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Vast and SpaceX plan to launch the first commercial space station in 2025
Vast is teaming with SpaceX to launch what could be the first commercial space station.
Russia previews its post-ISS space station
Russia has offered a peek at its post-ISS space station, but it only exists as a model so far.
FCC votes to boost manufacturing in space
The FCC has voted to support in-space manufacturing — this could help produce satellites and stations in orbit.
China says its space station dodged Starlink satellites twice this year
China has complained that its space station had to evade Starlink satellites twice in 2021.
Surprise Soyuz thruster firing tilted and turned the ISS
The ISS turned by 57 degrees after a docked Soyuz spacecraft continued to fire its thrusters during testing when it was supposed to end.
China successfully launches first crewed mission to its new space station
China has launched its first crewed mission in five years, successfully sending three astronauts to its new Tianhe space station.
China's huge 'Long March' rocket will fall back to Earth this weekend
China's 10-storey, 23-ton Long March 5b rocket first stage is expected to make an "uncontrolled re-entry" back to Earth this weekend.
Space Station receives the last of NASA's science racks after 19 years
NASA has sent the last of its science racks to the International Space Station, marking the end of an era.
NASA picks space tourism outfit for its first commercial ISS module
The ongoing NASA privatization push just reached an important milestone. The administration has chosen Axiom Space to supply its first commercial destination module for the International Space Station. The habitable module will connect to the station's Node 2 forward port and serve as an example of what companies can do -- Axiom Space has plans for space tourism and other private journeys. Officials at NASA hope it will usher in a "low-Earth orbit economy" aboard the ISS where NASA is just another customer.
India plans to launch space station by 2030
India's broadening spaceflight ambitions now include a longer-term presence in Earth's orbit. Indian Space Research Organization chief K Sivan (above) recently revealed plans to launch a space station around 2030. It will be a relatively small station where astronauts would only stay for 15 to 20 days, but that should be enough to allow microgravity experiments. India won't lean on other countries for help, Sivan said.
'Observation' is a gripping space puzzler with an AI hero
Many video games are set in space. Most cast you as a human super-soldier or plucky science-type trying to untangle a truly terrible situation. Not Observation. The latest game from No Code, the Scottish studio behind Stories Untold, makes you play as a piece of artificial intelligence instead. It's a fascinating choice that changes how you move around the spaceship, solve basic puzzles and interact with the game's protagonist, a medical officer called Emma Fisher. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live inside a computer, or hack your way through a modern spacecraft, this is the game for you.
Christina Koch will set a record for longest spaceflight by a woman
Thanks to NASA's recent schedule changes, astronaut Christina Koch will soon hold the record for the longest space flight by a woman. Koch arrived at the International Space Station on March 14 and has already conducted one spacewalk. She'll now remain in orbit until February 2020, and she'll surpass the current record, which is 288 days, held by Peggy Whitson. But Koch will fall just short of the longest spaceflight by a NASA astronaut -- Scott Kelly's 340-day trip.
The Big Picture: A Dragon heads to the International Space Station
The last time SpaceX's Dragon visited the International Space Station, they brought along some nifty presents that included the first zero-g 3D printer. SpaceX captured this photo of Dragon lifting off from Cape Canaveral in September on its fourth commercial resupply mission to the orbital outpost. The company is planning another launch on Friday. What does Elon Musk have up his sleeve this time? They'll attempt to land a Falcon 9 rocket booster on an "autonomous spaceport drone ship" (i.e., a barge). Will this crazy idea work? Musk estimates a 50–50 chance of success. Tune in on Friday to find out how it goes. [Image credit: SpaceX]
Alt-week 10.6.12: supercomputers on the moon, hear the Earth sing and the future of sports commentary
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. Normally we try to encourage you to join us around the warm alt-week campfire by teasing you about what diverse and exotic internet nuggets we have for you inside. Sadly, this week that's not the case. There's nothing for you here we're afraid. Not unless you like totally mind-blowing space videos, singing planets and AI / sports commentary-flavored cocktails, that is. Oh, you do? Well what do you know! Come on in... this is alt-week.
Chinese astronauts go hands-on, manually dock with orbiting module
Looks like China continues to add to its space cred after recently joining the rarefied ranks of countries that have successfully docked craft in the final frontier. Fresh off from the recent joining of the Shenzhou 9 capsule with the Tiangong 1 orbiting module, China's three astronauts have now replicated the feat manually, according to the Washington Post . For the uninitiated, the first docking was done via remote control from the ground. The mission has had plenty of firsts for China so far, including the country's first female astronaut. It also serves as a precursor to establishing China's first permanent space station, a 60-ton facility that's about a sixth of the size of the International Space Station but is slightly bigger than NASA's old Skylab. 'Cause sometimes, you just gotta have your own space in space, you know? [Image credit: Associated Press]
Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon -- provided you've got £100 million
Sir Richard Branson might want to look over his shoulder, since Virgin Galactic now has an even more ambitious rival. Britain-based Excalibur Almaz is planning no less than a trip to the Moon using reworked, Soviet-era Salyut space stations and Soyuz capsules as the vehicles for the multi-stage, 500,000-mile total voyage. Accordingly, no one will be living in the lap of luxury on the way there: there's just two habitation modules that will take three people each, and the six-month trip isn't going to leave much room for perks other than an isolated room in the event of a solar radiation blast. Not that there's as much of a rush given the efforts involved in making this look-but-don't-touch Moon orbit a reality. Anyone who travels needs to be in tip-top shape -- and the £100 million ($156 million) ticket will make Virgin's Spaceship Two rides seem downright frugal. Be sure to pack your gym shorts and a briefcase full of cash.
China conducts its first crewed spaceship docking, gives east Asia its place in space (updated)
Believe it or not, the only countries to have docked a human-helmed spacecraft in the first 50 years of spaceflight were Russia and the US. That small community just got bigger, as China's Shenzhou-9 has successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 module put in orbit for just such a test. The link-up is being used for experiments in the short term, but it's a key step in a program that will ultimately lead to a full-fledged Chinese space station. On top the wider ambitions, the docking also marks a victory for gender-neutral space travel: Liu Yang, one of three crew members, is the country's first female spacefarer. China's space program has a long road ahead, but it's clear the International Space Station won't be alone for much longer. Update: Yes, China more accurately covers east Asia, not just the southeast. Our apologies!
China planning manned mission to its own space station, didn't want to be on the ISS anyway
State news agency Xinhua is reporting that China is planning to launch a manned spacecraft later this month. A Shenzhou-9 capsule and rocket are already in place, and when it launches it'll manually dock with the nation's space station: Tiangong-1. The nation is moving quickly to capitalize on its successes last year, after learning how to dock two objects in high-speed orbit. Once both are linked up, the three astronauts on-board would move across to perform scientific experiments before returning to Earth in the craft, as you do. [Image Credit: China Daily]
Visualized: Stunning long-exposure 'star trail' photo taken from the ISS
Ever wondered what goes on up at the International Space Station? We like to think it's all floating around and eating freeze-dried steak. Astronaut Don Pettit decided to take a break from his no-doubt mundane routine and capture the spectacular image you see above. We say image, it's actually multiple 30-second exposure snaps layered on top of each other. Needless to say the result is both humbling, and hypnotic. Best of all? There's a collection of them, waiting to steal your afternoon with slack-jawed wonderment. Hit the source for the mind-melt.
Visualized: SpaceX's Dragon is a desolate vision in beige and white
Even if you squint real hard, you won't find Andie, Max or that rogue robot Jinx stowed away in that inner sanctum above. In fact, there are no humans on board Dragon whatsoever, given that this mission -- the first successful private / federal partnership with NASA -- is strictly cargo-only and a test flight to boot. After suffering several launch delays, Elon Musk's pet project finally achieved lift off this past Tuesday, giving space heads reason to exhale, all the while proving to the world that a new era in interstellar exploration has just begun. En route now to dock with the ISS and deliver its payload, SpaceX's capsule, the interior of which measures 14.4ft (4.4m) by 12ft (3.7m) and is filled with dehydrated astronaut food, clothes, supplies and student science experiments, will spend about one week tethered to that international outpost before crashing into the Pacific on its return trip home. Hit up the source below to gawk at additional shots of this spacecraft's maiden voyage.
