Space

Space Exploration, Radicalization and Other R&D Highlights in the Spending Bill

Here are some of the interesting projects Congress funded at civilian agencies.

  • By Frank Konkel

The U.S. Air Force Has Won Control of the Space Force

Six months ago, service leaders said they were being cut out of the planning process. Now they’re being put in charge of it.

  • By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

Next-Gen Weather Satellite Operational Over Western U.S.

GOES-17 is operational and monitoring weather in the Pacific and western United States.

  • By Frank Konkel

A Space Nerd’s Reading of Ariana Grande’s ‘NASA’ Song

The singer says she’s a star. But what kind?

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

A Touch of Green in Outer Space

For humans to survive off Earth, we’ll need plants to grow there, too.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Will Space Force Boost Already-Rising Spending on Satellites?

Defense execs see increased sales as Pentagon upgrades orbiting gear to fend off attacks.

  • By Marcus Weisgerber, Defense One

Trump's Space Ambitions Are Too Big for One President

The reality of space travel squashed his impulsive desire to reach Mars in his first term, rather than the 2030s.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

The Chill of U.S.-Russia Relations Creeps Into Space

Bungled plans between the U.S. and Russia highlight how hot-and-cold international relations mess with space exploration.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

NASA Hits Its New Year’s Target at the Edge of the Solar System

As partygoers downed champagne, a spacecraft swept past a mysterious object 4 billion miles from Earth.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Spacesuits for Spiders

And what they tell us about the difficulty of keeping people alive in space.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Software Glitch Adds to Issues for NOAA’s Newest Weather Satellite

Technicians have identified a software glitch in the GOES-17 weather satellite it launched in March.

  • By Frank Konkel

Bacterial Superbugs Hitched a Ride on the International Space Station

"These species pose important health considerations for future missions."

  • By Chase Purdy, Quartz

Amazon’s Plan to Capture Space Data

Amazon launched a new service that can port data from commercial satellites directly into its cloud.

  • By Frank Konkel

Did Slack Help NASA Land On Mars?

That’s one small step for Slack, and one giant leap for mankind.

  • By Daniel Wolfe, Quartz

Reefer Madness at NASA

The space agency has reportedly decided to review workplace culture at SpaceX and Boeing after Elon Musk smoked marijuana on a podcast.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

Hawaii’s Mars Simulations Are Turning Into Moon Missions

The dome where crew members practiced red-planet missions will now be converted to a simulated moon base.

  • By Marina Koren, The Atlantic

NASA's Supersonic Jet Could Take to the Skies by 2021

Whoosh!

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

The International Space Station Is Getting a “Refabricator” for Its 20th Birthday

Its real value could lie in longer exploration missions.

  • By Dave Gershgorn, Quartz

NASA Collaborated With Autodesk To Design A New Interplanetary Lander

Figuring out a way to explore distant moons requires some creative thinking.

  • By Caitlin Fairchild

Pentagon Wants More Money for Lasers To Defend Against Missiles, Drone Swarms

Directed-energy weapons are with a factor of two or three to being militarily useful, the Pentagon’s top scientist said.

  • By Patrick Tucker, Defense One