Space Exploration & Science Missions News

NASA Spaceflight

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Artemis III SLS stacking advances as Orion results validate trajectory fix

NASA teams at Kennedy Space Center have stacked another pair of Artemis III Space Launch System solid-rocket-booster segments, while continuing Core Stage-3 engine work and early Artemis IV processing. Orion test results also confirmed a trajectory correction, providing additional progress across the Artemis hardware pipeline.

SpaceWatch Global

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MTG-I2 completes Meteosat Third Generation constellation as India’s EOS-05 begins ascent to geostationary orbit

MTG-I2 has passed its initial post-launch milestones, completing Europe’s Meteosat Third Generation constellation and enabling faster, higher-resolution weather monitoring. Separately, India’s GSLV Mark II deployed the EOS-05 Earth-imaging satellite, which has completed two apogee-raising maneuvers on its way to geostationary orbit.

Space.com

NASA adds giant California antenna to expand Deep Space Network capacity

NASA has added a new antenna to its Deep Space Network in the California desert, increasing communications capacity as a growing number of deep-space missions place greater demands on the agency’s ground infrastructure. The expansion is intended to support more reliable links with spacecraft operating far beyond Earth.

SpaceWatch Global

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Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum reaches orbit on second launch, marking first orbital success from European soil

German launch provider Isar Aerospace successfully sent its Spectrum small-satellite rocket into orbit on Sept. 5, following months of delays and aborted attempts. The mission marks the first time a privately developed rocket has reached orbit from European soil, strengthening Europe’s emerging commercial launch sector.

SpaceNews.com

China to Select Tianwen-3 Mars Sample-Return Landing Site by Year-End

China is narrowing candidate landing sites for Tianwen-3, its Mars sample-return mission, and plans to select a final location before the end of 2026. Hardware development is advancing as the mission targets samples that could help determine whether Mars once hosted—or still preserves—evidence of life.

Wall Street Journal

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launches, Linking Science and Politics

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has successfully launched, beginning a mission designed to advance space science and exploration. The project reflects both the scientific ambition behind a groundbreaking observatory and the political dynamics that shaped its development, funding and execution.

Associated Press

Private spacecraft reaches NASA’s Swift Observatory in attempted rescue mission

A private spacecraft came within nine miles of NASA’s Swift Observatory, an aging mission described as doomed, and captured images during an attempt to assess or enable a rescue. The close approach marks a rare effort to intervene with an operational scientific spacecraft in distress.

Bloomberg

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Satellite activity spans ISRO’s EOS-05 launch, SES’s final O3b mPOWER spacecraft and Europe’s lunar rover mission

ISRO has successfully returned to flight with the EOS-05 Earth-imaging satellite, reportedly India’s first imaging spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Separately, SES’s final three O3b mPOWER satellites have reached Cape Canaveral for a planned September Falcon 9 launch, while ESA and ispace-Europe formalized Europe’s first lunar polar ice exploration rover mission.