Space News & Blog Articles

A plume of water vapor jetting from the south pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus stretches 20 times the size of the moon itself, feeding a vast torus around the ringed planet. Inset: Enceladus as imaged by the Cassini orbiter. Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and G. Villanueva (NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center). Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI)

Using the sensitivity of the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have managed to detect a vast plume of water vapor spewing from the southern pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a jet extending nearly 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) and feeding a previously detected torus circling the entire planet.

North Korea’s Chollima 1 rocket takes off from the Sohae Satellite Launching Station on May 31, local time. Credit: Korean Central News Agency

An attempt to place a small North Korean military spy satellite into orbit May 30 failed a few minutes after liftoff, five days after South Korea successfully launched the country’s homegrown Nuri rocket with several technology demonstration and scientific research spacecraft.

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule descends toward White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico to wrap up the unpiloted Orbital Flight Test 2 mission on May 25, 2022. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Boeing and NASA officials said Thursday the first launch of astronauts on Boeing’s delay-prone Starliner crew capsule won’t happen in July after engineers recently discovered a problem with the spacecraft’s parachute system and identified flammable tape around wiring harnesses inside the vehicle.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 11:02 p.m. PDT Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Credit: SpaceX

Another batch of 52 Starlink satellites launched late Tuesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, on the way to join SpaceX’s fleet of more than 4,000 spacecraft beaming broadband signals around the world.

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.

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.

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.

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.