A Long March 6A rocket lifts off from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, March 15, 2026, carrying the Yaogan-50 (02) satellite into orbit. Credit: CASC By Andrew Jones, Published by Space News, 4 September 2026 HELSINKI — A Chinese satellite launched into an unusual orbit early this year has suffered an
A concept for a later phase of NASA's proposed lunar base. Credit: NASA By Therese Jones, Published by Space News, 17 August 2026 Earlier this month, a discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage crashed into the lunar surface at 8,700 kilometers per hour. This was not a controlled landing. The
The SpaceX rocket expected to smash into the moon is seen lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 15 January 2025. Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA By Associated Press, Published by The Guardian, 31 July 2026 Scientists and sky gazers will watch intently as rocket’s upper stage slams into lunar surface on
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris burns up over Ingersleben, Germany on Feb. 19, 2025. (Image credit: Bennett Theile) By Selam Gebrekidan, Published by the New York Times, 31 July 2026 Flaming chunks of metal crash into homes, farms and parking lots. Who’s to blame? And who pays for the damage?
Notional depiction of space-based interception. Elements of this illustration were created in MidJourney, an artificial intelligence tool. Credit: THOR Design Studio By William J. Astore, Published by New Internationalist, 22 July 2026 As space becomes an increasingly vital arena for war, William J Astore tracks its increased militarization. ‘One point five trillion
This European Space Agency simulation shows the number of spacecraft currently orbiting the Earth, with many expected to either burn up in the atmosphere, or move to a distant 'graveyard orbit' when they reach end of life By the Editorial Team, Published by Space Daily, 21 July 2026 Donald Kessler's
Rebecca Evernden, director of the U.K. Space Agency, speaks at the Spacetide conference in Tokyo July 6. Credit: SpaceNews/Jeff Foust By Jeff Foust, Published by Space News, 14 July 2026 WASHINGTON — The British government is preparing to release a new space strategy that will provide a “whole-of-government” approach for
By Tereza Pultarova, Published by Space.com, 13 July 2026 "The debris in geosynchronous orbit is a potential minefield." Tiny pieces of space junk only 2 inches (5 centimeters) in size are cluttering a valuable orbital region where some of the costliest satellites reside, a new study has found. Researchers from
