Launch of Crew-12 to the ISS
Friday, 13 February 2026 09:30
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Watch the liftoff of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot to the International Space Station (ISS), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. Sophie flies as mission specialist. The other Crew-12 members are NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, respectively commander and pilot of the mission, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, mission specialist.
NASA crew set for flight to ISS
Friday, 13 February 2026 08:20?️
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Earth from Space: Sending love from above
Friday, 13 February 2026 08:00
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For Valentine’s Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission sends love from space, capturing the heart-shaped oasis of Faiyum, just south of Cairo, Egypt. NASA Stennis proves water systems ready for Artemis IV upper stage trials
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
A major water system activation at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) has moved NASA Stennis Space Center a step closer to Green Run testing of the exploration upper stage for the Artemis IV mission. The Jan. 30 activation exercised new cooling hardware and pushed the site's high pressure industrial water network to full capacity in preparation for operating the more powerful upper stage.
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A major water system activation at the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) has moved NASA Stennis Space Center a step closer to Green Run testing of the exploration upper stage for the Artemis IV mission. The Jan. 30 activation exercised new cooling hardware and pushed the site's high pressure industrial water network to full capacity in preparation for operating the more powerful upper stage.
T China verifies Long March 10 booster splashdown and crew escape in key lunar test
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
China has carried out a pivotal flight test of a prototype rocket and crew spacecraft for its planned manned lunar landing program, validating key ascent, abort, and recovery technologies needed for future missions to the Moon.
In the demonstration, a prototype of the new-generation Mengzhou crew spacecraft was mounted on a prototype first-stage booster of the Long March 10 heavy-lift rock
China has carried out a pivotal flight test of a prototype rocket and crew spacecraft for its planned manned lunar landing program, validating key ascent, abort, and recovery technologies needed for future missions to the Moon.
In the demonstration, a prototype of the new-generation Mengzhou crew spacecraft was mounted on a prototype first-stage booster of the Long March 10 heavy-lift rock Stoke Space expands Series D funding to $860M to drive Nova launch development
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Stoke Space Technologies has expanded its previously announced Series D financing round to a total of 860 million dollars as it advances work on its fully and rapidly reusable Nova launch vehicle and related infrastructure at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company, based in Kent, Washington, is developing medium lift launch vehicles designed for high cadence operations to sup
Stoke Space Technologies has expanded its previously announced Series D financing round to a total of 860 million dollars as it advances work on its fully and rapidly reusable Nova launch vehicle and related infrastructure at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The company, based in Kent, Washington, is developing medium lift launch vehicles designed for high cadence operations to sup Ariane 6 four booster launcher completes on schedule mission
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Paris, France (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Europe's Ariane 6 launcher has completed its first mission using a four booster configuration, delivering a full suite of payloads to orbit in a demonstration of its maximum performance variant.
Designated flight VA267, the mission lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during a launch window between 16:45 and 17:13 GMT, carrying 32 satellites for Amazon's Leo constel
Europe's Ariane 6 launcher has completed its first mission using a four booster configuration, delivering a full suite of payloads to orbit in a demonstration of its maximum performance variant.
Designated flight VA267, the mission lifted off from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, during a launch window between 16:45 and 17:13 GMT, carrying 32 satellites for Amazon's Leo constel Chang'e-6 farside samples reshape lunar impact history
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the CAS Aerospace Information Research Institute, and collaborating institutions have used samples from China's Chang'e-6 mission to revise the long-standing lunar crater chronology model. The new analysis relies on material collected from the far side of the Moon and complementary remote sensing im
Scientists from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the CAS Aerospace Information Research Institute, and collaborating institutions have used samples from China's Chang'e-6 mission to revise the long-standing lunar crater chronology model. The new analysis relies on material collected from the far side of the Moon and complementary remote sensing im Mars' "Young" Volcanoes Were More Complex Than Scientists Once Thought
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Boulder CO USA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
What appears to be a single volcanic eruption is often the result of complex processes operating deep beneath the surface, where magma moves, evolves, and changes over long periods of time. To fully understand how volcanoes work, scientists study the volcanic products that erupt at the surface, which can reveal the hidden magmatic systems feeding volcanic activity.
New research published r
What appears to be a single volcanic eruption is often the result of complex processes operating deep beneath the surface, where magma moves, evolves, and changes over long periods of time. To fully understand how volcanoes work, scientists study the volcanic products that erupt at the surface, which can reveal the hidden magmatic systems feeding volcanic activity.
New research published r ESA signs Ramses spacecraft and cubesat deals for Apophis flyby
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
On 10 February 2026 the European Space Agency signed a contract with OHB Italia to develop the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety, known as Ramses, securing the next phase of Europes dedicated mission to asteroid Apophis ahead of its close Earth flyby in 2029. Launching in 2028, Ramses will rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid before its rare encounter with our planet, providing detailed
On 10 February 2026 the European Space Agency signed a contract with OHB Italia to develop the Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety, known as Ramses, securing the next phase of Europes dedicated mission to asteroid Apophis ahead of its close Earth flyby in 2029. Launching in 2028, Ramses will rendezvous with the near-Earth asteroid before its rare encounter with our planet, providing detailed Titan may have formed in a giant impact between ancient Saturn moons
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Recent modeling work suggests that Saturns largest moon, Titan, may be the product of a violent collision between two earlier moons rather than a relic left over from the systems formation. In this scenario, a large Proto Titan and a smaller Proto Hyperion merged in a giant impact that reshaped Titan, erased many of its impact craters, and helped set up the conditions that later produced Saturns
Recent modeling work suggests that Saturns largest moon, Titan, may be the product of a violent collision between two earlier moons rather than a relic left over from the systems formation. In this scenario, a large Proto Titan and a smaller Proto Hyperion merged in a giant impact that reshaped Titan, erased many of its impact craters, and helped set up the conditions that later produced Saturns Hydrogen sulfide detected in distant gas giant exoplanets for the first time
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Hydrogen sulfide is what makes rotten eggs stink. But the discovery of this gas in the atmospheres of four distant, Jupiter-like planets is turning heads for a pleasant reason: It solves the mystery of how some gas giants form. The discovery, made by UCLA and University of California San Diego astronomers, marks the first time that hydrogen sulfide has been detected in a distant gas giant outsid
Hydrogen sulfide is what makes rotten eggs stink. But the discovery of this gas in the atmospheres of four distant, Jupiter-like planets is turning heads for a pleasant reason: It solves the mystery of how some gas giants form. The discovery, made by UCLA and University of California San Diego astronomers, marks the first time that hydrogen sulfide has been detected in a distant gas giant outsid Debris disc oddities point to hidden outer planets
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Astronomers have obtained some of the most detailed images yet of debris discs around fully formed, so called teenage planetary systems, and say the irregular structures they see could reveal the presence of hidden outer planets.
The study used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to image 24 debris discs made of dust, gas and rocks orbiting stars in systems bet
Astronomers have obtained some of the most detailed images yet of debris discs around fully formed, so called teenage planetary systems, and say the irregular structures they see could reveal the presence of hidden outer planets.
The study used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to image 24 debris discs made of dust, gas and rocks orbiting stars in systems bet Swift observatory changes operations ahead of planned orbit reboost
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
NASA has adjusted operations of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to reduce atmospheric drag and prepare the spacecraft for a planned orbit-raising mission. On Feb. 11 the mission team temporarily suspended most science activities so controllers can keep the satellite in an orientation that minimizes drag and slows its gradual loss of altitude.
Swift normally slews rapidly to observe tran
NASA has adjusted operations of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory to reduce atmospheric drag and prepare the spacecraft for a planned orbit-raising mission. On Feb. 11 the mission team temporarily suspended most science activities so controllers can keep the satellite in an orientation that minimizes drag and slows its gradual loss of altitude.
Swift normally slews rapidly to observe tran AST SpaceMobile deploys record low orbit cellular array on BlueBird 6
Friday, 13 February 2026 05:38
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
AST SpaceMobile has completed the unfolding of its next generation BlueBird 6 satellite, deploying what it describes as the largest commercial communications array antenna yet placed in low Earth orbit. The Midland, Texas based company is developing a space based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly with everyday smartphones for commercial and government users.
BlueBird
AST SpaceMobile has completed the unfolding of its next generation BlueBird 6 satellite, deploying what it describes as the largest commercial communications array antenna yet placed in low Earth orbit. The Midland, Texas based company is developing a space based cellular broadband network designed to connect directly with everyday smartphones for commercial and government users.
BlueBird