Ars Technica
• Eric Berger
A lawsuit between two space-station companies centers on claims that one copied the other’s work. NASA advised that Vast’s submission used “the PAM Provider” in some locations where it had previously named Axiom, according to the article summary.
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Two amateur radio operators said they intercepted signals from Soviet cosmonauts who died during missions the USSR kept secret. The accounts form part of a Cold War-era claim about hidden Soviet spaceflight losses; the article raises the question of whether the alleged missions happened but provides no confirmation in the supplied summary.
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A lawsuit between two space-station companies centers on claims that one copied the other’s work. NASA advised that Vast’s submission used “the PAM Provider” in some locations where it had previously named Axiom, according to the article summary.
Four volunteers completed NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission on Oct. 31, concluding a 378-day simulated Mars mission. The effort was led by US Air Force test pilot Ross Elder and focused on crew health and performance in an exploration-mission analog.
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Blue Origin has shifted New Glenn’s planned return to flight from December 2026 to January 2027 while rebuilding Launch Complex 36 after a ground-testing accident. Separately, Boeing has moved NASA’s Artemis III core stage into Kennedy Space Center’s High Bay 3 for final stacking, integration and testing ahead of the mission’s planned 2027 launch.
NASA has opened applications for its next astronaut class as the agency prepares to return Americans to the moon, establish a long-term lunar presence and lay groundwork for crewed Mars missions. The announcement coincided with a $10 billion contract program intended to support future lunar cargo deliveries.
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NASA is recruiting for an astronaut class tied to Artemis and a planned Moon Base, with applications due Dec. 3 and final selections expected in late 2027. At a Kennedy Space Center air show featuring lunar exploration and electric aviation, administrator Jared Isaacman also outlined plans for a larger aerospace exhibition intended to rival the Paris Air Show.
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NASA’s effort to return astronauts to the moon depends on Axiom Space, whose track record the article describes as uneven. The Houston-based startup has partnered with Prada and counts among its investors a firm where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner.
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NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk installed the International Space Station’s eighth and final roll-out solar array during a seven-hour spacewalk, completing an upgrade begun more than five years ago. The arrays are intended to sustain the orbiting laboratory’s power supply through its planned retirement in 2030.
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