Human Spaceflight & Space Stations News

European Spaceflight • Andrew Parsonson

ESA awards €10M contract to EMXYS for Don Quijote asteroid lander

The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Spain’s EMXYS for a contract worth €10M to build the Don Quijote lander. The spacecraft will take measurements from the surface of an asteroid during its close Earth encounter, supporting mission science tied to near-Earth object characterization.

1 Source

2026-07-11T04:01:18.826691-07:00

Bloomberg

China’s Long March 10B completes debut launch and recovers first stage for re-use

31 Sources

2026-07-09T23:44:57.782646-07:00

Space.com

SpaceX completes record-duration Static Fire for Starship Flight 13: Booster 20 ignites 33 Raptor 3 engines

6 Sources

2026-07-10T09:30:42.950979-07:00

New York Times

Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87

22 Sources

2026-07-09T09:59:25.062127-07:00

Human Spaceflight & Space Stations News Timeline

European Spaceflight

1 source

ESA awards €10M contract to EMXYS for Don Quijote asteroid lander The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Spain’s EMXYS for a contract worth €10M to build the Don Quijote lander. The spacecraft will take measurements from the surface of an asteroid during its close Earth encounter, supporting mission science tied to near-Earth object characterization.

2026-07-11T04:01:18.826691-07:00

ESA awards €10M contract to EMXYS for Don Quijote asteroid lander

Space.com

6 sources

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SpaceX completes record-duration Static Fire for Starship Flight 13: Booster 20 ignites 33 Raptor 3 engines SpaceX has finished a record-duration static fire for Starship Flight 13, with Booster 20 lighting all 33 Raptor 3 engines for 20–25 seconds. The booster is expected to rollback for Flight Termination System installation at Megabay-1 before Booster and Ship 40 head out to the launch site.

2026-07-10T09:30:42.950979-07:00

SpaceX completes record-duration Static Fire for Starship Flight 13: Booster 20 ignites 33 Raptor 3 engines

Ars Technica

1 source

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NASA releases critical planning document for private space stations, clarifying requirements for commercial partners NASA has released a key planning document detailing what it wants from industry for private space-station efforts. The update provides the first consolidated clarity on the planning expectations facing commercial providers, reducing ambiguity for program schedules and downstream engineering decisions.

2026-07-10T08:30:39.371153-07:00

NASA releases critical planning document for private space stations, clarifying requirements for commercial partners

ch-aviation

8 sources

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TAP to restart Venezuela flights from July 13 via Valencia after June 24 earthquake closures TAP Air Portugal will resume weekly flights to Venezuela starting Monday, July 13, routing services to Arturo Michelena Airport in Valencia because Maiquetía remains closed after the June 24 earthquakes. The first flight will carry more than 8 metric tons of medical humanitarian aid from Portugal, while Amazon Air support and USS San Antonio disaster-relief operations scale up logistics.

2026-07-10T05:46:14.762936-07:00

TAP to restart Venezuela flights from July 13 via Valencia after June 24 earthquake closures

Bloomberg

31 sources

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China’s Long March 10B completes debut launch and recovers first stage for re-use China successfully launched the Long March 10B on July 10, placing a satellite into orbit and then recovering the rocket’s first stage after it returned for a history-making sea-platform landing. The mission makes China the second country to achieve orbital booster recovery, a key step toward reusable launch systems.

2026-07-09T23:44:57.782646-07:00

China’s Long March 10B completes debut launch and recovers first stage for re-use

New York Times

22 sources

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Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87 Wally Funk, the trailblazing aviator and final living member of NASA’s original “Mercury 13” astronaut trainee class, died at 87 in Texas. She flew into space at 82 after decades of waiting, later recognized as the oldest woman in space, following a Blue Origin invitation.

2026-07-09T09:59:25.062127-07:00

Wally Funk, last ‘Mercury 13’ and oldest woman to fly to space, dies at 87

Payload

2 sources

Auxilium Biotechnologies demonstrates scalable bioprinting of multiple organ tissues in orbit via ISS tech demo Auxilium Biotechnologies said it has created multiple types of organ tissues aboard the International Space Station, a milestone toward scalable in-orbit bioprinting. The company positioned the results as enabling future bioprinting use cases in space, building toward broader orbital manufacturing and medical applications.

2026-07-09T05:14:37.806766-07:00

Auxilium Biotechnologies demonstrates scalable bioprinting of multiple organ tissues in orbit via ISS tech demo

Universe Today

2 sources

Spaceflight stress may drive “accelerated aging” in the liver—UCF study links deep-space conditions to aging-like molecular chan Researchers at the University of Central Florida report that the combined stresses of spaceflight—radiation and weightlessness—can produce liver changes that resemble accelerated aging. The study also found matching genetic “fingerprints” in real astronaut blood samples, suggesting deep-space biology leaves consistent, measurable signatures.

2026-07-08T22:53:27.928231-07:00

Spaceflight stress may drive “accelerated aging” in the liver—UCF study links deep-space conditions to aging-like molecular chan

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