US military greenlights up to 100 SpaceX launches per year from California

Many more rockets may lift off from California next year. On Oct. 10, the Department of the Air Force approved SpaceX‘s proposal to launch up to 100 missions annually from…

Two green comets shine bright. How to spot them in the night sky

This image provided by Brennan Gilmore shows the bright green comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, in Cismont, Va. Credit: Brennan Gilmore via AP Two bright green…

Vast gearing up to launch its Haven-1 private space station in 2026

Vast is moving into the final stages of building its Haven-1 private space station, readying for launch in 2026, in a move that could open up a new era in…

Foldable solar sails could help with aerobraking and atmospheric reentry

Artist’s concept of NASA’s Advanced Composite Solar Sail System (ACS3) in orbit. Credit: NASA Use cases for smart materials in space exploration keep cropping up everywhere. They are used in…

A new private moon lander rises: Impulse Space throws its hat into the lunar ring

A new private moon lander could take flight just a few years from now. Impulse Space — a commercial space company founded by Tom Mueller, the first employee the billionaire…

Can we hear gravitational-wave ‘beats’ in the rhythm of pulsars?

Credit: CC0 Public Domain Pulsars suggest that ultra–low-frequency gravitational waves are rippling through the cosmos. The signal seen by international pulsar timing array collaborations in 2023 could come from a…

4 coronal mass ejections are racing toward Earth and could spark impressive northern lights this week

A train of solar storms is barreling toward Earth, with four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) expected to hit over the next few days. Any potential impact could trigger impressive auroras…

SpaceX launches the 11th test flight of its mega Starship rocket with another win

SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship makes a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. Credit: AP Photo/Eric Gay SpaceX launched another of its mammoth Starship rockets on a test…

Is the universe infinite, or does it have a limit?

After a century of observations spanning the breadth of the cosmos and theoretical insights that push humanity’s vision of the universe to its utmost limits, we can finally, confidently say…

ESA’s Mars Express and ExoMars orbiters catch a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS

ExoMars TGO images comet 3I/ATLAS. Credit: ESA/TGO/CaSSIS The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has been something of a mystery ever since it graced our solar system. From all outward appearances, the object…