BALTIMORE – Funding for space weather research and operations has grown in recent years.

WASHINGTON — The European Space Agency and European Commission have selected five launch companies to participate in a new program to provide flight opportunities for new technologies, a sign of a greater role the European Union seeks to play in launch.

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, has secured a contract with the U.S. Space Force for integration studies related to its New Glenn launch vehicle. The new agreement marks a significant step in Blue Origin’s potential participation in the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 program, a multi-billion dollar procurement of launch services for national security satellites.

As NASA’s newest X-plane, the X-59 is designed to break the sound barrier without the thunderous sonic booms that typically occur when aircraft go supersonic. Instead, the Quesst will make a much quieter “thump,” similar to the sound of a car door slamming as heard from indoors. If successful, the jet has the potential to revolutionize supersonic flight and aviation in general.

Nuclear fusion power was supposed to be a dream come true. As soon as we discovered that you could smash little atoms together to make bigger atoms and release a small amount of energy in the process, scientists around the world realized the implications of this new bit of physics knowledge. Some wanted to turn it into weapons, but others wanted to develop it into a clean, efficient, inexhaustible supply of electrical energy.

SpaceX has reported that the number of close encounters between its satellites and other orbital objects has not increased in the past six months despite the constellation’s growth. 

Clouds of dust and gas not far from our solar system are giving astronomers a rare glimpse into the earliest stages of planet formation.

WASHINGTON — SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says a propellant dump caused the destruction of the Starship upper stage on a November test flight, giving him confidence that the vehicle can reach orbit on its next launch.

WASHINGTON — Astrobotic says its Peregrine spacecraft, unable to land on the moon because of a propellant leak, will instead reenter the Earth’s atmosphere in the coming days.

United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new, long-awaited rocket is all set to lift off for the first time ever. But will the vehicle establish itself in a competitive launch market?

A historic private moon mission launches early on Monday (Jan. 8), and flying aboard will be five tiny robots developed in collaboration by a team of 250 university students in Mexico.

Archaeologists in China have unearthed a mysterious set of rectangular wooden pieces linked to an ancient astronomical calendar. The artifacts were discovered inside an exceptionally well-preserved 2,000-year-old tomb in the southwest of the country.

HELSINKI — India’s Aditya-L1 solar observatory has reached its destination orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 around 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — NASA has added milestones and funding to agreements with two companies working on commercial space station concepts using money from a third agreement that ended last year.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — The United Arab Emirates has agreed to develop an airlock module for the lunar Gateway, helping complete the design of the lunar space station while enhancing the UAE’s role in the Artemis lunar exploration effort.

WASHINGTON — As NASA prepares for the first launch of a commercial lunar lander carrying agency-sponsored payloads, it is trying to balance the science it can achieve with the challenges of landing on the moon and other emerging concerns.