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SpaceNews.com • Jeff Foust

SpaceX delays first Starship V3 flight as NASA pushes to speed lunar-lander work

SpaceX has postponed the inaugural flight of its next‑generation Starship V3 even as NASA is urging the company to accelerate development of a Starship‑based lunar lander. The slip creates an immediate scheduling tension between SpaceX's test campaign and NASA's Artemis lander timelines.

2026-03-09T05:27:21.004193-07:00

NASA

NASA's DART mission becomes first to alter an asteroid's orbit around the Sun

2026-03-06T11:19:08.440074-08:00

NASA

Japan's first HTV‑X1 undocks from ISS Harmony and departs on March 6; NASA streams live

2026-03-06T08:59:50.791229-08:00

Ars Technica

United Launch Alliance to build additional upper stages for NASA's SLS

2026-03-06T04:57:37.101570-08:00

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SpaceNews.com

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SpaceX delays first Starship V3 flight as NASA pushes to speed lunar-lander work SpaceX has postponed the inaugural flight of its next‑generation Starship V3 even as NASA is urging the company to accelerate development of a Starship‑based lunar lander. The slip creates an immediate scheduling tension between SpaceX's test campaign and NASA's Artemis lander timelines.

2026-03-09T05:27:21.004193-07:00

SpaceX delays first Starship V3 flight as NASA pushes to speed lunar-lander work

Universe Today

Astronauts Use Bacteria and Fungi to Harvest Metals in Space Astronauts are using bacteria and fungi to harvest metals in space, leveraging microbes that live on and in crew, surfaces and food. Understanding how these organisms respond to space conditions is critical for managing onboard microbiomes and could enable biological in‑situ resource utilization on long‑duration exploration missions.

2026-03-07T18:23:56.916229-08:00

Astronauts Use Bacteria and Fungi to Harvest Metals in Space

NASA

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NASA's DART mission becomes first to alter an asteroid's orbit around the Sun Analysis of the 2022 DART impact on the binary system Didymos–Dimorphos shows the collision not only shortened Dimorphos's orbit around its larger companion but measurably changed the pair's heliocentric path — the first deliberate alteration of a celestial body's orbit around the Sun and a proof point for planetary defense.

2026-03-06T11:19:08.440074-08:00

NASA's DART mission becomes first to alter an asteroid's orbit around the Sun

NASA

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Japan's first HTV‑X1 undocks from ISS Harmony and departs on March 6; NASA streams live JAXA's first HTV‑X1 cargo spacecraft undocked from the ISS Harmony module and departed on March 6 at 12 p.m. ET after being grappled and released by Canadarm2. NASA provided live coverage on NASA+, Amazon Prime and its YouTube channel as Expedition 74 continued cargo transfers, spacewalk preparations and on‑station research.

2026-03-06T08:59:50.791229-08:00

Japan's first HTV‑X1 undocks from ISS Harmony and departs on March 6; NASA streams live

Ars Technica

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Orion cleared for Artemis launch as NASA reshuffles rockets; lunar lander question remains NASA has reorganized its Artemis launch vehicles and confirms Orion is ready to fly on the upcoming Artemis mission, but the agency has not resolved who will provide a crewed lunar lander. The move advances the flight schedule while leaving surface access and contractor selection unsettled.

2026-03-06T07:58:27.800025-08:00

Orion cleared for Artemis launch as NASA reshuffles rockets; lunar lander question remains

Universe Today

Century-long solar records reveal patterns to sharpen near-term solar-activity forecasts A new study reanalyzed more than a century of solar observations to uncover connections in sunspot and magnetic behavior that improve short-term predictions of solar activity. The work aims to reduce uncertainty in when solar storms and coronal mass ejections will occur, enhancing near-term space‑weather forecasting skill.

2026-03-06T07:40:49.504508-08:00

Century-long solar records reveal patterns to sharpen near-term solar-activity forecasts

Ars Technica

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United Launch Alliance to build additional upper stages for NASA's SLS United Launch Alliance will build additional upper stages for NASA's Space Launch System, increasing ULA's production role in SLS sustainment. The decision adds hardware capacity for upcoming Artemis-class missions and shifts near-term workload and supplier demand onto ULA's manufacturing lines.

2026-03-06T04:57:37.101570-08:00

United Launch Alliance to build additional upper stages for NASA's SLS

rocketlabcorp.com

Rocket Lab launches confidential Earth‑observation satellite to 470 km LEO; likely BlackSky On March 5 Rocket Lab's Electron vehicle deployed a single commercial satellite into a 470 km low Earth orbit for a confidential customer — widely reported as BlackSky — marking the company's 83rd Electron mission and its fourth launch of 2026.

2026-03-05T17:21:28.784579-08:00

Rocket Lab launches confidential Earth‑observation satellite to 470 km LEO; likely BlackSky

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NASA News

SpaceX delays first Starship V3 flight as NASA pushes to speed lunar-lander work

NASA's DART mission becomes first to alter an asteroid's orbit around the Sun

Japan's first HTV‑X1 undocks from ISS Harmony and departs on March 6; NASA streams live

United Launch Alliance to build additional upper stages for NASA's SLS

News Timeline