News Archive / Missions

• Turning up to 11: Orion service module completes acoustic tests

  Derek RichardsonMay 15th, 2023

  Orion's European Service Module for the crewed Artemis 2 mission to the Moon has completed acoustic testing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

• Vast could launch 1st private space station in 2025

  Derek RichardsonMay 10th, 2023

  A private space venture called Vast announced its plans to fly a commercial space station as early as two years from now.

• NASA decommissions Mars orbiter mineral-mapping instrument

  Derek RichardsonMay 8th, 2023

  After more than 15 years of operation, NASA has turned off one of six science instruments aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

• Russia agrees to extend International Space Station operations

  Derek RichardsonMay 1st, 2023

  All five of the International Space Station partner agencies have now agreed to operate the outpost through at least 2028.

• New Horizons is still doing science in the Kuiper Belt

  Laurel KornfeldApril 28th, 2023

  Now traveling far into the Kuiper Belt, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft continues to conduct science observations more than four years after flying by its second target, Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Arrokoth, in 2019.

• Scientist anticipates finding life beyond our solar system in 25 years

  Laurel KornfeldApril 26th, 2023

  Several missions that could detect life beyond our solar system are currently in development, Swiss astrophysicist Sasha Quanz said at the recent opening of ETH Zurich's Centre for the Origin and Prevalence of Life.

• Opinion: Is the Starship flight test a reality check for SpaceX, NASA and Artemis?

  Derek RichardsonApril 22nd, 2023

  By all honest measures, SpaceX’s first integrated flight test of Starship was a success, but it unearthed some serious problems.

• SpaceX’s Starship flies high, then explodes during ascent

  Derek RichardsonApril 20th, 2023

  The first integrated flight test of SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket failed just minutes into the booster phase of ascent.

• Europe launches JUICE to study Jupiter’s icy moons

  Derek RichardsonApril 14th, 2023

  The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, JUICE, is on its way to the solar system’s largest planet to study three of its four Galilean moons.

• NASA, Canada assign astronauts to Artemis 2 Moon mission

  Derek RichardsonApril 3rd, 2023

  The Artemis 2 astronauts were announced in Houston, marking the first time in the 21st century a human crew has been assigned to fly a mission to the Moon.

• Canadian Minister speaks in Houston ahead of Artemis 2 crew announcement

  Sean CostelloApril 3rd, 2023

  On the eve of the wildly anticipated Artemis 2 crew announcement, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, met with Canadian media at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas.

• Crippled uncrewed Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft returns to Earth

  Derek RichardsonMarch 28th, 2023

  Russia's Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which was struck by a micrometeoroid late last year, autonomously landed in Kazakhstan after a 187-day stay at the International Space Station.

• Artemis 2 Space Launch System core stage nearly complete

  Derek RichardsonMarch 23rd, 2023

  The second Space Launch System core stage has been fully integrated. It'll be used to send the Artemis 2 mission and four astronauts to the Moon next year.

• Rocket Lab’s Electron deploys two Capella radar satellites

  Steve HammerMarch 17th, 2023

  With a loud roar and trail of flame, Rocket Lab’s Electron hoisted a pair of Capella Space satellites into the evening sky.

• Spacesuit prototype revealed for Artemis 3 Moon landing

  Derek RichardsonMarch 15th, 2023

  When NASA astronauts return to the surface of the Moon in the next several years, they’ll be using a spacesuit built by Axiom Space.

• ‘One heck of a ride!’ Crew-5 astronauts, cosmonaut back on Earth

  Derek RichardsonMarch 12th, 2023

  Three astronauts and a cosmonaut returned to Earth in their Crew Dragon spacecraft after spending over five months in orbit aboard the International Space Station.

• Orion capsule makes pinpoint splashdown in Pacific Ocean

  Derek RichardsonDecember 11th, 2022

  After more than 25 days in deep space, NASA’s Orion capsule has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, completing the uncrewed Artemis 1 Moon mission.

• The Orion Crew Module: A conversation with Lockheed Martin’s Mike Hawes

  Scott JohnsonDecember 11th, 2022

  In the lead-up to the first Artemis 1 Space Launch System launch attempt, Spaceflight Insider had the opportunity to speak with a number of people involved in its design, construction, assembly, and flight.

• SpaceX launches private Japanese Hakuto-R Moon lander

  Theresa CrossDecember 11th, 2022

  After a nearly two-week delay, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched Japan-based ispace’s small Hakuto-R M1 lunar lander toward the Moon.

• OneWeb satellites launch atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

  Theresa CrossDecember 8th, 2022

  For the first time atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a batch of OneWeb internet satellites were launched into space to help build out the company's broadband constellation.