Space Explored

NASA, SpaceX, and Axiom Space have decided to postpone the launch of the Axiom-4 crew to the International Space Station pending the completion of an investigation into a leak on the Russian side of the station. The news came after a single-day delay due to another leak, this time on a Falcon 9 booster, discovered before launch.

NASA has shared that it will be shutting down many of its social accounts in favor of a more streamlined strategy with fewer accounts. The move has stirred controversy, with some thinking the change will make finding engaging content easier, while others are concerned that some NASA information won’t get shared at all.

In two studies published this year, researchers have confirmed the discovery of previously unknown bacterial species aboard China’s Tiangong space station and within NASA’s high-sterility clean rooms. Though some of the sample collection dates back to earlier missions – most notably swabs taken aboard Tiangong in 2023 and NASA’s clean room linked to the 2007 Phoenix Mars lander – the timing of the publications is critical.

With Starship Flight 9 in the books, we now start the long road of getting Flight 10 cleared for launch. We’ve been here a few times in the past, so what should we be looking out for?

The US Space Force is not feeling warm feelings towards its longest partner, ULA, after years of delays with the company’s new Vulcan rocket. While the company struggles to get its launch cadence up, the Space Force has been moving its missions to SpaceX for quick and seamless launches.

In what is a shocking development, the White House will pull Jared Isaacman’s NASA Administrator nomination for unknown reasons ahead of its full Senate vote next week. This opens the door for another individual to step into the role that has been left vacant for over 100 days in one of the most troubling times in the agency’s existence.

We all love our Apple products, and so does NASA! While you may think the space industry is dominated by custom-built computers and PCs, well, it kind of still is. Apple’s products show up quite often in commercial and NASA-led missions. Here are five Apple products that have flown to space.

Last night, SpaceX launched its ninth Starship rocket from Starbase, Texas. While this time the rocket made it further than the previous two, it was far from perfect. So, was the mission successful or another straight-up failure?

Tomorrow SpaceX will attempt its next Starship suborbital flight test dubbed Starship Flight 9. The mission is once again a repeat of the previous two and plans to hopefully solve the problems that plagued Flight 7 and Flight 8 earlier this year.

On May 20, President Donald Trump formally announced the “Golden Dome,” a sweeping national missile defense initiative designed to shield the United States from the most advanced modern threats, including ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missiles. The system, drawing structural inspiration from Israel’s Iron Dome, would differ vastly in scale and scope, incorporating next-generation technologies across land, sea, and space to provide a comprehensive, multilayered defensive shield. 

Monday, SpaceX static fired its next Starship vehicle at a test stand in Starbase, Texas, for a third time. This time, SpaceX confirmed a successful static fire, making both stages now ready for Starship Flight 9. Could that be next week?

Update: Starship Flight 9: SpaceX gears up for launch week

Politico reports that the National Space Council may return under the second Trump Administration after it was believed dead, thanks to lobbyists from SpaceX. However, its scale and goals are unknown given the White House’s new focused mission on space exploration.

SpaceX showed off some new aerial footage of Ship 35, the next Starship segment that will fly to space, or at least attempt to, in SpaceX’s Starship program. We’re still waiting on concrete evidence of when Starship Flight 9 will fly, but some recent testing could give a hint.

iSpace will soon be making its next lunar landing attempt after its Hakuto-R lander took the long way to arrive at the Moon. The lander completed a major milestone this week by entering the Moon’s orbit after a long, multi-month trip.

This week, the FAA approved SpaceX‘s request to increase its Starship launch limit from Starbase from five launches to 25. A great step towards full operation, but will SpaceX even reach that goal this year?

Friday, President Trump released his “skinny” budget request for the U.S. Government’s Fiscal Year 2026; included for NASA is $18.8 billion in proposed funding. This is down 25% from what the agency received in FY2025. Here’s what programs are safe and in trouble.

After years of building up the local area, moving countless SpaceX employees, and employing thousands, SpaceX’s Starbase facility now resides in the city of Starbase, Texas. The incorporation became official after about 300 eligible voters voted yes to create the city, most of whom work for SpaceX.

Boosters, stacked. Core Stage, stacked. Launch Vehicle Stage Adaptor, stacked. NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team has now stacked Artemis 2’s upper stage. The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is SLS’s second stage. It will carry Artemis 2’s crew into high Earth orbit. Once finished, the stage will be jettisoned and used for a docking test with Orion. After this, Orion will fire its AJ-10 rocket engine. Sending it on a journey around the moon and back to Earth. The mission is presently set for February 2026.

Currently, there are four reusable spaceplanes either operational or under development around the world. However, the leaders in the industry have switched back to space capsules, so are spaceplanes back or not?

Apple TV’s For All Mankind original series portrayed an alternative timeline of our own: what if the Soviets made it to the Moon first? That simple question, with storytelling rooted in actual science, was supposed to have fun at a time that could have been, but might have actually precluded a real-world reality.

Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted to submit Jared Isaacman‘s nomination for NASA Administrator favorably to the full Senate. This is the final step before Isaacman can be confirmed as the new administrator.