Orbit

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  US Releases First Official Picture Of Secretive X-37B Space Plane In Orbit

  Operated by the Space Force's Rapid Capabilities Office, the 29-foot-long X-37B with a 15-foot wingspan is designed to test advanced technologies.

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  Blue Ghost Lander Lowers Orbit, Prepares for Lunar Touchdown on March 2

  Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander has successfully lowered its orbit to 120 km in preparation for a lunar touchdown on March 2. The spacecraft, which launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Mission teams are monitoring its orbit and finalizing descent plans, though commun...

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  SpaceX Falcon 9 Lands Near The Bahamas for First Time After Starlink Launch

  SpaceX made history as its Falcon 9 rocket successfully landed near The Bahamas for the first time. The launch, which took place from Cape Canaveral, delivered 23 Starlink satellites into orbit. This event follows a new agreement between SpaceX and The Bahamas, allowing the company to explore new orbital trajectories. The reusable Falcon 9 booster ...

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  ISRO's Chandrayaan-4 to Land on Moon and Bring Back Lunar Samples in 2027

  India’s space agency ISRO is gearing up for the Chandrayaan-4 mission, scheduled for 2027. This ambitious mission will involve a complex system of five modules, launched using two LVM3 rockets. Once in lunar orbit, two modules will descend to the surface, with one collecting samples and the other remaining on the Moon. The sample return module wi...

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  A Neptune-Like Exoplanet Is Racing Through Space at Record Speed

  Scientists have detected an exoplanet racing through space at 1.2 million mph, making it the fastest known planet. The Neptune-sized world orbits a hypervelocity star, first hinted at in 2011 via gravitational microlensing. Astronomers, using Keck Observatory and Gaia data, have confirmed the system’s extreme speed, suggesting it may even leave t...

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  Blue Origin Prepares Second New Glenn Launch, Aims for Better Landing

  Blue Origin is targeting a late spring launch for the second flight of its New Glenn rocket, following a partially successful debut in January 2025. While the rocket deployed its payload, the booster failed to land due to fuel delivery issues. Engineers have identified key factors affecting the landing and are implementing upgrades to improve reusa...

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  Astronomers Spot a High-Speed Star That May Carry a Planet With It

  Astronomers have identified a celestial object moving through the Milky Way at over 1.2 million mph. Believed to be a small star with a possible massive exoplanet, the discovery could mark the fastest-known planetary system. If its speed exceeds 1.3 million mph, it may eventually escape the galaxy. Scientists are still verifying whether it is the s...

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  Tiny Plasma Jets on Sun Identified as Key Drivers of Solar Wind

  Observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter have revealed that tiny plasma jets, known as picoflares, are responsible for both the fast and slow components of the solar wind. The discovery challenges previous assumptions that different mechanisms drive these solar wind types. With further research, scientists hope to refine space weather predictions, p...

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  Video: SpaceX Rocket Carrying 23 Starlink Satellites Illuminates Night Sky Over California

  In a spectacular night-time spectacle, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket illuminated the skies over Southern California on Monday as it soared into low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.

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  What Is SpaceSail And How Could It Challenge Elon Musk's Starlink?

  SpaceSail, a Chinese low Earth orbit satellite company, is expanding its presence through partnerships with countries, positioning itself as a challenger to Elon Musk's Starlink in the global satellite market.

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  A Star With a Planet May Be Racing Through the Galaxy at Record Speed

  Astronomers have identified a potential record-breaking exoplanet system moving at 1.2 million mph. Detected through microlensing, the discovery suggests a low-mass star with an orbiting planet is racing through the Milky Way. Data from the Keck Observatory and ESA’s Gaia satellite indicate a high-speed celestial body that may eventually escape t...

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  Newly Confirmed Super-Earth HD 20794 d May Support Life in Habitable Zone

  A super-Earth, HD 20794 d, has been confirmed within a habitable zone 20 light years from Earth. The planet, first detected in 2022, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a sun-like star. Although its elliptical orbit affects temperature stability, its potential to sustain liquid water makes it a key target for upcoming space missions. Scie...

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  ISRO Dismisses Glitch Reports in SpaDeX Docking, Confirms Mission Progress

  ISRO has confirmed that its maiden space docking mission, SpaDeX, was successfully completed without technical issues. While docking precision was achieved, orbit-raising efforts faced setbacks due to an oxidiser valve issue. The agency is working on solutions and plans to conduct further experiments. The mission, launched on December 30, 2024, dem...

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  Atmos Space Cargo’s Phoenix Capsule Set for First Orbital Test on SpaceX Mission

  Germany’s Atmos Space Cargo is set to test its Phoenix capsule on SpaceX’s Bandwagon 3 mission, targeting an efficient cargo-return solution. The capsule will carry multiple payloads, including biomedical experiments and a radiation detector. Equipped with an inflatable atmospheric decelerator, Phoenix aims to streamline the return of space-man...

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  Increasing Space Debris Risks Aircraft Collisions, Experts Warn

  Uncontrolled space debris entering Earth's atmosphere is becoming a growing concern, with rising risks to aircraft safety. A study from the University of British Columbia reveals a 26% chance of debris collisions in high-traffic regions like the Northeastern US and Northern Europe. Recent incidents, such as falling debris from SpaceX’s Starship 7...