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Space.com • Chelsea Gohd

Roman Telescope primary mirror clears final inspection; NASA begins shipment to Florida launch site

NASA engineers have completed the final inspection of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s primary mirror, confirming it is ready for shipment to its Florida launch site. The milestone closes out a key end-to-end hardware readiness step ahead of launch processing for the observatory’s exoplanet and galactic-survey mission.

2026-06-03T12:13:45.777598-07:00

NASA

NASA declares MAVEN Mars orbiter dead after months of radio silence

2026-06-03T06:57:22.628694-07:00

Space.com

Proposal: Use a lunar moon base as an interim quarantine zone for Mars sample storage

2026-06-03T06:14:25.290516-07:00

SpaceNews.com

Muon Space debuts Starship-class satellite bus for orbital data centers, targeting 2028 launches

2026-06-03T04:58:15.866744-07:00

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NASA Spaceflight

Northrop Grumman ships final Artemis III twin solid rocket booster segments to Kennedy Northrop Grumman shipped the final eight twin solid rocket booster motor segments for NASA’s Artemis III from Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The hardware is slated for stacking this summer, advancing the SLS boosters toward integration for the Artemis III mission.

2026-06-03T13:42:10.995995-07:00

Northrop Grumman ships final Artemis III twin solid rocket booster segments to Kennedy

Space.com

Roman Telescope primary mirror clears final inspection; NASA begins shipment to Florida launch site NASA engineers have completed the final inspection of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s primary mirror, confirming it is ready for shipment to its Florida launch site. The milestone closes out a key end-to-end hardware readiness step ahead of launch processing for the observatory’s exoplanet and galactic-survey mission.

2026-06-03T12:13:45.777598-07:00

Roman Telescope primary mirror clears final inspection; NASA begins shipment to Florida launch site

SpaceNews.com

ESA’s SMILE solar-wind mission sets May 19 launch on Vega-C to probe how space weather drives magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling ESA’s SMILE spacecraft is scheduled to launch May 19, 2026, on a Vega-C rocket, aiming to advance understanding of solar wind interactions with Earth’s magnetosphere and improve space-weather prediction. The mission underscores Europe’s push to operationalize heliophysics observations through targeted instrumentation.

2026-06-03T11:41:30.326016-07:00

ESA’s SMILE solar-wind mission sets May 19 launch on Vega-C to probe how space weather drives magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling

NASA

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NASA declares MAVEN Mars orbiter dead after months of radio silence NASA has officially declared its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) orbiter dead following months of unsuccessful attempts to reestablish communications. Launched in 2013, MAVEN spent more than 11 years in orbit studying the evolution of the Martian atmosphere.

2026-06-03T06:57:22.628694-07:00

NASA declares MAVEN Mars orbiter dead after months of radio silence

Space.com

Proposal: Use a lunar moon base as an interim quarantine zone for Mars sample storage Scientists argue that Mars or other extraterrestrial samples could be stored at a moon base—treating it as an isolated “first line” of biological defense—to reduce the risk that potentially harmful organisms contaminate Earth’s biosphere. The concept is framed as an added layer to existing planetary-protection approaches.

2026-06-03T06:14:25.290516-07:00

Proposal: Use a lunar moon base as an interim quarantine zone for Mars sample storage

SpaceNews.com

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Muon Space debuts Starship-class satellite bus for orbital data centers, targeting 2028 launches Muon Space says it has designed a Starship-class satellite platform from the ground up for the emerging “orbital data center” market, built around a larger architecture than its Condor-Ultra bus. The company is pitching early customers and points to an initial launch timeline of 2028.

2026-06-03T04:58:15.866744-07:00

Muon Space debuts Starship-class satellite bus for orbital data centers, targeting 2028 launches

European Spaceflight

SSC Space launches SubOrbital Express-5 sounding rocket from Esrange with 12 experiments on a red-kite-powered flight SSC Space’s SubOrbital Express-5 mission lifted off from Esrange with a red-kite-powered sounding rocket carrying 12 experiments, including one focused on microgravity effects on red hair. The flight underscores SSC Space’s expanding role in providing rapid, experiment-driven suborbital access.

2026-06-03T00:26:48.880635-07:00

SSC Space launches SubOrbital Express-5 sounding rocket from Esrange with 12 experiments on a red-kite-powered flight

Universe Today

ngVLA prototype reaches first light by tracking Crab Nebula (Taurus A) A prototype Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) antenna tested its end-to-end systems by observing and tracking the Crab Nebula, also known as Taurus A (3C144). The “first light” demonstration is a key validation step for the ngVLA’s radio astronomy capabilities.

2026-06-02T12:41:00.438342-07:00

ngVLA prototype reaches first light by tracking Crab Nebula (Taurus A)

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Space Exploration & Science Missions News

Roman Telescope primary mirror clears final inspection; NASA begins shipment to Florida launch site

NASA declares MAVEN Mars orbiter dead after months of radio silence

Proposal: Use a lunar moon base as an interim quarantine zone for Mars sample storage

Muon Space debuts Starship-class satellite bus for orbital data centers, targeting 2028 launches

News Timeline