NASA Archives

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope launches to explore universe origins

NASA’s SPHEREx telescope successfully launched it aims to study the structure of the universe and the origins of galaxies.

SpaceX and FAA launch probe into second straight Starship failure

SpaceX celebrated the success of its Starship Super Heavy booster on Friday morning while engineers worked to determine why its Starship upper stage spacecraft lost several engines before it spun out of control and broke up.

International Space Station moved twice to dodge orbital debris

Crews have maneuvered International Space Station twice in one week to avoid orbital debris, using thrusters to move the research outpost to a higher orbit.

NASA cheers SpaceX Starship test as lunar deadline looms

NASA leaders cheered SpaceX’s successful fifth Starship test flight on Oct. 13, which demonstrated capabilities the agency plans to use when it returns astronauts to the Moon.

NASA lays off 5% of JPL staff amid budget tightening

NASA laid off more than 300 employees at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory amid budget tightening and an uncertain federal future.

NASA laid off more than 300 employees at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory amid a shrinking budget and an uncertain federal future.

NASA, Boeing extract lode of data amid Starliner’s extended stay in space

Boeing Starliner Commercial Crew Module deemed safe to return astronauts to Earth for emergency return as engineers diagnose anomalies.

SpaceX surpasses its 50th astronaut launched to space

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches its Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station.

SpaceX launched its Crew-8 mission to the International Space Station, surpassing 50 humans sent to space by the company. This is the first spaceflight for spacecraft commander Matthew Dominick and specialists Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin. However, it is pilot Michael Barratt’s third voyage into orbit.

Launch records topple in 2024 with busiest January of space age

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 starlink satellites launches from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, Jan. 7, 2024.

Averaging a liftoff every 33 hours and 49 minutes, January’s 22 successful launches to space marked the busiest start to a year since the Space Age dawned in 1957, and put the globe on track for 259 launches in 2024, which would easily eclipse records set in 2023, according to a Space Foundation database.

Final flight of NASA’s remarkable Mars helicopter ends with rotor damage

NASA's twin-rotor Ingenuity helicopter was designed for five missions over Mars. It lasted for 72 before a frayed rotor blade grounded the machine. Credit NASA

Rotor damage suffered during a routine Jan. 18 flight grounded the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars, after three years exceeding expectations and setting milestones for powered flight on another planet alongside the Perseverance rover, ending the aircraft’s remarkable mission, NASA announced Thursday.

Facing safety, budget concerns, NASA delays Artemis Moon missions

With budget cuts on the horizon and technical hurdles to vault before astronauts return to the Moon, NASA pushed the brakes on its Artemis program launch schedule Tuesday, delaying a planned lunar fly-by mission into 2025 and its planned landing into 2026. The agency cited safety concerns for the delay, including an ongoing investigation into problems with a heatshield, which was damaged when the uncrewed Artemis I capsule re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after a 2022 test flight. The move also comes as congressional negotiators mull slimming the agency’s budget by more than $500 million from its 2023, and $2.2 billion short of NASA’s 2024 budget request.