Space News & Blog Articles

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on the Starlink 2-10 mission with 52 Starlink internet satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

Live coverage of the undocking, re-entry, and splashdown of Axiom’s Ax-2 mission at the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.

A Long March 2F rocket climbs through the sky after lifting off from the Jiuquan launch base with the Shenzhou 16 astronauts. Credit: China Manned Space Agency

The launch of the next crew to China’s Tiangong space station late Monday (U.S. time) added three astronauts to the population of humans in space, which reached a record number of 17 people in orbit — six Chinese citizens, five Americans, three Russians, two Saudis, and one Emirati astronaut.

Chinese space officials announced the identities of the Shenzhou 16 crew members just one day before their launch to the Tiangong space station. From left to right: Payload specialist Gui Haichao, commander Jing Haipeng, and spaceflight engineer Zhu Yangzhu. Credit: China Manned Space Agency

The next three-man crew to live on China’s Tiangong space station will launch Monday night on a Long March rocket, heading for a half-year expedition on the orbiting outpost to replace an outgoing team of astronauts set to return to Earth this weekend.

Live coverage of China’s Shenzhou 16 mission, a planned six-month expedition to the Chinese space station. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Artist’s concept of ClearSpace’s spacecraft approaching a piece of space debris from a previous Vega rocket launch in 2013. Credit: ClearSpace

Swiss-based in-orbit servicing startup ClearSpace has contracted Arianespace to launch its first debris removal mission to capture and deorbit a 100-kilogram (220-pound) piece of space debris.



South Korea’s Danuri spacecraft captured this view of Tsiolkovskiy crater March 22 on the far side of the moon. Credit: Korea Aerospace Research Institute

Nearly halfway through its primary mission, South Korea’s first spacecraft to explore the moon has been collecting data and snapping pictures of lunar landscapes and craters since maneuvering into orbit late last year.

ULA stacked the first stage for the first Vulcan rocket test flight onto a mobile launch platform Jan. 25 inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance called off a test-firing of the company’s first flight-rated Vulcan Centaur rocket at Cape Canaveral Thursday to troubleshoot a problem with the booster’s engine ignition system.

Watch our live coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Arabsat’s Badr 8 communications satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The launch window opens at 11:25 p.m. EDT Friday, May 26 (0325 UTC Saturday, May 27). Follow us on Twitter.

Rocket Lab’s Electron launcher lifts off from Launch Complex 1B in New Zealand with NASA’s fifth and sixth TROPICS hurricane research satellites. Credit: Rocket Lab

The last two spacecraft in a four-satellite constellation of tropical cyclone research platforms took off late Thursday from New Zealand on a Rocket Lab Electron launcher, helping ensure NASA’s TROPICS mission is ready for observations in time for the peak of this year’s Atlantic hurricane season.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand with the final pair of NASA’s TROPICS hurricane research satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below. Follow us on Twitter.

Russia’s next Progress cargo freighter is set for launch Wednesday from Kazakhstan on a mission to carry more than 2.7 tons of fuel, food, experiments, and supplies to the International Space Station.





Watch our coverage of the countdown and launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 5:37 p.m. EDT (2137 UTC) on Sunday, May 21, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 will launch SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft with four commercial astronauts on the Ax-2 mission to the International Space Station. Follow us on Twitter.

STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION

Ax-2 mission commander Peggy Whitson, mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, pilot John Shoffner, and mission specialist Ali Alqarni train at the European Astronaut Center in Germany. Credit: Axiom Space / European Space Agency

The second fully commercial astronaut flight to the International Space Station will have just two opportunities to launch Sunday and Monday, or else wait until after an upcoming SpaceX resupply mission next month to deliver a new set of high-priority solar arrays to the complex.