Space Explored

Image: Voyager Technologies Voyager Technologies has won a U.S. Space Force contract to develop capabilities to allow satellites to communicate directly with other spacecraft in orbit. While the value was not disclosed, Voyager announced August 10 that the contract was awarded through Space Systems Command, tasking the company to develop a flight-ready communications waveform designed to work across different orbits. The Denver-based company is also expected to demonstrate the technology in space.

Image: Atlas Devices Before astronauts step onto the lunar surface, a Massachusetts engineering firm is using a gravity-defying simulator to ensure they can actually do their jobs once they arrive. By mimicking the Moon’s one-sixth gravity on Earth, Atlas Devices is helping engineers solve the ergonomic challenges that will ultimately dictate the success of crewed lunar exploration. Returning humans to the Moon is only part of the challenge.

Image: Astrobotic When people think about NASA’s Artemis program, they usually picture astronauts exploring the lunar surface. But before astronauts can live and work on the Moon for weeks at a time, someone has to deliver the equipment they’ll need. Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander is designed to do exactly that. The Griffin-1 lander, designated as “Moon Base II” earlier this year by NASA, is now undergoing environmental testing at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI More than three decades after Voyager 2 became the only spacecraft to fly past Neptune, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is revealing that the distant ice giant may have experienced one of the most dramatic events in the solar system’s history. A new study published in Science Advances suggests Neptune’s original family of moons was largely destroyed billions of years ago before the planet’s present-day inner moons and rings formed from the aftermath.

Image: ESA Earth’s orbit is getting more crowded by the week, and NASA is no longer just talking about the problem. It’s working with industry to build the infrastructure to manage it. From its support of the Department of Commerce’s satellite tracking system to a growing roster of commercial partners developing technologies to clean up debris and dodge collisions, the agency’s approach to sustainability has moved from strategy into execution.

Image: NASA NASA has spent decades accomplishing what many thought was impossible: landing astronauts on the Moon, exploring the outer planets, and building some of the most advanced spacecraft. But today, one of the agency’s biggest challenges isn’t technology – it’s maintaining the workforce behind it.

Image: SpaceX After delaying for weather, SpaceX is back again to launch its Starship Flight 13 mission from Starbase, Texas later this afternoon. If you aren’t able to be there in person, here is how you can watch it from the comfort of your home. Starship Flight 13’s 90 minute launch window is set to open at 5:45 PM CT. This means that at any moment between 5:45 PM and 7:15 PM CT, SpaceX can launch its Starship rocket.

Image: SpaceX After delaying its launch attempt yesterday due to weather, SpaceX is hoping today is the day for it to finally get its next Starship rocket off the ground. Thunderstorms and rain delayed yesterday’s Starship Flight 13 launch to today, but if forecasts are anything to go by, today is looking like a beautiful day to launch a rocket. Same as yesterday, SpaceX’s 90 minute launch window opens up at 5:45 PM CT. This means that SpaceX can launch anytime between 5:45 PM and 7:15 PM CT today.

Image: NASA Senator Mark Kelly, former NASA Astronaut and retired Navy Aviator, is being considered as a Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party. According to the Federal Election Commission’s website, Senator Kelly has nearly $25 million in funds, well ahead of that what he would need if he was just raising money for reelection in 2028. In the last year, Senator Kelly has also become a much stronger voice for the Democratic Party in opposition to sitting President Donald Trump.

Image: SpaceX As long as weather allows it, SpaceX will attempt again to launch its Starship Flight 13 mission from Starbase, Texas later this afternoon. If you aren’t able to be there in person, here is how you can watch it from the comfort of your home. Starship Flight 13’s 90 minute launch window is set to open at 5:45 PM CT. This means that at any moment between 5:45 PM and 7:15 PM CT, SpaceX can launch its Starship rocket.