukha has long turned wild travel dreams into reality. Over two decades as co-owner of the luxury lifestyle firm Roman & Erica, he has orchestrated everything from the construction of a client’s superyacht to vacations in the Bahamas at a location so private that guests must sign an NDA.  The experiences earned him “the…