Outer Space Today

Deep Space

Gravity Data Reveals Mars Is Hundreds of Degrees Hotter in the South

Researchers have found a major temperature imbalance deep inside Mars, with the planet's southern interior appearing significantly hotter than its northern half and possibly partially molten. The discovery, drawn from decades of gravity measurements, offers a new window into the Red Planet's geologic history, including periods

Launch

NASA's Roman Space Telescope Lifts Off on Falcon Heavy for Survey of Two Billion Galaxies

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched Sunday, August 30, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The $4.3 billion observatory is bound for a point 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where it will begin a five to ten year

Markets

UAE Grants Starlink 10-Year Satellite Broadband Licence

The UAE's Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has granted Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Communications LLC a 10-year General Space Services License to provide broadband satellite internet services across the country. The licence, announced alongside Starlink's commercial entry into the UAE market, authorises

Launch

NASA, SpaceX Push Back Crew-13 Launch After Oxidizer Leak Found on Dragon

NASA and SpaceX are adjusting the launch date for the agency's Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station after detecting an oxidizer leak on the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system. No new target date has been announced as of August 30. The leak was found during

Defense

Pentagon Seeks Software-Only Encryption to Bridge Post-Quantum Transition

The Defense Department is asking industry for interim, software-only cryptographic solutions that require no hardware changes to protect military systems during its shift to post-quantum cryptography. A request for information released Thursday sets operational baselines for vendors and signals the Pentagon is executing on its campaign to prepare

SpaceX to Cast Gas Turbine Components In-House, Targeting 18-Month Acceleration

SpaceX is moving to manufacture natural gas turbine blades and vanes internally, a step Elon Musk says could accelerate new turbine capacity by up to 18 months. Musk disclosed the plan today, framing in-house casting as a way to break the single biggest bottleneck in bringing gas turbines online

Launch

Long March 6C Upper Stage Breaks Apart Days After Rideshare Launch

A Chinese Long March 6C rocket upper stage has fragmented in low Earth orbit, generating what tracking firm LeoLabs estimates as tens to hundreds of pieces of debris. The breakup occurred less than two days after the same stage delivered a seven-satellite rideshare mission, adding a new debris cloud

Policy

SpaceX Petitions FCC to Block Viasat-3 F2 Satellite Over Starlink Interference

SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of Viasat's new Viasat-3 F2 satellite, warning it will cause severe interference to Starlink. The Friday petition targets a satellite scheduled to enter service next month, arguing Viasat has failed for years to reach a required

Launch

JPL Fires Lithium Thruster at 120 Kilowatts, Sets Sights on a Megawatt

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory ignited a lithium-fed magnetoplasmadynamic thruster prototype five times at up to 120 kilowatts during a February 2026 ground test, operating at more than 25 times the power of the most capable electric thruster currently flying on a NASA spacecraft. The result opens a

Deep Space

NASA Glenn Advances SR-1 Freedom, Billed as First Nuclear Fission-Powered Interplanetary Spacecraft

NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is playing a key role in developing Space Reactor-1 Freedom, described as the first nuclear fission-powered interplanetary spacecraft. The vehicle is designed to travel to Mars and deliver a payload of three helicopters, then remain in space for testing of its nuclear

Policy

NASA Administrator Backs Moving AI Data Centers Into Earth Orbit

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Wednesday that solar-powered data centers in Earth orbit could ease America's mounting conflicts over the land, water and grid capacity consumed by ground-based AI facilities. The proposal connects the space economy directly to the AI infrastructure boom at a moment when

Launch

SpaceX Static Fires Booster 21, Clearing Final Ground Hurdle Before Starship Flight 14

SpaceX conducted a static fire test of Starship Booster 21 on or around August 28, 2026, at its Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The test is direct preparation for Starship Flight 14, the fourteenth integrated flight test of the full Starship stack, and places the mission on a short

Launch

NASA Begins RS-25 Engine Installation for Artemis III Core Stage

Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center began installing the four RS-25 engines in the core stage of the Space Launch System that will launch the Artemis III crew next year. The milestone, reached August 24, marks the next phase of core stage integration and places flight hardware

Launch

Roman Space Telescope Set for Sunday Falcon Heavy Launch from Kennedy

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to lift off at 7:26 a.m. EDT on Sunday, August 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The observatory pairs spy satellite optical technology with sophisticated infrared detectors, delivering a field of view

Defense

Space Force Brings Digital Engineering to Its Nuclear Satellite Program

The U.S. Space Force has adopted a new collaborative digital engineering environment for its nuclear command, control, and communications satellite program. The move applies modern development methods to one of the most sensitive parts of the U.S. military satellite architecture. The tool is described as potentially changing how

Markets

Pentagon Awards SpaceX Fleet Contract to Put Starshield on Military Aircraft

The Space Force has awarded SpaceX a fleet-level service contract to expand use of its Starshield satellite network aboard military aircraft, extending the government-focused system beyond ground terminals and into airborne platforms. The award, posted August 25 by the Space Force's Commercial Space Office, covers satellite

Markets

ESA Signs European Launcher Challenge Contracts with Isar, RFA, and PLD Space

The European Space Agency signed contracts with multiple European launch companies under the European Launcher Challenge this week, including Isar Aerospace, Rocket Factory Augsburg, and PLD Space. The agreements mark the program's advance into a second procurement phase aimed at developing the next generation of private European launch

Satellites

NBN Co Pushes Next-Generation Satellite Launch to Mid-2027

NBN Co has confirmed its next-generation satellite internet plans will not be available until after the middle of 2027, well beyond the fourth-quarter 2026 launch it originally planned. The service is intended to give regional and remote Australians access to newer satellite connectivity and eventually replace the current

Policy

NASA Chief Floats Space-Based Data Centers Amid U.S. Siting Fights

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman suggested on Wednesday that data centers could be housed in space, raising the concept publicly as the facilities draw growing scrutiny over their land and energy footprint in the United States. No specific program, budget, or timeline accompanied the remark. Isaacman made the comment against the

Defense

Army Names Five Vendors and Bases for Janus Nuclear Microreactor Program

The Army on Wednesday selected five companies to build and operate nuclear microreactors at five installations under its Janus program, committing about $2.2 billion across fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The move is intended to deliver resilient baseload power to major bases in the event that external power grids

AI Model Detects Solar Storm Precursors More Than Nine Hours in Advance

Researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an artificial intelligence tool that can identify the hidden warning signs of solar storms nearly nine hours before they become visible on the Sun. The model, named EarlyDetect, could change how space weather is forecast, offering earlier preparation for events

Deep Space

NASA Activates New 34-Meter Antenna at Goldstone, Expanding Deep Space Network

NASA has added a new 34-meter (114-foot) radio frequency antenna to its Deep Space Network at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California. The new dish, Deep Space Station 23 (DSS-23), began operations on August 3 and strengthens the communications and navigation system that supports

NASA Study Finds Human Microbes Could Survive in Shadows of Moon's South Pole

Some Earth microbes carried to space by astronauts could survive in the shaded regions of the Moon's South Pole, NASA scientists have found. Published August 19, 2026, in Science Advances, the findings warn that microbial contamination could make it difficult to distinguish ancient lunar chemistry from material delivered

Satellites

Zelenskyy Awards Musk Ukraine's Order of Freedom Amid Push for Starlink Drone-Strike Access

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Elon Musk the Order of Freedom, a major Ukrainian state honor reserved for strategic partners. The award arrives as Kyiv actively lobbies Musk to allow its forces to use the Starlink mobile internet system to guide drone strikes inside Russian territory. The recognition places

Deep Space

Tianwen-2 Delivers First Close View of Kamoʻoalewa After 400-Day Chase

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has returned the first close-up image of the near-Earth asteroid Kamoʻoalewa, photographing the object from about 20 kilometres away on 2 July 2026 after a 400-day heliocentric transfer covering roughly one billion kilometres. The China National Space Administration released the image