That botched re-boost/rescue of NASA’s Swift observatory now means an uncontrolled downing of the multi-wavelength scanning spacecraft that was fine-tuned to digging deep into gamma-ray burst science. The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was hurled into orbit back in November of 2004. Over the years, it carried out its duties of studying gamma-ray bursts, the most […]

A bullish look at a future lunar economy predicts that the infrastructure, markets and strategic forces for returning to the Moon could generate up to $566 Billion in economic value through 2050. The report has been assembled by Deloitte – an organization that tracks emerging technologies and markets, “ones that feel speculative today but may […]

China’s Chang’e-7 lunar probe sitting atop its Long March-5 Y14 carrier rocket has been rolled back to the assembly and test building at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan. Chang’e-7 was ready to head for the Moon’s south pole on August 24 (Beijing Time) in a search for evidence of water ice. “China’s Chang’e-7 […]

A Heart for Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible by Eiman Jahangir; Forefront Books; August 2026; 224 pages (Hardcover); $26.00. In August of 2024, the author of this insightful and inspiring book flew aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital rocket. “People often assume that achieving a dream means following a straight line,” explains […]

“China’s Chang’e-7 launch will not proceed in planned window this year” – that’s the word from China Central Television. While not cancelled, the Moon probe atop a Long March 5 booster liftoff has been delayed due to an apparent confluence of issues at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan. But there is no official […]

A hypothetical asteroid impact scenario is in play prior to a major gathering of planetary defense specialists next year. The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) is an independent non-governmental organization recognized by the United Nations. IAA is hosting the Planetary Defense Conference 2027. Impact date Date of the hypothetical potential impact on Earth is pegged […]

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic suborbital space plane program has announced a higher fee for per person spaceflight. Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said that the company’s tranche of spaceflight expeditions priced at $750,000 “was oversubscribed and booked out ahead of schedule.” While Colglazier said that demonstrated strong demand from a wide range of […]

Katalyst Space successfully uploaded a flight software update for its LINK spacecraft, which is set to boost NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to a higher orbit. That observatory is designed to study gamma-ray bursts, the most powerful explosions in the universe, and other cosmic objects and events. Launched on July 3, the LINK servicing spacecraft […]

Here’s a wait-a-minute question: What’s the frequency, Kenneth Arnold? Admittedly, I borrowed and bent that R.E.M. song line. But it came to me in reading the latest outpouring of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) documents, videos and illustrations by the Department of War on August 7. Those files are part of the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System […]

Taking LEO Off the Board: Russian Thinking About Anti-Satellite Warfare is authored by Aaron Stein, President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI). “The Soviet Union and Russia have invested in anti-satellite weapons to ensure that their nuclear deterrent remains credible. For both the Soviet Union and Russia, the destruction of American satellites was (and is) […]