Washington Post
• Violet Jira
A new National Space Transportation Policy directs the Defense Department, NASA and other agencies to identify regulatory, operational, programmatic and technological barriers to faster, more resilient access to space. The policy also calls for expanded launch infrastructure, including evaluating a new federally supported spaceport for heavy-lift vehicles.
Human Spaceflight & Space Stations
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Eight early-stage companies have joined a national accelerator pairing International Space Station access with private investment, while NASA highlights next-generation commercial cargo landers intended to support a sustained human presence on the Moon. Together, the efforts connect near-term microgravity commercialization with longer-term lunar infrastructure development.
A tour of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston highlights how the agency and private industry are already shaping the future of human spaceflight. The astronaut-training hub will need to evolve as commercial space stations expand the range of destinations and operational models beyond the ISS.
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A new National Space Transportation Policy directs the Defense Department, NASA and other agencies to identify regulatory, operational, programmatic and technological barriers to faster, more resilient access to space. The policy also calls for expanded launch infrastructure, including evaluating a new federally supported spaceport for heavy-lift vehicles.
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President Donald Trump will present the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen during an Aug. 28 ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The crew is the first to fly around the moon in more than 50 years.
Thruster failures during Boeing Starliner’s first crewed flight in June 2024 made its docking with the orbiting laboratory a high-risk event for astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams, exposing serious concerns about propulsion reliability in a pivotal human-spaceflight test.
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NASA and Katalyst Space have called off an experimental mission to boost the aging Swift gamma-ray observatory after the recently launched servicing spacecraft suffered irredeemable technical problems in orbit. Without the rescue, Swift is expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere later this year, ending an effort to extend its operational life.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon and French astronaut Sophie Adenot removed a failed antenna during an Aug. 18 spacewalk at the International Space Station, but ran out of time before installing its replacement. The antenna repair will therefore require a subsequent spacewalk or other planned intervention.
European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot is scheduled to make history on Aug. 18 as the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk. The event will be broadcast live, offering viewers access to a milestone in France’s human-spaceflight participation.
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