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Reuters

Shenzhou-21 crew extended by one month as China rethinks Tiangong mission duration

China’s Manned Space Engineering Office has approved an additional month on orbit for the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew, state media reported. The extension follows “careful consideration,” extending the current Tiangong mission timeline and affecting near-term crew scheduling and onboard operations.

2026-04-19T13:24:28.284686-07:00

Space.com

Artemis II Orion heat shield “aces” lunar reentry after Integrity splashdown

2026-04-17T06:14:26.590771-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Shenzhou-21 extends by a month as crew completes EVA-3 for Tiangong debris protection and inspection

2026-04-17T11:21:17.449783-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Commercial LEO space-station developers push back on NASA’s “market not yet emerged” assessment

2026-04-16T19:32:32.780706-07:00

News Timeline

Reuters

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Shenzhou-21 crew extended by one month as China rethinks Tiangong mission duration China’s Manned Space Engineering Office has approved an additional month on orbit for the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew, state media reported. The extension follows “careful consideration,” extending the current Tiangong mission timeline and affecting near-term crew scheduling and onboard operations.

2026-04-19T13:24:28.284686-07:00

Shenzhou-21 crew extended by one month as China rethinks Tiangong mission duration

Breaking Defense

Lockheed Martin wins up to $105M Space Force contract to modernize U.S. GPS ground control network The U.S. Space Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $105 million to continue modernizing and sustaining the GPS ground control network. The work supports resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services for military and civilian users as the Next-Generation Operational Control Segment (OCX) winds down, including an upgrade to enable replacement of RTX’s troubled OCX program for future GPS IIIF spacecraft.

2026-04-17T15:37:15.080655-07:00

Lockheed Martin wins up to $105M Space Force contract to modernize U.S. GPS ground control network

SpaceNews.com

Shenzhou-21 extends by a month as crew completes EVA-3 for Tiangong debris protection and inspection China’s Shenzhou-21 astronauts—Zhang Lu, Wu Fei and Zhang Hongzhang—have completed their third spacewalk outside the Tiangong space station. The mission is being extended by about a month, with the EVA focused on installing debris-protection hardware and inspecting the orbital outpost.

2026-04-17T11:21:17.449783-07:00

Shenzhou-21 extends by a month as crew completes EVA-3 for Tiangong debris protection and inspection

Space.com

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Artemis II Orion heat shield “aces” lunar reentry after Integrity splashdown NASA reports that the Orion “Integrity” heat shield performed “wonderfully” during Artemis II’s lunar return, meeting or exceeding expectations despite extreme reentry conditions (~2,800°C and ~40,000 km/h). Crew inspections shortly after splashdown found the shield in better-than-expected condition, supporting mission readiness for subsequent Artemis flights.

2026-04-17T06:14:26.590771-07:00

Artemis II Orion heat shield “aces” lunar reentry after Integrity splashdown

SpaceNews.com

Commercial LEO space-station developers push back on NASA’s “market not yet emerged” assessment Executives from three commercial space-station developers argued at the Space Symposium that the low-Earth-orbit (LEO) market is real and they can be ready by 2030, when the International Space Station is scheduled for retirement. Their remarks directly counter NASA’s claim that a commercial station market has yet to develop.

2026-04-16T19:32:32.780706-07:00

Commercial LEO space-station developers push back on NASA’s “market not yet emerged” assessment

Universe Today

NASA-led plan to test lunar material flammability—challenging Earth-based fire screening standard NASA Glenn and Johnson Space Center researchers, with Case Western Reserve University, are outlining a mission to test how materials burn on the Moon’s surface. The work targets limits of the long-used NASA-STD-6001B Earth-based flammability screening, where flame behavior may differ in lunar environments.

2026-04-16T09:55:09.878107-07:00

NASA-led plan to test lunar material flammability—challenging Earth-based fire screening standard

SpaceWatch Global

Opinion: Europe risks ceding lunar strategy in Artemis—will it become a space power or stay a subcontractor? A #SpaceWatchGl op-ed argues the U.S. is advancing Artemis “alone,” with European hardware participation that may not translate into European influence over lunar mission strategy. It frames Europe’s decision as a binary: remain a subcontractor—or build independent space-power capabilities.

2026-04-16T05:35:43.375007-07:00

Opinion: Europe risks ceding lunar strategy in Artemis—will it become a space power or stay a subcontractor?

SpaceWatch Global

Space Symposium 2026: Iridium’s national-security satcom role—and “chip-level” connectivity tie-in to Artemis 2 At Space Symposium 2026, Iridium’s Scott Scheimreif said the company is deepening its national-security footprint, while highlighting an “unexpected” connection to Artemis 2. The discussion frames Iridium’s contribution as moving beyond services into the underlying satellite/terminal technology supporting mission-critical comms.

2026-04-16T05:35:43.253999-07:00

Space Symposium 2026: Iridium’s national-security satcom role—and “chip-level” connectivity tie-in to Artemis 2

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Human Spaceflight & Space Stations News

Shenzhou-21 crew extended by one month as China rethinks Tiangong mission duration

Artemis II Orion heat shield “aces” lunar reentry after Integrity splashdown

Shenzhou-21 extends by a month as crew completes EVA-3 for Tiangong debris protection and inspection

Commercial LEO space-station developers push back on NASA’s “market not yet emerged” assessment

News Timeline