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Associated Press • Leer En Español

Shenzhou 21 crew returns from Tiangong after ~7-month mission; handover via Shenzhou 22 and backdrop of prior debris damage to S

China’s Shenzhou 21 astronauts returned to Earth on May 29 after about seven months aboard the Tiangong space station, parachuting into the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia. The return followed a Tiangong crew handover ceremony and used Shenzhou 22 as the replacing spacecraft launched empty in Nov. 2025 to replace the debris-damaged Shenzhou 20.

2026-05-29T06:10:27.080349-07:00

Bloomberg

Blue Origin New Glenn explodes during Florida static hot-fire test, damaging LC-36 pad infrastructure

2026-05-28T19:10:16.075507-07:00

European Spaceflight

ESA greenlights HiBiDiS and SOVA-S Scout Earth-observation missions led by Sitael and OHB Czechspace

2026-05-29T00:40:05.728900-07:00

SpaceWatch Global

NASA picks Venturi Astrolab for crewed Artemis lunar rover, selecting one of two providers

2026-05-28T01:13:31.661041-07:00

News Timeline

Wall Street Journal

Earth’s rotation is slowing, forcing updates to timekeeping to protect GPS, navigation apps and satellite operations New reporting highlights that Earth’s day is getting longer as the planet’s rotation slows, requiring periodic adjustments to maintain precise time. Even millisecond-level shifts can ripple through systems that depend on accurate clocks, including GPS, navigation apps and satellite operations.

2026-05-29T13:51:17.301452-07:00

Earth’s rotation is slowing, forcing updates to timekeeping to protect GPS, navigation apps and satellite operations

Associated Press

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Shenzhou 21 crew returns from Tiangong after ~7-month mission; handover via Shenzhou 22 and backdrop of prior debris damage to S China’s Shenzhou 21 astronauts returned to Earth on May 29 after about seven months aboard the Tiangong space station, parachuting into the Dongfeng landing site in north China’s Inner Mongolia. The return followed a Tiangong crew handover ceremony and used Shenzhou 22 as the replacing spacecraft launched empty in Nov. 2025 to replace the debris-damaged Shenzhou 20.

2026-05-29T06:10:27.080349-07:00

Shenzhou 21 crew returns from Tiangong after ~7-month mission; handover via Shenzhou 22 and backdrop of prior debris damage to S

European Spaceflight

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ESA greenlights HiBiDiS and SOVA-S Scout Earth-observation missions led by Sitael and OHB Czechspace The European Space Agency has approved development of its HiBiDiS and SOVA-S Scout Earth-observation missions. Development is led by Sitael for HiBiDiS and by OHB Czechspace for SOVA-S Scout, advancing ESA’s push for lower-cost, scalable Earth observation capabilities.

2026-05-29T00:40:05.728900-07:00

ESA greenlights HiBiDiS and SOVA-S Scout Earth-observation missions led by Sitael and OHB Czechspace

Bloomberg

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Blue Origin New Glenn explodes during Florida static hot-fire test, damaging LC-36 pad infrastructure Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a major anomaly during a planned static hot-fire at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (LC-36), triggering an explosion that destroyed the booster and upper stage and caused substantial pad damage, including a toppled launch tower. All personnel were accounted for; the event raises near-term execution risk for NASA’s Artemis-relevant timeline.

2026-05-28T19:10:16.075507-07:00

Blue Origin New Glenn explodes during Florida static hot-fire test, damaging LC-36 pad infrastructure

SpaceWatch Global

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NASA picks Venturi Astrolab for crewed Artemis lunar rover, selecting one of two providers NASA selected Venturi Astrolab, Inc. as one of two providers to develop a crewed lunar rover for the Artemis campaign. The award brings a new surface-mobility capability into NASA’s Artemis architecture as the agency advances steps toward a sustained return of humans to the Moon.

2026-05-28T01:13:31.661041-07:00

NASA picks Venturi Astrolab for crewed Artemis lunar rover, selecting one of two providers

Ars Technica

NASA satellites demonstrate dual-use capability to locate GPS-jammer sources on Earth NASA says its science satellites can detect and help pinpoint sources of GPS interference on the ground—turning an observing capability into a potential tool for GPS/jamming attribution and response. The finding highlights how space-based sensing can complement operator and regulator measures against degraded-PNT threats.

2026-05-27T13:58:04.744272-07:00

NASA satellites demonstrate dual-use capability to locate GPS-jammer sources on Earth

NASA

Russian cosmonauts return inside ISS after ~5.5-hour EVA for science hardware install and retrieval Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev concluded their ISS spacewalk at 4:24 p.m. EDT after about five and a half hours. During the EVA, they installed and retrieved science experiments tied to external hardware work, returning to the station after completing the planned timeline.

2026-05-27T13:46:05.950560-07:00

Russian cosmonauts return inside ISS after ~5.5-hour EVA for science hardware install and retrieval

Space.com

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China integrates robotic Chang’e lunar activities into human spaceflight for Moon landings by 2030; NASA arms Artemis with crewe China is reshaping its lunar program by merging Chang’e robotic probe work with its human spaceflight plans to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. Separately, NASA has selected Venturi Astrolab and Lunar Outpost to supply Artemis crewed lunar terrain vehicles (LTVs), with student teams developing lunar robotics for 2026.

2026-05-27T11:13:00.583858-07:00

China integrates robotic Chang’e lunar activities into human spaceflight for Moon landings by 2030; NASA arms Artemis with crewe

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Space Exploration & Science Missions News

Shenzhou 21 crew returns from Tiangong after ~7-month mission; handover via Shenzhou 22 and backdrop of prior debris damage to S

Blue Origin New Glenn explodes during Florida static hot-fire test, damaging LC-36 pad infrastructure

ESA greenlights HiBiDiS and SOVA-S Scout Earth-observation missions led by Sitael and OHB Czechspace

NASA picks Venturi Astrolab for crewed Artemis lunar rover, selecting one of two providers

News Timeline