Paris, France (AFP) Feb 12, 2026
Surprised astronomers said Thursday they have discovered a star with planets in a bizarre order that defies scientific expectations - and suggests these faraway worlds formed in a manner never seen before. In our Solar System, the four planets closest to the Sun are small and rocky, while the four farther out are gas giants. Scientists had thought this planetary order - rocky first, th

Kourou (AFP) Feb 12, 2026
The most powerful version of Europe's Ariane 6 rocket Thursday carried 32 satellites into space for the Amazon Leo network, which aims to rival Elon Musk's Starlink. The launch from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America, is a first for Amazon Leo. The largest number of satellites ever carried by an Ariane rocket successfully separated and

Cape Canaveral (AFP) Feb 13, 2026
NASA launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Friday, the latest team to head out on a research expedition to the orbiting laboratory. The US space agency's international Crew-12 lifted off at approximately 5:15 am local time (1015 GMT) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida, according to a NASA video feed. The astronauts

Image: 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.

Video: 00:02:36

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.

Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Feb 13, 2026
Researchers working on the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) experiment have developed a Unity-based virtual reality system that immersively visualizes detector geometry and event information. The new framework is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional visualization tools and provide a three-dimensional, interactive view of complex neutrino detector data. The VR

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

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