On May 28, China launched Tianwen-2, a robotic mission that aims to land on a tumbling near-Earth asteroid barely the size of a conference room, extract samples and send them […]

The post China eyes the moon, Mars and space dominance appeared first on SpaceNews.

U.S. Space Force looks to private-sector capabilities to track and interpret China’s spacecraft moves.

The post China’s orbital maneuvers blur the line between peaceful and provocative appeared first on SpaceNews.

When Canadian and European Space Agency leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together in June, leaders focused their public remarks primarily on shared exploration goals and decades of fruitful partnership. […]

The post A new approach to space diplomacy: Hard-hitting calculations outweigh foreign-policy considerations appeared first on SpaceNews.

Events in the Middle East continue to grab headlines, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine stays there as well. What gets less attention but may prove to be just as impactful […]

The post China is practicing orbital warfare to win in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Despite its inclusion in the official French name — le Salon International de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace — the Paris Air Show traditionally has not highlighted space in its panels […]

The post Cooperation and consolidation: reshaping Europe’s space industry to last appeared first on SpaceNews.

When reporters revisit President John F. Kennedy’s address to a joint session of Congress in 1961, it is often framed as a bold moment of promises made — and ultimately […]

The post A reinvigorated push for nuclear power in space appeared first on SpaceNews.

Africa is seeking a greater role in the global space economy following the official inauguration of the African Space Agency (AfSA) April 20. The ceremony marked the culmination of a […]

The post Africa’s new space agency presents a unified space front appeared first on SpaceNews.

It’s one thing to talk about commercial geospatial intelligence and another to see it.At the 2025 GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis last month, companies displayed their latest imagery and discussed […]

The post Geospatial intelligence companies highlight Earth observation images appeared first on SpaceNews.

The Pentagon’s long war with its own procurement bureaucracy is entering a new phase. The Trump administration has directed an overhaul of defense acquisition by accelerating modernization and embracing commercial […]

The post Trump’s push for procurement reform faces familiar hurdles appeared first on SpaceNews.

The move reflects the democratization of space-based Earth observation technology as well as broader geopolitical realignments.

The post U.S. satellite firms look abroad as foreign nations seek ‘sovereign’ eyes in the sky appeared first on SpaceNews.

Since the start of the second Trump administration, NASA’s formal advisory committees have largely been suspended. While the congressionally mandated Aerospace Safety Advisory Committee has continued its work, the NASA […]

The post How NASA advisory committees are navigating a new political landscape appeared first on SpaceNews.

When the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released its top-level budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 on May 2, NASA and the space industry feared the worst. […]

The post NASA’s budget crisis presents an opportunity for change appeared first on SpaceNews.

SpaceX’s ascent from commercial launch provider to indispensable national security asset marks one of the most significant shifts in America’s defense industrial base in decades. As Elon Musk’s company extends […]

The post Beyond launch: SpaceX’s expanding role in U.S. defense appeared first on SpaceNews.

Companies and organizations can spend years developing experiments and other payloads for a space mission. Those payloads are then subjected to risks beyond the control of their owners. A launch […]

The post How IM-2 payload operators made the most of the mission’s landing issues appeared first on SpaceNews.

A new generation of space companies is thinking bigger. From kilometers-wide orbital data centers to solar power stations requiring even larger structures in space, some of the most ambitious space […]

The post Big ideas need big rockets appeared first on SpaceNews.

When imagery from the Worldview Legion satellites revealed fabric over a large object near a dry dock in North Korea in September, satellite operator Maxar Intelligence knew they needed help. […]

The post How Earth observation satellite operators are teaming up to tip and cue one another appeared first on SpaceNews.

For decades, geostationary orbit (GEO) was the undisputed home of satellite communications. From television broadcasts to internet backhaul and voice services, GEO satellites formed the backbone of global connectivity, delivering […]

The post How smaller satellites are reshaping the geostationary orbit market appeared first on SpaceNews.

Dual-use space technologies underpin a new strategy to outpace rivals

The post Space Force sharpens focus on deterring rivals appeared first on SpaceNews.

We’ve observed with concern a rising trend in human spaceflight discussions: the suggestion that we bypass the moon and send humans directly to Mars. In light of this, we believe […]

The post The best way to prepare humans for Mars? The moon. appeared first on SpaceNews.

The market for sending spacecraft to the moon would seem to be a competitive one. NASA continues to drive the most demand for commercial lunar landers through its Commercial Lunar […]

The post Commercial competition and cooperation at the moon appeared first on SpaceNews.

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) are bringing us closer than we’ve been in decades to regular lunar exploration and scientific discovery. As a scientist, I admire what these companies […]

The post Why NASA should apply the CLPS mindset to low-cost science missions, not just landers appeared first on SpaceNews.

The march toward single broadband terminals that can tap into multiple orbits promises greater resiliency and flexibility. It also centralizes risk in one device. “Single point failures are not ideal,” […]

The post Multi-orbit success or a single-point of failure? appeared first on SpaceNews.

The satellite industry has seen major mission, market and technology leaps over the decades, but nothing like the top-to-bottom disruption we are going through now. Driven in large part by […]

The post Winning the satellite industry’s most disruptive decade yet appeared first on SpaceNews.

The promise of artificial intelligence has been a staple of government technology roadmaps for decades. But too often, AI has remained an aspirational concept — more a collection of PowerPoint […]

The post Bridging the gap between AI hype and reality appeared first on SpaceNews.