space missions

SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever built, has flown to orbit for the first time, lifting off from the company's Starbase facility in Texas and completing its mission with the booster splashing down as planned. The milestone flight marks a major step forward for the vehicle that SpaceX intends to use for missions to the Moon and Mars, and space enthusiasts worldwide are closely tracking each stage of its development.

SpaceX's Starship Flight 14 has drawn major attention with claims the vehicle achieved orbital capability, prompting extensive coverage and reaction across the space community. Enthusiasts and analysts are debating what the flight means for the Starship program's progress toward operational missions, with discussion focused on the test's milestones and implications for future launches.

Four astronauts have returned to Earth from the International Space Station after completing a medical relief mission. The crew splashed down safely, concluding their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. The mission drew attention for its focus on health-related research and support duties in orbit, adding to the station's busy schedule of crew rotations and ongoing scientific work.

In the Paderborn district, the robotics programme Paderbotics 2027 has kicked off under the motto 'CodeQuest – Auf zu fremden Planeten' (off to alien planets). The launch marks the start of a new competition cycle in which young participants program robots for space-themed missions, drawing local attention to the region's youth robotics and coding scene.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission has concluded with the capsule's re-entry through Earth's atmosphere and splashdown in the ocean, returning its crew home from the International Space Station. NASA streamed the event live, drawing large audiences. Viewers are following coverage of the spacecraft's descent, parachute deployment and recovery operations marking the end of the mission.

The University of Central Florida is holding its 10th annual Space Game, themed Mission X, which honors the university's origin story and its long-standing ties to Florida's space industry. The event celebrates UCF's founding mission to support the nearby space program and has become a yearly tradition connecting campus sports with the region's aerospace heritage.

SpaceX's Starship Flight 14 produced striking footage of the booster and upper stage separating in flight, with dramatic views of the moment widely shared by space enthusiasts. The stage separation is a critical test milestone for the Starship program, and the latest flight's visuals are fueling discussion about the rocket's progress toward future missions.

French astronaut Sophie Adenot's space mission is being retraced in images, from liftoff to splashdown. Outlets are recapping the key stages of the flight, drawing attention to the French European Space Agency astronaut's journey and its successful conclusion with the spacecraft's safe landing in the ocean.

NASA's Crew-12 astronauts are returning to Earth after what the agency describes as a historic mission to the International Space Station. Live coverage of the splashdown is drawing large audiences in the United States, and related searches are also trending in Brazil, France and Spain as people worldwide follow the crew's journey home.

A SpaceX spacecraft carrying NASA's Crew-13 astronauts has docked with the International Space Station, with the docking shown live. The mission delivers a new rotation of crew members to the orbiting laboratory, continuing the regular NASA-SpaceX partnership that has ferried astronauts to and from the station in recent years. Viewers around the world followed the arrival in real time as the spacecraft linked up safely with the station.

NASA and the US Department of Energy have announced they are advancing a new era of nuclear-powered space exploration. The joint effort points to nuclear propulsion and surface power systems as key technologies for future missions to the Moon and Mars, and the announcement is being shared widely among space and science enthusiasts online.

Attention is on NASA following renewed coverage of the moment scientist Margaret Hamilton received the Presidential Medal of Honour. The BBC clip shows Hamilton, who led the development of the onboard flight software for the Apollo missions, being decorated for her contribution to space exploration and software engineering.

The New York Times is revisiting the legacy of Margaret Hamilton, the software engineer who led development of the onboard guidance code for NASA's Apollo missions at MIT, long before computer science became a male-dominated field. Her work was critical to the 1969 lunar landing, and she later coined the term 'software engineering'. The feature highlights how her contributions helped redefine programming as serious engineering work.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir has started her journey back to Earth after her mission aboard the International Space Station, according to reports from Maine, her home state. The return is drawing attention locally and internationally, with NASA also among widely searched topics in Spain and Brazil as space watchers follow the crew's homecoming.

A marine mammal biologist at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California works to protect seals, sea lions and other coastal wildlife sharing habitat with one of the world's busiest rocket launch sites. The role involves monitoring animal populations around launches and minimising the spaceport's impact on the surrounding marine environment.

NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew-13 mission, sending astronauts to the International Space Station. The launch drew wide attention online, with NASA's broadcast attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers within hours. It is the latest crewed flight under NASA's commercial crew programme with SpaceX, and space enthusiasts are following the mission's progress toward the station.

The US Air Force Academy is highlighting how its space education programmes prepare cadets for future missions, reflecting a growing emphasis on space as a military domain. The curriculum is aimed at equipping officers with the skills needed as military operations increasingly extend into orbit and beyond.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission has concluded with the spacecraft splashing down, and the space agency has scheduled a briefing to discuss the mission's outcome. Details about the crew, mission duration and results have not yet been provided. NASA is expected to share findings and answer questions at the upcoming press briefing.

The four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-12 mission have splashed down safely, wrapping up their stint aboard the International Space Station. Their departure, however, does not slow activity in orbit: the ISS remains fully staffed and busy with ongoing research and operations. Attention now turns to routine crew rotation and the station's continuing scientific workload.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission has arrived at the International Space Station, with NASA broadcasting the crew's arrival and welcome remarks live. The astronauts were met by the existing station crew after docking. The mission continues NASA and SpaceX's regular rotation of crews to orbit, and viewers followed the broadcast widely, with coverage drawing hundreds of thousands of engagements.

NASA's Curiosity rover has passed its 5,000th day of operations on Mars, and the mission team released a new panorama of the sandy ridge where the robot is currently exploring. The images showcase the terrain Curiosity has been studying as it continues its long-running investigation of the Martian surface, more than a decade after landing in Gale Crater in 2012. Space and photography enthusiasts are sharing the milestone and the striking landscape imagery.