October 20th, 2025
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China’s Shenzhou-20 space station crew has been in orbit more than 170 days and are preparing for returning to Earth, slated for late October. Now onboard China’s Tiangong space station, Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie, continue a full agenda of space research tasks. Since entering the space station in late April, the taikonaut […]
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The Launch of Rocket Lab by Peter Griffin, with introduction by Sir Peter Beck, Published by Blackwell & Ruth and distributed by Abrams Books; 312 pages; Hardcover, $60.00. This stunning, large format book, tells the engaging story of Rocket Lab and how Peter Beck founded this powerhouse of an enterprise. As a self-taught rocket engineer […]
Future missions dedicated to searching for live today on Mars will require a clear understanding of the organic biosignature degradation processes in the planet’s shallow icy subsurface. “We found that amino acids in the surface ice on Mars would survive over 50 million years of cosmic ray exposure, which is far greater than the expected […]
Once again, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has posted an advisory regarding rocket debris stemming from launch of a Chinese rocket. Leftovers from China’s Long March 8A booster were projected by PhilSA to have fallen within identified drop zones approximately 118 nautical miles away from El Nido, Palawan, 137 nautical miles away from Puerto Princesa, […]
It appears that China’s Xinjishu Yanzheng 7 (XJY-7) spacecraft made a stunning sky show as it reentered October 16 over Tenerife, Canary Islands at around 3 a.m. local time. The nearly 3-ton (2,700 kilograms) satellite was lofted in late December 2020 as New Technology Experiment No. 7 (XJY ) developed by China Aerospace […]
A new and novel protection product has been created, ideal for fending off space junk. And what better name for that creation than “Space Armor (TM),” a multi-functional composite for spacecraft and astronauts. Space Armor (TM) is fabricated with a proprietary fiber-to-resin manufacturing method courtesy of Atomic-6 of Marietta, Georgia. “Satellites and astronauts are constantly […]
Back in 2022, it turns out that the longest-lived object in Earth orbit and a Russian rocket body passed within roughly 0.8 miles (1.3 kilometers) from each other. That U.S. non-operational payload was Vanguard 1, according to Darren McKnight, a senior technical fellow of LeoLabs, a group dedicated to space domain awareness. In a conjunction […]
On Monday, October 13, 2025, at 6:23 p.m. Central “Texas” Time, the SpaceX Starship lifted off from Starbase, Texas on its eleventh flight test. Go to this replay at: https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-11 Following the flight, SpaceX posted this mission success update: This was the final flight of the second-generation Starship and first generation […]
SpaceX Starship’s eleventh flight test is ready to launch as soon as today, Monday, October 13. The launch window will open at 6:15 p.m. Central “Texas” Time (CT). For live coverage of the launch starting about one-half hour before liftoff, go to: https://www.spacex.com/launches/starship-flight-11 Go to video clip at: https://x.com/i/status/1977733468663562742 For launch details, go to: SpaceX […]
Mars Guy looks at the surprising condition of spacesuit materials after 4+ years on Mars, outfitted to NASA’s Perseverance rover now exploring Jezero Crater. “Every mission to the surface of Mars has in some way helped prepare for the eventual arrival of humans,” explains Mars Guy. “But no mission has gone as far as Perseverance […]
