Space news

CASC reports that a Long March 8A launched low-orbit internet satellite group 28 from Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on 2026-10-25 at 10:03 (UTC+8). The satellites reached their planned orbit and the launch was successful.

According to the NASA announcement dated 2026-10-08, SpaceX Crew-12 has returned with a safe splashdown.

According to the NASA announcement dated 2026-10-07, SpaceX CRS-35 has a published launch and arrival coverage plan; this is a mission preview, not a completed launch.

CASC reports that a Long March 12 launched low-orbit internet satellite group 27 from Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on 2026-10-10 at 03:27 (UTC+8). The satellites reached their planned orbit and the launch was successful.

CASC reports that a Long March 12 launched the 25th low-orbit satellite internet group from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on 17 September and placed it in the planned orbit.

A Long March 8A launched from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on 23 September, placing the 26th low-orbit satellite internet group into its planned orbit, according to CASC.

The main structures of phase two were completed on 29 September and rehearsals began. Two new medium-class liquid-rocket pads still require testing before entering launch service.

ESA plans for the JUICE spacecraft to fly past Earth on September 28 at a closest distance of about 8,640 kilometres. The gravity assist is expected to bend the trajectory by roughly 20 degrees and add about 3.5 kilometres per second.

ESA says the second Meteosat Third Generation imager, MTG-I2, has reached geostationary orbit about 36,000 kilometres above Earth and was handed over to EUMETSAT on September 8 for the next phase of commissioning.

ESA confirmed that BepiColombo separated its Mercury Transfer Module on September 3 and that ground stations received confirmation. The manoeuvre ended the cruise stage's eight-year role and began the spacecraft's Mercury-arrival sequence.

ESA's FLEX and Sentinel-3C satellites launched together on Vega-C on September 15. Both spacecraft were deployed and acquired, beginning missions focused on vegetation fluorescence and sustained observations of oceans, land, ice, and the atmosphere.

A new Hubble image of NGC 4698, about 55 million light-years away, shows a central bulge extending nearly perpendicular to the outer disk. Stars and gas near the centre also rotate differently from the rest of the galaxy.

NASA and Katalyst Space say the LINK spacecraft will no longer attempt to capture and raise the orbit of the Swift observatory because of an ongoing attitude-control issue, though rendezvous and proximity operations are still planned.

Parker Solar Probe completed its 29th close approach to the Sun on September 4 and returned a normal-system beacon on September 7. The pass again matched the mission's record distance of about 3.8 million miles and speed of about 430,000 miles per hour.

Russia's Progress 96 cargo spacecraft automatically docked with the International Space Station's Poisk module at 9:44 a.m. EDT on September 19, delivering about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies for Expedition 75.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched at 7:26 a.m. EDT on August 30 aboard a Falcon Heavy from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, beginning its journey toward the Sun-Earth L2 region.

JAXA and the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that AMSR3 microwave-radiometer observations from the GOSAT-GW satellite would enter operational numerical weather prediction on September 8, supporting analyses of sea-surface temperature, water vapour, clouds, precipitation, and sea ice.

An official Chinese space programme notice published on August 23 says Chang'e 7 did not meet launch conditions and cannot fly in its planned 2026 window. The notice gives neither a replacement launch date nor a detailed cause.

China's space agency and the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs signed a donation agreement in Vienna on September 14. Samples returned by Chang'e 6 from the lunar far side are to be placed on permanent display at the UN Office at Vienna.

Long March 7A launched TJS-26A from national Wenchang at 10:10 Beijing time on June 23, 2026. CASC confirmed planned orbital delivery, the Long March family's 653rd launch.

Long March 5 launched TJS-25 from the national Wenchang Space Launch Site at 15:30 Beijing time on June 11, 2026. CASC confirmed delivery to the planned orbit and success, the Long March family's 650th launch. This is distinct from Hainan Commercial.

A Long March 8A began integrated testing at a second vertical test position at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site on June 7, 2026. CASC disclosed the milestone on June 12. The Long March 8 family can now process two rockets in parallel at two test positions.

Long March 8 launched Qianfan polar-orbit satellite group 12 from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 14:34 Beijing time on June 5, 2026. CASC confirmed successful orbital delivery. It was the Long March family's 649th flight and Long March 8's third mission of the year.

Tianzhou 10 launched on Long March 7 from the national Wenchang Space Launch Site at 08:14 Beijing time on May 11, 2026. CASC confirmed successful orbital insertion, the Long March family's 641st flight and China's first human-spaceflight-programme launch of the year. The cargo spacecraft carried no astronauts.

Rocket Lab announced German regulatory approval for Mynaric’s acquisition on March 30, 2026, expecting an April close. Regulatory approval is not closing itself. Mynaric already supplies CONDOR Mk3 optical terminals for Rocket Lab SDA programmes; the cited thirty-six satellites and 1.3-billion-dollar prime contracts are programme context, not acquisition price. Munich headquarters and expanded production were planned. A later closing announcement remains a separate stage. Integration ambitions do not establish completed new capacity, and undisclosed price and delivery details are not inferred.

Long March 2C with a Yuanzheng-1S upper stage launched Shiyan-33 from Jiuquan at 12:11 Beijing time on 27 March 2026. CASC confirmed that the satellite reached its planned orbit.

SuperView Neo-2 05 and 06 reached their planned orbit after a Long March 2D launch from Taiyuan at 06:51 Beijing time on 26 March 2026. The satellites were developed by CASC's Shanghai academy for commercial operation by China Siwei.

A March 26, 2026 report stated that the joint CAS–ESA Smile spacecraft had completed pre-launch preparations at Kourou and was connected to Vega-C’s interface ring. CNSA carried the account on March 27, with an April 9 local launch date planned at that time.

NASA set out Artemis II’s final launch preparations on 25 March 2026. The first two-hour window opened at 6:24 p.m. EDT on 1 April, with further opportunities through 6 April. Window opening is not actual liftoff.

Smart Dragon-3 launched the CentiSpace 02 satellite group from waters near Haiyang, Shandong, at 23:49 Beijing time on 22 March 2026. CASC published confirmation of success the following day; the event and publication dates remain distinct.

Eight Days A Week lifted off at 7:10 a.m. local time on March 21, 2026, delivering Synspective’s eighth StriX satellite to a 573-kilometre orbit. Rocket Lab identifies Electron flight eighty-four and the customer’s eighth dedicated mission. Nineteen additional flights were planned toward 2028 in that March account; later schedule statements are not retroactively substituted. Archive and body dates are retained separately. Payload deployment is not proof that every imaging service was immediately ready, and undisclosed resolution, lifetime or customers are not guessed.

NASA outlined Progress 94 on 19 March 2026, targeting 22 March at 7:59 a.m. EDT, or 4:59 p.m. Baikonur time. Soyuz would carry about three tonnes of station supplies.

CASC reported on March 18, 2026 that the SAST control institute's space-grade high-precision accelerometer assembly won an order for a cislunar deep-space project at the Shanghai Engineering Center for Microsatellites. It is described as the product's first external-market order.

JAXA announced on 18 March that eight CubeSats in Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 would move from the January–March period to no earlier than 23 April, following Rocket Lab schedule changes.

Rocket Lab announced a 190-million-dollar contract on March 18, 2026 for twenty HASTE flights over four years under MACH-TB 2.0 Task Area 1, led by Kratos. Initial tests were then expected within months. These are booked suborbital missions, not twenty completed flights or orbital satellites. The company’s greater-than-two-billion-dollar overall backlog is distinct from this award. Actual speeds, payloads and acceptance require later evidence; prior performance and corporate defence-benefit statements do not guarantee future results.

Kuaizhou-11 Y7 launched from Jiuquan at 12:12 Beijing time on March 16, 2026. CNSA’s notice, originally attributed to Our Space, confirms that eight satellites reached their designated orbits.

Shenzhou 21 completed its second spacewalk at 19:35 Beijing time on March 16, 2026, after about seven hours. Zhang Lu and Wu Fei worked outside while Zhang Hongzhang supported the operation. With robotic-arm and ground-team assistance, they installed debris-protection equipment and returned safely to Wentian.

Yaogan-50 02 entered its planned orbit following a Long March 6A launch from Taiyuan at 21:22 Beijing time on 15 March 2026. The flight was separate from the January launch of Yaogan-50 01 and remains a distinct archive event.

Long March 2D launched Shiyan-30 03 and 04 from Xichang at 06:33 Beijing time on 13 March 2026. CASC confirmed orbital insertion and said the satellites would test Earth-observation technologies.

A Long March 8A launched low-orbit internet satellite group 20 from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 03:48 Beijing time on March 13, 2026. CASC confirmed that the satellites entered their planned orbit and the launch succeeded. It was the Long March family's 631st flight.

NASA replanned US station excursions on 12 March 2026. Jessica Meir and Chris Williams would undertake spacewalk 94 on 18 March, preparing the 2A channel for later roll-out solar-array installation.

CASC announced on 11 March that Long March 8A Y8 had been transported to Pad 1 at the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site and was being prepared for launch when conditions permitted. The release described the transfer as recent, without specifying its exact date or a launch time.

CASC described the online release of its commercial-space industrial-chain standards framework and related Tianjun services on March 10, 2026. The framework guides coordinated standards development; it is not confirmation that every proposed standard has already taken effect.

NASA announced departure arrangements for Northrop Grumman’s CRS-23 Cygnus XL on 6 March 2026. Canadarm2 release was targeted for 12 March at 7 a.m. EDT, monitored by ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot.

Insight At Speed Is A Friend Indeed launched at 12:53 p.m. NZDT on March 6, 2026, deploying one confidential commercial satellite into a 470-kilometre orbit. A Rocket Lab Motorized Lightband provided separation. The source counts mission eighty-three across Electron and its HASTE suborbital variant, not eighty-three orbital satellite deliveries. This was the company’s fourth launch that year, approximately six days after a Virginia hypersonic test. Payload identity, purpose and performance remain undisclosed; market language is not treated as evidence for them.

NASA described HTV-X1 departure plans on 2 March, targeting Canadarm2 release around noon EST on 6 March, early 7 March in Japan. JAXA’s earlier announcement is supplementary evidence of the same departure programme.

Algeria's remote-sensing satellite B reached its planned orbit after a Long March 2C launch from Jiuquan at 12:01 Beijing time on 31 January 2026. It belongs to the same system as spacecraft A, launched on 15 January, but was a separate spacecraft and launch event.

NASA announced an order with Axiom Space for the fifth private astronaut mission to the ISS on January 30, 2026. Ax-5 was targeted no earlier than January 2027 from Kennedy, with up to fourteen days aboard the station and timing dependent on traffic and planning.

Bridging The Swarm launched at 2:21 p.m. NZDT on January 30, 2026, equivalent to 01:21 UTC, deploying KAIST’s NEONSAT-1A into a 540-kilometre orbit. Rocket Lab reports Electron flight eighty-one and its second launch of the year. The spacecraft tests capabilities for a future South Korean Earth-observation constellation, including disaster monitoring. NEONSAT-1’s 2024 launch is background, not another payload on this flight. Insertion does not mean the whole constellation or all products are operational; resolution, lifetime and future dates remain undisclosed.

ISRO announced IMEx-2026 on January 29, 2026, inviting Indian researchers to propose microgravity experiments for its human-spaceflight programme. Topics include materials, biology, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, fluids, heat transfer, combustion and in-space manufacturing.

A commercial-space industrial-chain forum in Shanghai released three frameworks on January 29, 2026: a development vision for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, major supply-and-demand information and an industrial-chain standards structure. CASC and the Chinese Society of Astronautics jointly organised the event, which also launched a continuing coordination mechanism.

Rocket Lab’s January 21, 2026 update reported a rupture of Neutron’s first-stage tank during hydrostatic qualification testing. The company said there was no significant damage to test structures or facilities, the next tank was already in production and data were being reviewed for effects on the launch schedule. The website’s archive displays January 22; the original dateline and archive evidence are preserved separately.

Long March 12 launched low-orbit internet satellite group 19 from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 15:48 Beijing time on January 19, 2026. CASC reported successful delivery to the intended orbit, marking the Long March family's 628th flight.

Shenzhou 20's return capsule landed at Dongfeng at 09:34 Beijing time on January 19, 2026. CMSE reported generally normal external condition and sound returned cargo. The spacecraft had undocked at 00:23 and returned without a crew.

Ceres-1 sea-launch Y7 lifted off at 04:10 Beijing time on January 16, 2026, from waters near Shandong. CNSA’s same-day notice, attributed to Our Space, confirms successful insertion of Tianqi Constellation Group 06.

Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie publicly reviewed their Shenzhou-20 mission in Beijing on January 16, 2026, after returning aboard Shenzhou-21. CMSE's account provides new details of the window inspection and coordinated emergency response, rather than announcing another return flight.

CASC outlined its 2026 programme at its annual work meeting on 15 January. Priorities include crewed lunar exploration, deep-space programmes, reusable-rocket technology and the transition towards industrialised space operations.

Crew-11's Dragon safely splashed down off San Diego on January 15, 2026. JAXA reported 17:41 Japan time and 03:41 US Eastern Standard Time, two representations of the same event.

A Long March 2C launched Algeria's remote-sensing satellite A from Jiuquan at 12:01 Beijing time on 15 January 2026. CASC confirmed that the spacecraft entered its planned orbit.

NASA announced initial Artemis II rollout plans on 14 January, targeting departure from the VAB no earlier than 7 a.m. EST on 17 January for pad 39B. Technical preparations and weather could change the start.

NASA published Crew-11 early-return arrangements on 13 January, updating the English notice on 14 January to target undocking at 5:20 p.m. EST that day and recovery off California early the following morning.

A Long March 8A lifted off from the Hainan Commercial Space Launch Site at 23:25 Beijing time on January 13, 2026, carrying low-orbit internet satellite group 18. CASC confirmed the next day that the satellites reached their intended orbit. This was the Long March family's 625th flight.

Long March 6A lifted off from Taiyuan at 22:16 Beijing time on 13 January 2026 and placed Yaogan-50 01 into its planned orbit. CASC confirmed mission success and described it as the group's first space launch of the year.

Lihong-1, developed by CAS Space, completed its first suborbital test at Jiuquan on January 12, 2026, recovering its returning payload capsule by parachute. CASC described the solid propulsion contribution on January 15 and the recovery system on January 23.

JAXA assigned Makoto Suwa to a long-duration ISS mission around 2027, it announced on January 9, 2026 following international coordination. This would be his first spaceflight; the notice gave neither an exact launch date nor a specific spacecraft flight.

ISRO’s 8 January 2026 overview said PSLV-C62 vehicle and satellite integration was complete, with pre-launch checks under way. The plan targeted 10:17 Indian local time on 12 January from Sriharikota’s first launch pad, using the two-strap-on PSLV-DL variant.

NASA’s 5 January announcement planned two ISS spacewalks, then added a 7 January notice postponing the 8 January operation. A subsequent station update described a medical concern involving one stable crew member without identifying them.

Rocket Lab’s January 7, 2026 ESCAPADE log confirms Gold completed its second trajectory correction on January 6 with a 97.7-second burn. It followed a short December firing and sends Gold past the Sun–Earth L2 region into a loiter trajectory. Earlier 2025 launch and Blue manoeuvres remain background. A November 2026 Mars transfer and September 2027 arrival were then plans, not achieved orbit insertion. The article uses the confirmed burn rather than an older preliminary duration. NASA and UC Berkeley’s twin mission aims to study atmospheric escape; later manoeuvres and science results require separate evidence.

ISRO opened Aditya-L1’s first observation-time proposal cycle on January 6, 2026, inviting the Indian solar-physics community to seek access. The announcement aims to broaden scientific use of an existing mission, not to report a new launch.