space

Astronomers have found a probable second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, apparently formed from material expelled when the star died.

ESA and GomSpace launched the GOMX-5 8U CubeSat to test iodine electric propulsion, automated commissioning, maritime sensing and a 48-hour collision-readiness target that has not yet been publicly confirmed as achieved.

NASA’s Artemis III still targets a potential June 2027 launch, but the mission is now a low-Earth-orbit docking rehearsal linking Orion with SpaceX Starship and Blue Origin Blue Moon test landers.

Viasat is preparing its Maxwell satellite to demonstrate a commercial successor path to NASA’s TDRS relay network, testing persistent low-Earth-orbit communications as a service.

Redwire has won a follow-on Axiom Space contract for two more Roll-Out Solar Array wings, extending its role from Axiom Station’s first module to the second as commercial low-Earth-orbit infrastructure moves closer to launch.

NASA launched three SmallSat missions on Transporter-18 to test dual-mode propulsion, ultraviolet astronomy and autonomous inspection of inactive satellites.

NASA is developing a lunar 5G network with built-in Wi‑Fi 6 so future astronauts, rovers and instruments can communicate as a connected surface system.

NASA’s Dragonfly mission now has an official Titan landing-region name, Ahmakiq Undae, as engineers wire the rotorcraft for its 2028 launch.

Perseverance data show Jezero Crater’s Margin Unit was altered by at least three water episodes involving groundwater, an ancient lake and later hydrothermal fluids.

NASA has added Blue Origin’s New Glenn 9×4 to the NLS II launch-services catalog, making the super-heavy variant eligible to compete for future agency missions.

AstroForge’s Solo spacecraft intelligence will fly in shadow mode on DeepSpace-2 before Autonomy-1 attempts a 2027 mission with zero ground commands after separation.

Varda launched W-8 and W-9 together on SpaceX Transporter-18, its first dual-spacecraft launch and a step toward simultaneous fleet operations and routine commercial reentry.