The signing ceremony was held at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Thursday (July 24), where Maram Kairé, Director-General of the Senegalese Space Study Agency (ASES), signed the Artemis Accords alongside Senegal's Ambassador to the United States, Abdoul Wahab Haidara. NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes and State Department official Jonathan Pratt represented the U.S.

"Following a meeting between Senegal President Faye and President Trump, today, NASA built upon the strong relations between our two nations as the Senegalese Agency for Space Studies signed the Artemis Accords," Sean Duffy, acting NASA Administrator, said in a statement from the space agency. "With Senegal as the 56th signatory, I am proud to further President Trump's strong legacy of global cooperation in space."

The Artemis Accords, established in October 2020 by the United States and seven other founding nations, set guiding principles to govern civil space activity, emphasizing peaceful use, transparency and preservation of lunar resources. They align with the tenets of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and are designed to support NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon by 2026 and prepare for future crewed missions to Mars.

Senegal is the latest African nation to sign, following Angola in 2023 and Nigeria and Rwanda in 2022. Though Senegal's space program is still in its early stages, having formed in 2023, the country launched its first nanosatellite, Gaindesat-1A, in 2024 to aid in agricultural planning and environmental monitoring.

"Senegal's adherence to the Artemis Accords reflects our commitment to a multilateral, responsible, and transparent approach to space," Kairé said in the statement. "This signature marks a meaningful step in our space diplomacy and in our ambition to contribute to the peaceful exploration of outer space."

Senegal has been steadily expanding its involvement in space science, including supporting NASA missions through ground-based observations of asteroid and planetary occultations. In 2021, NASA partnered with Kairé and local scientists to track asteroid Orus as it passed in front of a star, helping estimate its size and shape ahead of the Lucy spacecraft's planned flyby in 2028.

The growing list of Artemis Accords signatories underscores increasing global consensus on the need for responsible and collaborative exploration beyond Earth, as well as ensuring that the future of space benefits all of humanity.

What is it?

The Dragon spacecraft is SpaceX's workhorse for moving crew and cargo to the ISS in low-Earth orbit. It's large enough to hold seven crew members. In the photo the spacecraft is seen separating from its trunk as it returns to Earth. The streak is a plasma trail created by intense friction between Dragon's heat shield and atmospheric gases arising as the craft reenter's Earth's atmosphere, according to NASA.

Where is it?

The photo was taken aboard the ISS as the Crew Dragon reentered the atmosphere somewhere above Earth as it headed towards its Pacific Ocean splashdown.

Why is it amazing?

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission was a mission of firsts, as it sent the first astronauts from Hungary, India and Poland to the ISS, becoming the first ISS astronauts from their countries on the space station. Additionally, Ax-4 commander and NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson extended her record of cumulative days spent by an American in space to 695.

At the ISS, the astronauts spent two weeks running various scientific studies in the microgravity atmosphere. However, their stay was extended by four days to achieve favorable orbital phasing for their return. They flew back to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon capsule before safely landing in the Pacific ocean.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about Axiom Space's private missions, the ISS, and SpaceX's spacecraft.

A group of NASA employees, contractors, their families, friends and other supporters gathered across from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on July 20 — the anniversary of humanity's historic first landing on the moon. Nearly 100 showed up Sunday to protest deep budget cuts and mass layoffs within the nation's space agency, and to urge Congress to take expedient action to reverse or minimize further losses.

"We are here because NASA is under attack," said one of the protest's organizers, NASA contract employee Marshall Finch. "And we are its defense."

Just days earlier, lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space, and Technology published a scathing letter to interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, accusing agency leadership of acting outside its legal authority by enacting extensive cuts before a final budget is passed.

Budget cuts

Protesters, including the ad hoc organizing group called NASA Needs Help, gathered to sound the alarm over what they view as broad, preemptive overcompliance with President Donald Trump's 2026 budget proposal, which slashes NASA's science portfolio by roughly 50% — a cut that would cancel more than 40 current and upcoming space missions. While the budget proposal continues to make its way through Congress, NASA officials at the very top of agency leadership seem to have already begun implementing cuts, notifying employees and contractors of impending reductions in force (RIFs) and encouraging people to take advantage of the government's Deferred Resignation Program (DRP).

"They are telling everybody below them to take the Deferred Resignation Program now. To jump ship," said Finch. "This is going to weaken NASA, and it's going to weaken the United States."

Congressional response

Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) and Valerie Foushee (D-North Carolina) of the House Science Committee sent a letter to interim Administrator Duffy on July 16 in which they, too, expressed concern that the agency was treating Trump's budget request as enacted law.

"It now appears that the agency intends to implement funding cuts that were never enacted by Congress in order to 'align' the agency's present-day budget with the Trump Administration's slash-and-burn proposed budget for the next fiscal year, with seemingly no concern for the devastation that will be caused by mass layoffs, widespread program terminations and the possible closure of critical centers and facilities," the letter stated.

"A presidential budget request is just that: a request to Congress," Lofgren and Foushee wrote in the letter. "The notion that any executive branch agency would unilaterally take steps to implement a budget proposal before its budget is enacted by Congress is therefore offensive to our constitutional system. It would be illegal."

NASA is opting to keep the political back-and-forth between the agency and lawmakers, for the time being.

"NASA will handle legislative matters and letters from elected officials directly with the addressing parties," NASA officials told Space.com in an emailed statement on July 23.

The space agency disputed one of the lawmakers' claims — specifically, that NASA leadership had directed at-risk programs to cease public communications regarding mission accomplishments.

"The statement from House Democrats in their letter to Secretary Duffy, alleging that 'NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes appears to have recently ordered scientific missions slated for termination in the FY26 PBR [fiscal year 2026 presidential budget request] to stop issuing press releases celebrating new results and scientific achievements,' is unsubstantiated and untrue," NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens told Space.com. "This is false and it is not the policy."

NASA officials did not comment on other assertions made in the letter.

Protesters at the July 20 demonstration, which coincided with the 54th anniversary of NASA's Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, echoed Lofgren and Foushee's concern. They worried that by the time Congress acts, the damage to NASA may be irreversible.

Congress is pushing back on the proposed cuts, with the Senate Appropriations Committee advancing a measure to fund NASA at a level comparable to fiscal year 2025, and there is apparent bipartisan support for maintaining the space agency's science programs. But many who showed up at the demonstration worried that lawmakers' actions may come too late.

"Congress says they want to save NASA," Finch said. "Let's see them do it now … Let's see them fight."

Growing fear

Meanwhile, protesters described a rising sense of fear and uncertainty within NASA. Many said they feel demoralized by mounting pressure to leave under the DRP and the abrupt departures of their colleagues who already have. As they watch many of their coworkers resign, protesters worry that critical institutional knowledge is leaving with them.

Julie, who, like other protesters interviewed by Space.com, asked that her full name be omitted, also helped organize the demonstration. She thinks these personnel losses could have deeper implications, and used NASA's Office of the Chief Knowledge Officer as an example. "That was set up after [the] Columbia and Challenger [space shuttle disasters] to make sure that we were passing any lessons learned on to the entire community," Julie explained.

"Watching all of this brain drain leave without any kind of backup plan at all, any kind of structure, has been just the most depressing thing. I can kind of see another Challenger, another Columbia happening down the road as a result of this, and it will ultimately be blamed back on us," she told Space.com.

"That knowledge isn't being passed on in any way. So we're going to see the effects of that sooner rather than later," Julie added. She was one of several protest attendees who voiced such sentiments, warning of potential disaster on par with the space shuttle accidents.

The droves of departures at NASA have also fueled some of the urgency that motivated many to attend the weekend's demonstration.

"It's been the hardest to watch all that knowledge slip away," Julie said. "And that really kind of emboldens people to take a little bit of extra risk to come out with something like this on the weekend."

Every protester who spoke at the demonstration, and with Space.com, on Sunday stressed that their actions and remarks were not representative of NASA or their respective contract employers. Even the planning for the July 20 event was carefully and purposefully done outside employees' working hours, organizers said.

"A lot of people here, I think, are pretty scared of any blowback on them at work," another protester, Will, told Space.com. Will indicated that he previously worked for NASA, or a NASA contractor, but that is no longer the case.

The internal climate at the space agency has undergone a dramatic shift this year, with a sense of suspicion guarding people's interactions. "There's a little bit more distrust than there was before, even within the community," Julie said.

The majority of protesters in attendance Sunday work at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Goddard is one of two space agency facilities in the D.C. area, the other being NASA Headquarters. NASA Needs Help organizers held their first protest outside the agency's headquarters on June 30.

Uneasiness within the space agency is particularly evident at Goddard. Approximately 10,000 employees work at the Maryland facility, either through contractors or for NASA directly. In addition to program and workforce cuts in the White House budget proposal, "passback" documents sent to the space agency in April also suggest shuttering Goddard completely.

"Our management, our administration, is doing everything they can to break our will, to make us give up, to make us go do other things," decried one NASA engineer, who asked to remain anonymous, during the protest. "I'm here today because I fear for our astronauts' lives as we lose more and more expertise, and the technical expertise that we need to send them safely on their mission," she said.

"Normally, supervisors say, 'Stay, we need you. You're an expert in your field. We want you to stay.' But right now, the civil servants at the top — that is people like Brian Hughes, like Goddard Center [Director] Mackenzie Lystrup, many more names, they are telling everybody below them to take the Deferred Resignation Program now," Finch told demonstrators.

NASA leadership

After nearly half a year of warnings about impending RIFs, some in management positions are beginning to take their own advice. According to a Politico report, over 2,000 senior leadership staff are expected to resign from the space agency to take advantage of the DRP initiatives. That includes aforementioned Goddard Center Director Mackenzie Lystrup.

One day after NASA employees held their protest, Lystrup announced her resignation. Her abrupt departure intensifies concerns about the state of NASA's leadership, which currently seems more disjointed than ever.

This could be seen during an Artemis Accords ceremony on Thursday (July 24), at which the ambassador of Senegal and other Senegalese officials added their signatures to the growing list of countries committed to the safe, collaborative exploration of the moon and deep space.

Absent from those proceedings was interim NASA Administrator Duffy. Duffy was unexpectedly appointed to the post on July 9 through an announcement by Trump on his Truth Social platform. Duffy, who already serves as Secretary of Transportation, is now wearing both hats. Since his appointment, he has made no public remarks about his NASA role other than a small handful of supportive posts to a newly-created X account focused on his position at the space agency.

Prior to 2025, many Artemis Accord signing ceremonies included past NASA Administrators Bill Nelson or Jim Bridenstine. Rather than Duffy, NASA Chief of Staff Brian Hughes oversaw Senegal's signing on Thursday. Also not in apparent attendance were Acting NASA Associate Administrator Vanessa Wyche and NASA Deputy Associate Administrator Casey Swails, both of whom, like Duffy, sit above Hughes in the NASA leadership hierarchy. Duffy did offer a retweet of NASA's post on X about the event.

Voyager Declaration

Circulating amongst NASA employees in the background leading up to the July 20 demonstration, another letter to Duffy communicated a similar message as that from the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

The Voyager Declaration was published July 21 as a formal statement protesting the proposed science cuts and preemptive actions already enacted by NASA leadership. The letter was signed by nearly 300 current and former NASA employees, 150 of whom chose to do so anonymously, "due to the culture of fear of retaliation cultivated by this administration," the letter states.

"Major programmatic shifts at NASA must be implemented strategically so that risks are managed carefully," it states. "Instead, the last six months have seen rapid and wasteful changes which have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA's workforce." Their grievances were listed in the letter (included verbatim):

• We dissent to changes to NASA's Technical Authority capacities that are driven by anything other than safety and mission assurance.
• We dissent to the closing out of missions for which Congress has appropriated funding.
• We dissent to implementing indiscriminate cuts to NASA science and aeronautics research.
• We dissent to NASA's non-strategic staffing reductions.
• We dissent to canceling NASA participation in international missions.
• We dissent to the termination of NASA contracts and grants for reasons unrelated to performance.
• We dissent to the elimination of programs aimed at developing and supporting NASA's workforce.

Public impact

Protesters at the July 20 demonstration warned of broader impacts that such substantial cuts could have on the public at large. NASA contract employees Justin and Madeline said they attended the protest to raise awareness about all the contributions to society that have come from NASA research and innovations.

"A lot of the stuff we have on Earth, like our cell phones, hurricane coverage, that's all because of NASA. And defunding NASA means defunding all of that and making life worse for everyone," Justin told Space.com. "And I don't think a lot of people realize that."

NASA employee Ben put much of NASA's contributions into perspective by breaking down the numbers:

"In 2023-2024, for every dollar that NASA got in tax revenue, NASA generated $3 in economic output in the United States. Our actual budget was $25 billion and we generated $75 billion from that $25 billion. We generated 300,000 jobs across the country … And setting all of that aside, what about things you can't put a price on?"

His $75 billion output figure, while a reasonable estimate, is not yet confirmed. NASA has not released full economic impact reports for 2023 or 2024.

Ben cited examples of NASA spinoff technology — advances in lasers developed by scientists building the James Webb Space Telescope are helping doctors perform eye surgeries on Earth, and innovations from the Hubble Space Telescope have contributed to mammogram imaging and technology used at hardware stores to match paint colors.

"None of this stuff even is accounted for in that three-to-one benefit that NASA generates directly to the economy," Ben said. "Why, pray tell, in the name of efficiency, so called, is NASA the place you want to start slashing funding from?"

"There's a lot of inventions that NASA has, if not created, at least catalyzed," Will told Space.com. "If we zero out so many things, no longer are we going to have the great leap for mankind that Armstrong is so famously talking about."

Human cost

Julie echoed those sentiments, highlighting not a mission, but a whole department on the chopping block: NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM). "OSTEM has been zeroed out completely," she said. "That not only has an effect on what we do at NASA in terms of workforce development, but also kids across the entire country won't have access to those programs, won't have access to scholarships that let them go on to grad school and let them learn other things."

Another protester, who asked to be identified only as "MC", has worked as a teacher across a wide field of age ranges and learning abilities. "Every place I've ever taught, or every program I've ever supported — everybody needs science," she said. "Every curriculum I've ever developed had science … Science of all kinds is incredibly important. And space — space is where we're going."

One protester, who identified herself as the mother of a NASA employee, stressed the value of empowering the next generation. "It's very important that our kids have their dreams and reach those dreams," she said. "If NASA is cut the way it is, STEM education is cut, science is cut, research is cut — we won't have kids who have dreams anymore."

George is part of a team responsible for testing spacecraft at Goddard. He attended Sunday's protest alongside his wife and three daughters. "Goddard is looking at basically being shut down, and we have a whole bunch of people that know how to build individual, specific scientific spacecraft," he told Space.com. "If we lose that [technical knowledge], it's gone."

"Where are we going to learn how to do that again?" George added. "Are we going to have to have another Challenger moment to learn how to do that again? Maybe."

George's daughters said they wanted to attend the protest to support their father. "It's his job, so obviously that's important to us," his eldest, 15, said. But she's also worried about what the future might look like if science takes a backseat at the space agency.

"I think that we should also be concerned about science over the future generations," she said, calling the budget's potential ramifications a "big loss."

Job security is on the forefront of many NASA employees and contractors, many of whom have already received notice that their mission is at "high risk" of cancellation. Justin hasn't received such a notice yet, but says the mission he works on studies climate change by measuring ice caps, "so I am assuming a couple things here," he said.

That insecurity is already pushing some NASA scientists to look outside the agency. Amid potential layoffs, some are considering not just leaving the space agency, but the United States altogether. A lack of stability in the U.S. science community is opening the door for international recruitment.

"Right now, Europe and Asia, every other country in the world, sees what's happening, and they're extending offers," Finch said to the crowd. "The next day, the members of the workforce are gone."

Justin is still mulling over his options if his program gets canceled. But he came to a quick alignment with Madeline's stance that she would "probably work for a different country that values science."

"That would be the one," Justin said in agreement.

Several European institutions have already begun reaching out to scientists and engineers across the U.S. to gauge people's interest in continuing their work abroad. One representative said in an email obtained by Space.com that the responses to their initial outreach were "overwhelming (and worrying)."

With budget negotiations still ongoing in Congress, protesters are urging lawmakers to act before NASA loses the talent and infrastructure that made its past achievements possible.

"I don't want to be a member of the first generation of humans that stops exploring," Finch said. "We are not the ones who will suffer most — it is every generation of humans that will be set back by our abdication."

A Soyuz 2.1b rocket lifted off from Vostochny Cosmodrome in Siberia today (July 25) at 1:54 a.m. EDT (0554 GMT; 8:54 a.m. Moscow time), carrying Russia's Ionosfera-M 3 and 4 satellites toward Earth orbit. The Soyuz also carried 18 secondary payloads, according to RussianSpaceWeb.com, including an Iranian communications satellite called Nahid-2.

Everything went well in the early stages of the launch, which the Russian space agency Roscosmos streamed live. The webcast ended about 10 minutes after launch, however, so news of satellite deployments will have to come via updates from the agency.

The first two Ionosfera-M satellites launched from Vostochny in November 2024. Spacecraft 3 and 4 will round out the mini constellation, which flies about 509 miles (820 kilometers) above Earth.

"The quartet is designed to monitor space weather phenomena, such as the impact of solar wind on the near-Earth space affecting civilian and military systems," RussianSpaceWeb wrote.

As their name suggests, the Ionosfera satellites focus on the ionosphere, a layer of Earth's atmosphere that ranges from about 50 to 400 miles (80 to 645 km) in altitude. The ionosphere interacts strongly with the sun, which explains the layer's name: its atoms and molecules are ionized (have had electrons stripped away) by solar radiation.

Ionosfera-M 3 and 4 are headed for an orbital plane perpendicular to that of their two brethren, "thus greatly expanding the three-dimensional coverage of the Earth's magnetosphere," according to RussianSpaceWeb. "The second pair would also include for the first time the Ozonometr-TM instrument for measuring levels of ozone in the upper atmosphere."

The 17 cubesats flying on the Soyuz this morning are all Russian-built and will conduct remote-sensing and other work in orbit.

One of them is a 16U cubesat and the other 16 are 3U craft, according to RussianSpaceWeb. A "U" is the standard cubesat unit; it consists of a cube measuring 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) on a side.

Of 1,380 Marine-Protected Areas (MPAs) focused on in a new study, 78.5% had no commercial fishing activity at all, according to the satellite images, which are able to record fishing trawlers that are running "dark."

"The ocean is no longer too big to watch," Juan Mayorga, who is a scientist with National Geographic Pristine Seas and a co-author of the study, said in a statement. "With cutting-edge satellites and AI, we're making illegal fishing visible and proving that strong marine protections work."

Intensive fishing is hugely damaging to ocean ecosystems, with many fish stocks beginning to dwindle. In an effort to save some of these ecosystems, more than 16,600 MPAs have been established around the world. Those in territorial waters are managed by the governments of those territories, while those in international waters are maintained either by collaborations between nations, or by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Different MPAs operate under different rules depending upon which nation they belong to. Some ban fishing all year around, while others prohibit it at certain times of year such as breeding times, or permit fishing just for local communities rather than commercial trawling.

Now, the new data shows that MPAs are doing the job that they were designed to do.

"We found that MPAs with strict legal fishing bans work better than critics claim," study lead author Jennifer Raynor, a professor of natural resource economics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said in another statement.

Ships are meant to be detectable by a GPS-based transponder, which is monitored by Automatic Identification Systems, or AIS. However, the AIS service is not 100% reliable; for example, there are areas of poor reception in Southeast Asia, while vessels conducting illegal fishing will often run dark with their transponder switched off.

Enter the satellite imagery, principally from the European Space Agency's family of Sentinel 1 Earth-observation satellites. These satellites are armed with synthetic aperture radar, which means that they can cover large swathes of the surface relatively quickly. By analyzing the satellite images with AI algorithms developed by the non-profit Global Fishing Watch, Raynor and her team were able to identify any sea vessel larger than 15 meters (49 feet).

The researchers found that MPAs are successfully deterring illegal fishing. Of the 1,380 MPAs included in the study, 78.5% experienced no commercial fishing activity, and where illegal fishing was detected, it averaged less than 24 hours per year for 82% of MPAs.

The bad news is that some MPAs are still being heavily fished. These include the Chagos Marine Reserve in the Indian Ocean and the MPA around the South Georgia and South Sandwich islands, which is managed by the United Kingdom. Sadly, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the coast of Australia is also still heavily fished. Each of these MPAs suffered approximately 900 hours of illegal fishing every year.

The study found that the AIS system was missing 90% of this illegal fishing, and it was only the use of satellite imagery and AI that identified how much illegal fishing was ongoing in these regions.

"No single dataset can solve the challenge of monitoring fishing activity at sea; each has its blind spots," said Mayorga. "But when we combine them, their power emerges. By fusing AIS tracking with satellite radar imagery and AI, we are now much closer to the full picture of human activity across the ocean. That's especially important in the crown jewels of the ocean — the world's most strongly protected areas — where the stakes for enforcement and biodiversity are highest."

The combined information from AIS and Sentinel-1 can better help law enforcement track down illegal fishing by targeting ships running dark in MPAs.

"This is critical for reaching the Global Biodiversity Framework's 30 by 30 target, which aims to protect 30% of oceans by 2030," said Raynor. "MPAs can help regenerate fish populations, which creates strong incentives for illegal fishing, and yet that activity was mostly absent. This is good news for marine conservation."

The study was published on July 24 in the journal Science.

The "Neil Armstrong Space Prize" was announced by Purdue University on Sunday (July 20) — the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing — at an event held in Washington, D.C. The honor is intended to share the same clout as the Nobel Prize, but for advancements in space exploration.

"This prize carries Armstrong's name and Purdue's space legacy," said Mung Chiang, president of Purdue University, in a statement released by the school. "We unveil the creation of a Nobel-level prize for space at a transformational time for the next giant leaps in space."

Eight out of Purdue's 22 living astronaut alums joined Chiang at the National Building Museum to help introduce the prize. The Indiana university has the distinction of being the alma matter for more astronauts than any other school (28 in total). The award's namesake, Neil Armstrong, received his undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue in 1955.

Led by seven-time space shuttle mission specialist Jerry Ross, the seven other astronauts at the event included fellow shuttle veterans Roy Bridges, Mark Polansky and Charlie Walker, as well as suborbital fliers Sirisha Bandla, Marc Eagle, Beth Moses and Audrey Powers.

Set to be bestowed for the first time next year, the Armstrong Prize will be awarded in three categories: technologies that improve life on Earth, discoveries that increase our knowledge about the universe and achievements in space exploration that inspire future achievements.

Nominations for individuals or teams to receive the inaugural prize will be accepted beginning in August through Nov. 1, 2025.

The selection committee includes former NASA associate administrator Jim Free, SpaceX Starbase manager Kathy Lueders, former president of Blue Origin Rob Meyerson and the former head of NASA's science division Thomas Zurbuchen. The panel is chaired by Dan Dumbacher, professor of engineering practice at Purdue.

"At a time when space is more accessible than ever, this award aims to inspire the next generation of space leaders while highlighting Purdue's enduring role in space research, exploration, security and partnerships with NASA, the U.S. Space Force and the commercial space sector," said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of Purdue's College of Engineering.

Tianzhou 9 launched July 14 atop a Long March 7 rocket at 5:34 p.m. EDT (2134 GMT; 5:34 a.m. on July 15 China Standard Time), sending the spacecraft into orbit. Just over three hours later, at 8:52 p.m. EDT (0052 GMT; 8:52 p.m. China Standard Time on July 15), Tianzhou 9 docked at the rear docking port of the Tiangong space station's Tianhe core module, according to China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA.

Packed aboard Tianzhou 9 was 7.2 tons (6.5 metric tons) of cargo, including 1.65 tons (1.5 metric tons) of food for the three Shenzhou 20 mission astronauts, who arrived at Tiangong on April 24, and the Shenzhou 21 crew, expected to launch to the space station around October to begin their own six-month-long stay in orbit.

Also aboard Tianzhou 9 were two new sets of Feitian extravehicular spacesuits, which have been upgraded with greater durability and mission lifetime; core muscle exercise equipment for astronaut fitness; and scientific payloads for various fields of research.

Astronaut core strength was highlighted as key to performance and health while in orbit and for recovery back on the ground, as well as for grand future plans.

"The stronger [our astronauts are], the longer and farther we can go. Core strength is crucial not only for space station operations but also for future missions to the moon," Li Yinghui, researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center, told China Central Television, regarding the 287-pound (130 kilograms) core exercise device.

Among the science payloads were three sets of samples for cellular biology experiments. These are bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells for studying bone loss caused by the prolonged absence of gravitational stimulation, cells derived from failing hearts with the aim of developing therapeutic measures, and samples related to anti-aging research.

Another experiment will involve cutting-edge biotechnology, using human pluripotent stem cells to build miniature brain-like organoid models on chips roughly the size of a credit card, hosted in the biotechnology experiment cabinet onboard the Wentian lab module.

The Tianzhou 9 spacecraft itself features a number of upgrades over previous models. It has the greatest payload volume of any of the Tianzhou spacecraft so far launched by China. It is also more easily prepared for space launch in the event of an emergency.

"Tianzhou 9 is the first cargo spacecraft capable of emergency launch, able to be launched to the space station within three months if required. This is the significance of an emergency response spacecraft," Li Zhiyong, a member of the Tianzhou spacecraft development team with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), told CCTV.

The first Tianzhou vehicle launched in April 2017 and docked with Tiangong 2, a prototype lab used as a stepping stone toward building the three-module Tiangong, which was constructed across 2021 and 2022.

Tiangong is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station. China has suggested, however, that it will expand the orbital outpost in the coming years.

U.S. Space Force General Michael Guetlein, Vice Chief of Space Operations, was tapped by President Trump to lead the Golden Dome project on May 20 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 17. His role will be to oversee the development and procurement of technologies for Golden Dome, a planned missile defense system that can shoot down incoming hypersonic, cruise and ballistic missiles from space.

At least, that's the plan. Such a system has never before been developed or deployed, but has been envisioned as far back as 1983 when President Ronald Reagan introduced a similar idea known as the Strategic Defense Initiative. At the time, Reagan's was criticized for sounding outlandish, but according to Guetlein, the capabilities needed for such a system are already here. "I firmly believe that the technology that we need to deliver Golden Dome exists today," Guetlein said during his fireside chat at the Space Foundation's Innovate Space: Global Economic Summit held on July 22. "It has just never brought been brought to bear on this problem set to protect the homeland, nor has it been brought to bear on this form factor."

The summit was held at Amazon's corporate headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Guetlein said that while the capabilities of making the imagined ballistic missile system already exist, one major challenge will be changing the organizational culture that exists throughout the U.S. military and its associated contractors to make room for the new idea. "How do I take capabilities that were built in stove pipes for different mission areas, amongst different services, different agencies, bring those together as an integrated architecture?" Guetlein asked the crowd.

The Space Force general described the culture during his time in the U.S. Air Force, saying military leaders were wary of trusting private contractors or telling them sensitive information. But as Space Force turns more to commercial industry for new technologies needed to fight a potential conflict in space, military leaders are rethinking that culture. "Space is too big for the Space Force to go it alone," Guetlein said.

Other Space Force leaders have made similar comments in recent months. In April 2025, at the Space Foundation's Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, U.S. Chief of Space Operations General Chance B. Saltzman told attendees the service "must harness the benefits of technological innovation and emerging capabilities if we're going to be able to out-compete our competitors," and that, historically, "military success has hinged on support from commercial industry."

In fact, private aerospace contractors already do appear to be testing technologies that would be required to build a system like Golden Dome. Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, told investors the company is already testing Golden-Dome-related technologies during a quarterly earnings call on July 22, according to The War Zone.

Aside from current capabilities like radar systems and other classified projects, Warden said Golden Dome will "include new innovation, like space-based interceptors, which we're testing now.”

Such technologies are crucial for the development of a space-based missile defense system like Golden Dome, Guetlein said during the summit this week, but emphasized that several necessary capabilities have already been developed for the project. "I think the real technical challenge will be building of the space-based interceptor. That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics, that we can make it work," Guetlein said.

But that doesn't mean other challenges don't remain. "What we have not proven is, first, can I do it economically, and then second, can I do it at scale?" Guetlein added. "Can I build enough satellites to get after the threat? Can I expand the industrial base fast enough to build those satellites? Do I have enough raw materials, et cetera?"

The U.S. Space Force general also underscored the need for Golden Dome by describing a few of the weapon capabilities that potential adversaries like Russia and China have been developing —  capabilities in which the U.S. still lags far behind, according to statements from military leaders in recent years.

China and Russia have been "building hypersonic missiles capable of traveling in excess of 6,000 miles an hour and maneuvering in endgame," Guetlein said during the summit. "They've been building satellites or weapons that look like satellites on launch, fly around the Earth, and it can navigate into any point on the Earth that they want.

"And the list of threats keeps going on."

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two powerful communications satellites today (July 22), then aced its landing on a ship at sea.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT), carrying SES' O3b mPOWER 9 and 10 satellites toward medium Earth orbit (MEO), about 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) above our planet.

That was a day later than originally planned. SpaceX tried to launch the mission Monday (July 21) but aborted the try 11 seconds before liftoff, for reasons that the company did not immediately explain.

The Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth as planned today roughly 8.5 minutes after launch, touching down on the SpaceX droneship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

According to a SpaceX mission description, it was the sixth launch and landing for this particular booster, which is designated B1090.

If all goes according to plan today, the Falcon 9's upper stage will continue carrying the two mPOWER satellites to MEO, deploying them there across a seven-minute stretch about two hours after liftoff.

Luxembourg-based SES's mPOWER constellation currently consists of eight high-throughput satellites, which reached orbit on four Falcon 9 launches from December 2022 to December 2024.

mPOWER is operational now, providing internet service to customers around the world. But the constellation will continue growing, to a total of 13 satellites. Each is built by Boeing and weighs about 3,750 pounds (1,700 kilograms).

"The remaining three O3b mPOWER satellites are currently being manufactured and are scheduled for launch over the next 12 months," SES representatives wrote in a brief update earlier this month.

Today's launch was the 89th Falcon mission of the year already. SpaceX also has three other liftoffs under its belt this year — test flights of its Starship megarocket, which took place in January, March and May.

NASA announced on Monday (July 21) that Makenzie Lystrup, director of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, will leave the agency on Aug. 1.

It will be the second high-profile departure for the agency in just a two-month span; Laurie Leshin, head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, left her post in June.

Goddard is home to the nation's largest concentration of space scientists and engineers, according to NASA. The center, which was named after rocket pioneer Robert Goddard, features a workforce of more than 8,000 employees and contractors.

These people do a wide variety of work. Goddard is home to Hubble Space Telescope operations, for example, and served as a proving ground for that iconic observatory's successor, the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope.

The center has particular expertise in Earth observation, but its researchers study objects and phenomena across the solar system and beyond.

"Goddard scientists stare into the sun, grind up meteorites for signs of life's building blocks, look into the farthest reaches of space and untangle the mysteries of our own changing world," NASA officials wrote in a description of the center. "Goddard engineers construct sensitive instruments, build telescopes that peer into the cosmos and operate the test chambers that ensure those satellites' survival."

Lystrup has led Goddard since April 2023. She earned a doctorate in astrophysics from University College London and has used space- and ground-based telescopes to study planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres.

"Having served in a variety of science and aerospace civilian and government roles in her career, Makenzie has led development of, and/or contributed to, a variety of NASA's priority science missions, including successful operations of our James Webb Space Telescope and Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer, as well as development of the agency's Roman Space Telescope, and more," Vanessa Wyche, acting NASA associate administrator, said in a statement on Monday.

"We're grateful to Makenzie for her leadership at NASA Goddard for more than two years, including her work to inspire a Golden Age of explorers, scientists and engineers," Wyche added.

Cynthia Simmons, currently Goddard's deputy director, will take over from Lystrup in an acting capacity, NASA officials said in the statement. The release did not say what Lystrup plans to do next.

The departures of Leshin and Lystrup come during a turbulent time for NASA.

President Donald Trump's proposed 2026 budget, for instance, would slash the agency's overall funding by 24% and cut the money for its science programs nearly in half. The budget, if enacted by Congress, would slash the agency's workforce by about one-third and lead to the cancellation of dozens of missions, including a number that are currently operational.

JPL and Goddard are two of NASA's 10 major research centers. The others are Ames Research Center and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California; Glenn Research Center in Ohio; Johnson Space Center in Texas; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Langley Research Center in Virginia; Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama; and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

The declaration, organized by Stand Up For Science, criticizes steep budget cuts, the cancellation of missions in development, terminated contracts and grants, and organizational changes that undermine NASA's ability to conduct critical space and Earth science research. One major concern is the weakening of NASA's Technical Authority — a vital internal safety oversight system created after the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster to prevent avoidable accidents, according to the declaration.

In the Voyager Declaration, the 287 signatories warn that political interference and abrupt budget reductions could jeopardize decades of progress in space exploration, aeronautics and climate science. They argue that the Trump administration's efforts to slash NASA's science funding — which includes cutting more than $120 million in grants and proposing nearly a 50% reduction to the agency's Science Mission Directorate budget by 2026 — undermines Congress-approved priorities and threatens the agency's mission.

The declaration, issued on Monday (July 21), also highlights the loss of thousands of civil servant positions and a growing "culture of organizational silence," where employees feel unable to voice concerns without retaliation — which is also why over 150 signatories opted to remain anonymous. This atmosphere, they argue, poses risks not only to scientific discovery but also to astronaut safety and mission success.

Stand Up For Science, a nonprofit advocacy group founded in 2025, has made the full declaration public and opened a petition inviting others to support the agency's employees in their stand for science and safety. The petition emphasizes that NASA's work is a public good that cannot be replaced by private companies and calls on leadership to resist political pressure.

This statement from NASA personnel marks one of the most significant acts of internal dissent in recent years, underscoring the importance of protecting science from political influence. The declaration, list of named signatories and more information can be found online.

In June 2021, Sun — the billionaire founder of the blockchain platform Tron — won an auction for a seat aboard Blue Origin's first-ever crewed spaceflight.

That mission launched on July 20 of that year, carrying Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and three other people to and from suborbital space on the company's reusable New Shepard vehicle. Sun was not on board, however; he had to back out due to scheduling conflicts, the company said at the time.

Sun had not identified himself as the winning bidder when that flight lifted off. The big reveal came in December 2021, when the crypto billionaire went public and said he now planned to fly in 2022 with five other "space warriors."

That didn't happen, either. But Sun's long-deferred spaceflight is now just around the corner: He is officially on the manifest for NS-34, New Shepard's next human spaceflight, Blue Origin announced on Monday (July 21). The company has not yet disclosed a target launch date for the flight but is expected to do so soon.

Here's a brief profile of the 34-year-old Sun and his five NS-34 crewmates, using information provided by Blue Origin.

• Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal, a real estate investor and adventurer who was born in India but is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He has visited every country in the world, as well as both the north and south poles.
• Gökhan Erdem, a Turkish businessman, photographer and space enthusiast who "dreams of one day traveling to the International Space Station and possibly even beyond," Blue Origin wrote.
• Deborah Martorell, a journalist and meteorologist from Puerto Rico who has taken a microgravity-inducing airplane flight and reported on a number of space missions, including NASA's Artemis 1 moon flight. She's also a Solar System Ambassador for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
• Lionel Pitchford, an Englishman who has long lived in Spain and traveled the world. After losing his sister and her family in a 1992 plane crash in Nepal, he founded a nonprofit in the nation devoted to helping disadvantaged children. Pitchford has also run an orphanage in Kathmandu for the last 30 years.
• James (J.D.) Russell, an entrepreneur who founded the venture capital firm Alpha Funds. He also established the Victoria Russell Foundation, a nonprofit that honors the memory of his deceased daughter by "supporting children's education and assisting the families of first responders," Blue Origin wrote. Unlike the other NS-34 passengers, Russell is not a spaceflight rookie; he flew on the NS-28 mission in November 2024.
• Justin Sun, who is worth about $8.5 billion, according to Forbes. In addition to his Tron work, Sun is the ambassador and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the World Trade Organization and serves as an advisor to the HTX crypto exchange. "A protege of Alibaba's Jack Ma, Sun was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine in April 2025, where he was recognized as one of the most dynamic and outspoken figures in crypto and earning the moniker 'Crypto's Billionaire Barker' for his bold approach to innovation, advocacy and industry leadership," Blue Origin wrote. Sun's winning $28 million bid for the New Shepard seat in 2021 was donated to Club for the Future, Blue Origin's education nonprofit.

NS-34 will be the 14th crewed New Shepard flight to date, and the fifth such mission of 2025. The most recent, NS-33, lifted off on June 29.

New Shepard missions fly from Blue Origin's launch site in West Texas, near the town of Van Horn. Each one lasts 10 to 12 minutes from launch to the parachute-aided touchdown of the New Shepard crew capsule. (New Shepard's rocket also comes back down to Earth for a safe landing and eventual reuse.)

New Shepard is an autonomous vehicle, so the passengers can sit back and simply enjoy the flight. That experience includes a few minutes of weightlessness and great views of Earth against the blackness of space, from an altitude of more than 62 miles (100 kilometers).

SpaceX aborted the launch of two communications satellites just before liftoff on Monday evening (July 21).

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with two of SES' O3b mPOWER internet spacecraft was set to launch from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 5:27 p.m. EDT (2127 GMT) on Monday.

But it didn't quite happen: SpaceX called an abort just 11 seconds before liftoff. The launch window extended for another 90 minutes or so, but the company soon decided to stand down for the day.

"Standing down from today’s launch of the @SES_Satellites O3b mPOWER mission and now targeting tomorrow, July 22 for liftoff. Vehicle and payload remain healthy," SpaceX said via X on Monday evening.

At the time of this article's publication, the company had not yet explained what caused the abort.

The two-hour launch window on Tuesday opens at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT). SpaceX will stream the action live via its website and X account, beginning about 15 minutes before liftoff.

Luxembourg-based SES' mPOWER constellation consists of eight satellites in medium-Earth orbit, all of which have been launched by SpaceX.

The network is already operational, but it's not complete; it will eventually feature 13 spacecraft.

What is it?

As part of a project to look at how microgravity affects cellular health, ISS Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) and NASA Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Nichole Ayers collect blood samples from the astronauts on the space station.

Given that gravity is almost nonexistent on the ISS, it can make things like blood collection somewhat challenging, as things float away or have to be tied down.

Where is it?

This photo was taken aboard the ISS, around 250 miles (402 km) from Earth in low-Earth orbit.

Why is it amazing?

The blood being collected in this image is part of the larger Immunity Assay human research investigation project, which looks at any signs of possible space-caused stress on cells in the body. Microgravity, radiation, confinement and a change in sleep-wake cycles and can exert pressure on cells, driving lower immune systems and making astronauts more susceptible to being sick during or after missions.

By collecting and analyzing blood, experts can look for possible stress markers, immune cell levels and other signs that can see how being in space alters a person's overall health. This can help doctors adjust regimens in real time to ensure the best results for crew members on the ISS.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about spaceflight health and studies on microgravity's effects on the human body.

The twin ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) Mars probes had been scheduled to launch last October, on the first-ever flight of Blue Origin's huge, partially reusable New Glenn rocket.

But NASA took the two spacecraft off that flight in September, citing the possibility of a cost-increasing launch delay. That delay did in fact come to pass; New Glenn ended up debuting on Jan. 15, successfully carrying a test version of Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft platform to Earth orbit. The company aimed to land New Glenn's first stage on a ship at sea as well but failed in the attempt.

The ESCAPADE mission, meanwhile, continued in its state of limbo, without a publicly announced launch date.

But that has now been cleared up. On Thursday (July 17), Blue Origin announced that ESCAPADE will launch the second-ever flight of New Glenn, which is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 15 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

That's later than the company had originally planned; Blue Origin had been eyeing late spring for the flight, known as NG-2, but pushed it back last month.

"This will be an exciting mission for New Glenn and Mars exploration. ESCAPADE is not only New Glenn’s first interplanetary mission, it’s also the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to study the Martian magnetosphere. And, we hope to land and recover our booster for the first time. Mars, here we come. Thank you to @NASA for riding with us to space," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said via X on Thursday.

ESCAPADE won't be the only payload flying on NG-2; the 320-foot-tall (98 meters) New Glenn will also carry a technology demonstration for satellite-communications company Viasat, according to Blue Origin.

The two ESCAPADE probes were built by California-based company Rocket Lab. They're known as Blue and Gold, the colors of the University of California, Berkeley, whose Space Sciences Laboratory will manage the $80 million mission for NASA.

That mission "will analyze how Mars’ magnetic field guides particle flows around the planet, how energy and momentum are transported from the solar wind through the magnetosphere, and what processes control the flow of energy and matter into and out of the Martian atmosphere," NASA wrote in a description of ESCAPADE.

"The observations will reveal the planet’s real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time," they added.

SpaceX added 24 new Starlink satellites to its orbital network on a Friday night (July 18) launch from California.

The company's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 8:52 p.m. local (11:52 p.m. EDT or 0352 GMT on July 19) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base. At about nine minutes into the flight, the booster's upper stage delivered the two dozen satellites to space.

The flight deployed the Starlink spacecraft into low Earth orbit an hour later, according to a SpaceX update posted to the X social media network.

The Falcon 9 first stage successfully completed its 14th mission by landing on "Of Course I Still Love You," an autonomous droneship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.

The launch was the was SpaceX's 88th Falcon 9 launch of 2025 and 516th completed mission.

With Friday's group (17-3), the Starlink network now includes over 7,965 active units out of the more than 9,200 satellites launched since 2019. SpaceX's service provides broadband internet access to areas where other connectivity is not available, as well as direct-to-cell capabilities for select phones and providers.

Editor's note: This article was updated at 10:00 a.m. EDT on July 19, 2025 to add SpaceX's confirmation that all 24 satellites were deployed as planned.

Orbital observation

The "most magical place on Earth" as seen from a "star" above.

Expedition 73 flight engineer Anne McClain, a NASA astronaut, captured this photo of Orlando, Florida — home to the Walt Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks — during a nighttime flyover by the International Space Station.

"Orlando has a surprising amount of orange sodium vapor lighting dotted around it," wrote NASA astronaut Don Pettit, responding to McClain's photo.

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

CIPHER — NASA astronauts Jonny Kim, Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain took part in studies that were part of the "Complement of Integrated Protocols for Human Exploration Research on Varying Mission Durations." Kim and McClain used an ultrasound machine to measure blood flow, while Ayers and McClain used virtual reality googles to test how microgravity affects the sense of balance.

Muscle Stimulation — Ayers and Kim worked together on a study of whether sending electrical impulses into astronauts' legs can supplement exercise to combat muscular atrophy. Ayers wore the electrodes, while Kim operated the equipment.

Real-time scans — McClain also donned electrodes for two ultrasound scans that were monitored by doctors on the ground. The data collected is supporting an ongoing study of the cardiovascular risks of long-duration spaceflight.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Kirill Peskov also ran on a treadmill to determine how much physical activity is required to stay ready to perform spacewalks and be subjected to increased gravity loads on their return to Earth.

Station keeping

The Expedition 73 crew also devoted time to maintaining the space station's systems, including:

Boost — A Russian resupply craft, Progress MS-30 (91P) docked to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, fired its engines for about 12 minutes on Wednesday (July 16) to give the space station an orbital boost, setting up for the arrival of the next crew early next month.

Microgravity Measurement Apparatus — Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi with JAXA replaced a device that tracks how the Kibo laboratory vibrates in response to crew and spacecraft movements, motions that could impact research being conducted in the module.

Catalytic reactor — Anne McClain replaced a component of the station’s water processor assembly that adds oxygen and oxidizes organics in the collected wastewater.

Astronaut activity

Axiom Mission 4

After 18 days at the International Space Station, the Axiom Mission-4 crew on board SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft "Grace" undocked and returned to Earth this week. Commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu splashed down off the coast of California on Tuesday (July 15).

The four crew members conducted more than 60 scientific experiments from 31 countries — more than any other commercial mission — studying life sciences, conducting materials research, observing Earth and demonstrating new technologies. Whitson, Shukla, Uznański-Wiśniewski adn Kapu also took part in 20 outreach events, speaking with scientists, students and government officials.

By the numbers

As of Friday (July 18), there are 7 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim of NASA and Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos, all flight engineers.

Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of ISRO and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of ESA and Tibor Kapu of HUNOR returned to Earth on SpaceX's Dragon "Grace" on Tuesday (July 15).

There are two docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endurance" attached to the forward port of the Harmony module and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-30 (91P) attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, and Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 8 months and 17 days.

A group of NASA employees and their supporters in Washington, D.C., will hold a demonstration to protest what they view as detrimental preemptive compliance within space agency leadership to execute potential cuts to science programs and staffing, based on the White House's 2026 budget request, which has not yet been enacted into law.

The grassroots demonstration, endorsed by the Goddard Engineers, Scientists and Technicians Association, is the second planned by the organizing group, NASA Needs Help, which led a similar protest on June 30 to give voice to those in NASA wanting to speak out as private citizens to raise awareness of the irreparable cuts already happening within the space agency.

"The public has heard that NASA is under attack, that the president's budget request would slash our nation's aeronautics and space administration. What most people don't know is that it's happening now," Marshall Finch, a NASA contract worker helping organize the protest, told Space.com. Finch said his views and actions are his own and not representative of his employer or NASA. NASA Needs Help is responding to what it sees as NASA leadership treating the White House's 2026 budget request as a mandate.

"Under pressure from the White House, OMB and DOGE, NASA's administration is shredding NASA every day, and it's happening quickly," Finch said, referring to the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Government Efficiency, initially led by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

When reached for comment, NASA officials confirmed their awareness of the upcoming protest, but said the space agency has no affiliation with the demonstration.

The 2026 budget request slashes NASA science funding by 47% and overall agency funding by 24%, with the heaviest impacts felt by Earth science (especially climate research) and deep-space planetary missions, some of which are still in active operation, transmitting data. Canceling many of these missions (there are 41 on the chopping block) also poses risks to national security, the nation's ability to track natural disasters, as well as America's overall dominance in space, scientists have said.

Morale at facilities like NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has plummeted. One scientist who attended the June 30 demonstration works as a postdoc at Goddard, through a contractor, on the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, and told Space.com the past few years at NASA have been their "absolute dream job."

"I love it," said the Goddard scientist, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. "And this year has been an utter nightmare that has not stopped since January."

For months, NASA leadership has acknowledged the possibility of Reductions in Force (RIFs), but employees say details have been vague. "Mackenzie Lystrup and Janet Petro have repeatedly discussed in their town halls these Reductions in Force," the Goddard scientist said, naming the facility's director and NASA's former acting administrator, respectively. "I hear them say that we are preparing for RIFs, because that has been what the President or the OMB has sort of ordered, but they aren't forthcoming with any details."

At the same time, the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) — a voluntary separation effort that promises certain benefits for quitting your job — is already quietly pushing NASA staff out. More than 2,000 senior leadership staff are expected to leave through the agency's DRP initiatives, according to a Politico report.

"They're basically just trying to get as many people to quit and leave NASA as possible … It'll make the RIFs easier when they come later this year," the Goddard scientist said. "We are seeing more and more people taking this now, while the window is still open. I think that's kind of because we don't know what will happen after that window closes, and it might be a worse scenario than the current one."

LISA is a joint mission by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) slated to launch around 2035 to conduct groundbreaking studies of gravitational waves as the first observatory of its kind in space.

"It has a potential to be one of these incredibly monumental, game-changing human-knowledge-pivoting observatories," the scientist said, conceding a degree of bias toward their mission.

The laser system and telescopes that LISA will rely on to make its "game-changing" discoveries are being developed and constructed at Goddard. "NASA has hardware," the scientist said. "They're both major components of the actual design of the mission. It's not like it's still in this conceptual phase. It's very much in a tangible state right now."

LISA was zeroed out in the White House's budget proposal, not only casting the jobs of those on the program into doubt but also the entirety of ESA's investment in the $2 billion mission, which has been nearly three decades in development. ESA has stated that the project could be in jeopardy if the president's budget is passed.

The NASA contractor responsible for at least part of LISA's program staff has already informed some employees that their jobs cannot be guaranteed past Sept. 30 because the space agency sent notice of certain roles in "high-risk positions."

In the face of cancellations, some NASA workers are considering more radical shifts in order to continue careers on projects or areas of research they are passionate about.

"If NASA pulls out [of LISA] entirely, and ESA is committed to continuing this mission … that is definitely something I've been thinking about more and more this year — about just leaving the United States to go work in Europe, to support them," the Goddard scientist said. "If it comes to that, I think that's what I would do. And I think a lot of people are considering leaving."

For scientists looking to cross the pond, opportunities are already landing on their doorsteps. Some overseas science institutions have reached out to American researchers to gauge their interest in coming to work for them.

A representative from one institution messaged researchers in an email obtained by Space.com, offering a sort of relocation program.

"Considering the situation of some scientists under the US administration, [country] is organizing a special program to welcome US scientists who would have lost their job or would prefer to leave the US and come to work in [country]," the email reads in part.

The responses to that email were so numerous, the institution had to create a database to categorize interested parties into areas of scientific study, saying in another email that the number of replies was "overwhelming (and worrying)."

Ultimately, many of these scientists and other NASA workers would prefer not to leave the country, and for the problems facing the U.S. science industry to be solved, and quickly.

Possibly leaning in their favor, Congress seems increasingly resistant to the White House's deep science cuts. A Senate Appropriations Committee vote advanced a proposal to fund NASA science at $7.3 billion, effectively restoring it to fiscal year (FY) 2025 levels. The House markup also rejects the proposed cuts, with apparent bipartisan support for maintaining NASA's science programs — all the more reason that NASA workers feel the need to protest the preemptive cuts taking place within the space agency.

"NASA is being dismantled now, treating the President's budget request as marching orders rather than proposed legislation," Finch said. "Damage is occurring rapidly, daily. Although Congress is signaling bipartisan support to fund NASA, by the time they have an FY 26 budget passed, the damage will be widespread, fait accompli."

Organizers are calling on Congress to act using emergency legislation and the political tools at its disposal to protect NASA from further cuts until legislation, not suggestions, can decide the space agency's future.

The demonstration planned for July 20 is scheduled to take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT, according to the group's permitting request. The group's first protest gathered outside NASA Headquarters in D.C., and saw about 60 to 70 people in attendance, the organizers estimate. They are hoping more attend the upcoming event.

Sunday's protest is approved by National Park Service to take place at Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Park, across from the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum (540 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C. 20202).

NASA employees and contract workers attending or helping organize the protest have stressed that they are not acting on behalf of the space agency and do not represent their respective employers. Their ad hoc protest group has no formal structure or leadership, nor do its volunteer event coordinators maintain any organizational roles.

The Goddard scientist who spoke with Space.com after the first protest said they attended because NASA is an agency with a mission they believe in, but they don't think what's being done is in the best interest of the American people.

"I think probably all of us who are protesting right now are stepping out of our comfort zone. I would rather not be doing any of this, but I think it's important, and it's necessary at this moment in time."

Editor's note: This story was updated July 18, at 11:00 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT, July 19) to reflect the finalized location of the July 20 demonstration.

Europe doesn't want to be left out of the space plane party.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is funding the development of a hypersonic space plane pathfinder, which will start flying by 2031 if all goes according to plan.

The work is being done via a research program called Invictus, which is led by the consulting firm Frazer-Nash. Invictus will leverage technology developed by the English company Reaction Engines Ltd., which aimed to build a huge space plane called Skylon but went bankrupt last year.

The key piece of Invictus tech is a "pre-cooler," which Reaction Engines built and tested for its Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine (SABRE). SABRE combined aspects of jet and rocket propulsion; it was designed to pull oxygen out of the air during flight at lower levels of Earth's atmosphere, reducing the need to carry propellant and therefore increasing efficiency.

"Aircraft that fly at hypersonic speeds — more than 5 times the speed of sound — face extremely high temperatures due to shock heating and the friction from the air. Typical aircraft engines cannot operate in these conditions, as the air is too hot to handle," Frazer-Nash representatives said in a statement.

This pre-cooler solves this problem, cooling "the air before it reaches the engine, allowing conventional aircraft engines to travel at hypersonic speeds," Frazer-Nash added.

Invictus isn't a huge project; its funding is 7 million pounds (about $9.4 million US at current exchange rates), according to the company. But it could have a big impact on European spaceflight, according to ESA.

"Hypersonic flight is not just the next frontier of aerospace — it is the gateway to a new paradigm of mobility, defense, and space access," Tommaso Ghidini, head of the Mechanical Department at the agency, said in the same statement.

"With Invictus, Europe is seizing the opportunity to lead in technologies that will redefine how we move across the planet and reach beyond it," he added. "By mastering reusable, air-breathing propulsion, we are laying the foundation for aircraft that take off like planes and reach orbit like rockets — revolutionizing both terrestrial and orbital transportation."

The plan calls for the Invictus team — a consortium led by Frazer-Nash that includes Spirit AeroSystems and Cranfield University, among other partners — to deliver "the concept and elements of preliminary design of the full flight system" 12 months from now.

The "full flight system" will be a reusable vehicle that takes off from, and lands on, a runway like an airplane. It will be up and running by early 2031, if all goes to plan, and could have a variety of uses and applications.

"We look forward to seeing how the work develops and the opportunity it presents for boosting economic growth and national security," Tony Forsythe, head of space technology at the U.K. Space Agency, said in the same statement.

Invictus isn't the only European space plane in development. Last month, for example, the French government and the French company Dassault Aviation announced plans for a demonstrator called VORTEX.

Space planes are experiencing something of a resurgence after the retirement of the most famous such vehicle — NASA's space shuttle — in 2011. The U.S. military operates a robotic orbital space plane called the X-37B, for example, and China has a similar vehicle, called Shenlong. Virgin Galactic flies a suborbital space plane for tourism and research purposes.

A number of other companies are developing space planes as well, including Sierra Nevada Corp., Dawn Aerospace and Radian Aerospace.

China's Tianwen 2 probe has captured striking pictures of home as it heads out to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples.

Tianwen 2 launched from Xichang on a Long March 3B rocket on May 28 and is en route to the enigmatic asteroid Kamo'oalewa. But shortly after departure, the spacecraft took the opportunity to test out its cameras.

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) released a statement on July 1 including images of Earth and the moon. The image of Earth was captured by Tianwen 2's narrow field of view navigation sensor while 590,000 kilometers (367,000 miles) away from the planet on May 30. A couple of hours later, the same instrument took a shot of the moon from a similar distance.

At the time of that update, Tianwen 2 had been in Earth orbit for 33 days, CNSA officials said. The probe was more than 12 million km (7.46 million miles) away from Earth and was in good working condition. Previously, Tianwen 2 returned an image of one of its two circular solar arrays using an engineering camera, providing our first glimpse of the actual spacecraft.

Tianwen 2 is China's first asteroid mission. It aims to collect samples from Kamo'oalewa, one Earth's seven known "quasi moons," and is expected to arrive at the rocky body around July 2026. It will then study the small asteroid to determine possible landing sites before collecting samples and heading for home, delivering its precious payload in a reentry capsule in late 2027. Analysis of the samples could shed light on the early days of our solar system.

"[This asteroid] is very likely to hold the original information of the solar system at its birth, which is of great scientific research value for our understanding of the material composition of the early solar system, including its formation process and evolutionary history," Han Siyuan, deputy director of the Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center (LESEC) under CNSA, told Chinese state-run broadcaster CCTV.

Tianwen 2's mission won't end there. The spacecraft will use its return to Earth to make a gravity slingshot maneuver to send it onto the next step of its journey: a rendezvous with the main belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS, which will occur around 2035.

The mission is the second in China's "Tianwen" planetary exploration series. Tianwen 1, launched in 2020, sent an orbiter and a rover to Mars. That spacecraft jettisoned a small camera on its way to the Red Planet to deliver an epic deep-space selfie, raising the notion that Tianwen 2 could perform a similar act at some point during its own voyage.

That's the theory of a team of researchers who looked at hundreds of extrasolar planets, or exoplanets, observed by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

TESS hunts exoplanets by catching them as they cross the face of, or "transit," their parent star, which causes a tiny drop in light from that star. The study team discovered that light from stars neighboring the one being transited could "contaminate" TESS' data, making it look like the transiting planet is blocking less light than it actually is. And that would make the planet look smaller than it is.

"We found that hundreds of exoplanets are larger than they appear, and that shifts our understanding of exoplanets on a large scale," University of California, Irvine researcher and team leader Te Han said in a statement. "This means we may have actually found fewer Earth-like planets so far than we thought."

Exoplanets throw shade

Exoplanets are so distant and faint that it is only on rare occasions that astronomers can image them directly.

That means the transit method has become the most successful way of detecting worlds beyond the solar system. It requires the planet and its star to be at the right angle in relation to Earth, and for astronomers to wait for the planet to make two transits to confirm its existence.

The transit method is best at spotting short-period planets orbiting close to their host stars, because they make more frequent transits. The method also favors larger planets, which block more light.

"We’re basically measuring the shadow of the planet," said team member and UC Irvine astronomer Paul Robertson.

The team gathered hundreds of TESS observations of exoplanets, sorting them by the width of the exoplanets in question.

They then used computer modeling and data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) star-tracking mission Gaia to estimate how much light contamination TESS is experiencing during its observations.

"TESS data are contaminated, which Te's custom model corrects better than anyone else in the field," said Robertson. "What we find in this study is that these planets may systematically be larger than we initially thought. It raises the question: Just how common are Earth-sized planets?"

Move over Earth-like worlds: ocean planets could be more common

Because of the biases of the transit method mentioned above, the number of exoplanets detected with TESS having sizes and compositions similar to those of Earth was already low.

"Of the single-planet systems discovered by TESS so far, only three were thought to be similar to Earth in their composition," Han explained. "With this new finding, all of them are actually bigger than we thought."

The likely outcome of this is that those exoplanets are larger ocean planets or "hycean worlds" covered by a large single ocean. Those worlds could also be gas giants smaller than Jupiter, like Neptune and Uranus.

That impacts the search for life because, though hycean worlds are packed with water, they could be lacking other ingredients needed for life to arise.

"This has important implications for our understanding of exoplanets, including, among other things, prioritization for follow-up observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, and the controversial existence of a galactic population of water worlds," Roberston added.

The next step for Han, Roberston, and colleagues is to re-examine planets previously deemed uninhabitable due to their size, to see if they are larger than previously thought.

In the meantime, the research is a reminder to astronomers to be cautious when assessing TESS data.

The team's research was published on Monday (July 14) in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Fifty years ago today (July 17), at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT), history was made as two crewed spacecraft launched by two countries docked together in orbit for the first time. Three American astronauts and two Russian (then Soviet) cosmonauts met up for just under two days of joint operations, setting the stage for future cooperation in space.

"Very good to see you!" exclaimed Alexei Leonov, commander of the Soyuz side of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP, or Experimental-Flight Soyuz-Apollo in the Soviet Union), after the hatch between his spacecraft and the docking adapter was opened.

"Very happy, my friend!" replied U.S. commander Thomas Stafford in "Oklahomski," his unique version of Russian with a heavy Oklahoma drawl.

And then the Cold War rivals and space race competitors shook hands.

Soon after, the rest of the crew — cosmonaut Valery Kubasov and astronauts Vance Brand and Donald "Deke" Slayton — joined in on the greetings. It was those two Americans' first time in space and Kubasov's second. Leonov had previously performed the world's first spacewalk, and Stafford was on his fourth flight; his previous off-Earth experiences included a trip around the moon.

Glasnost and gifts

"Your flight is a momentous event and a very great achievement, not only for the five of you but also for the thousands of American and Soviet scientists and technicians who have worked together for three years to ensure the success of this very historic and very successful experiment in international cooperation," said then-U.S. President Gerald Ford during a call to space from the White House at the time.

"It has taken us many years to open this door to useful cooperation in space between our two countries, and I am confident that the day is not far off when space missions made possible by this first joint effort will be more or less commonplace," Ford said.

To mark the occasion, the crew members exchanged gifts. Plaques and medallions that had been designed to separate into halves — so one half could launch on Apollo and the other on Soyuz — were reassembled in space. The crew also signed formal documents, known as the "Space Magna Carta," that certified that this was this was first international space docking.

The commanders exchanged small flags of each others' countries and tree seeds to be planted later in their respective nations. The Soyuz crew also launched with a United Nations flag, which the American crew then brought back to Earth and which is on display today in the U.N.'s New York headquarters.

The five crew members took turns touring each other's spacecraft and came together for joint meals. Leonov surprised his U.S. counterparts with squeeze tubes labeled as containing vodka — in reality, they were filled with borscht (cold beet soup).

"The best part of a good dinner is not what you eat, but with whom you eat," said Leonov, replying to a reporter's question during a televised, in-flight press conference.

The U.S. and USSR crews returned to their respective spacecraft to sleep, but otherwise worked as one crew as long as their vehicles were linked. After 44 hours, 2 minutes and 51 seconds, the Apollo command module undocked from the Soyuz, and, as planned, created an artificial solar eclipse for the cosmonauts to photograph.

The U.S. crew then approached and docked with the Soyuz again for 2 hours, 52 minutes and 33 seconds before the two crews bid farewell to each and parted ways.

Leonov and Kubasov returned to Earth on July 21, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan, while Stafford, Brand and Slayton stayed in orbit for another three days, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1975.

50-year-old foundation

Despite preliminary talks about follow-up missions sending an Apollo capsule or space shuttle to a Soviet Salyut space station, the next time Russians and Americans would meet up in orbit coincided with the 100th U.S. human spaceflight, 20 years (almost to the day) after the ASTP crews exchanged handshakes.

On June 29, 1995, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis docked with Roscosmos' Mir space station. This time it was Vladimir Dezhurov, the commander of Mir's 18th crew, who clasped hands with STS-71 commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson.

The milestone was preceded by Russian cosmonauts flying with U.S. space shuttle crews and NASA astronauts joining Russian Soyuz crews, as well as a shuttle mission rendezvousing (but not docking) with Mir. After STS-71, eight more U.S. missions linked up with the Russian space station to rotate crews and deliver components for the complex.

The Shuttle-Mir program was considered Phase 1 of the International Space Station (ISS) program.

On Nov. 2, 2000, just about midway between the ASTP mission and today, astronaut William "Bill" Shepard and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev became the first crew to take up residency on board the ISS. Since then, for nearly 25 years, there has not been a day when U.S. astronauts and Russian cosmonauts have not been in space together.

"It made a really huge impression on me to see some people from the Soviet Union, which at the time we were not very good friends with in the middle of the Cold War, and then these brave American astronauts get along really well and cordially and with friendship," Mike Fincke, who as a NASA astronaut is set to return to the International Space Station for his fourth time on SpaceX's Crew-11 launch at the end of this month, said during a July 10 press conference in Houston. Fincke was 8 years old when the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project occurred.

"It made a big impression, not just on me, but on the rest of the world — that if the Soviet Union and United States can work together in space, maybe we can work together here on Earth," he said.

What is it?

The massive, dark circular payload adapter was carefully lowered from Test Stand 4697 to Test Stand 4705 for storage, after successfully completing initial structural tests. The next stage is for flight engineers to run quality checks on the adapter before building the final device.

The payload adapter plays an important role in spacecraft launches, as it connects the spacecraft or satellite to a launch vehicle. Without an adapter, the two parts of the spacecraft can't interface.

Where is it?

The payload adapter was initially tested and is being stored at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Why is it amazing?

The payload adapter is just one piece of equipment that is being tested as part of NASA's planned Artemis IV mission. This crewed lunar mission will focus on the first lunar space station, Gateway, according to NASA. The international hub will allow astronauts to study both the moon and the planets beyond, especially Mars.

To get the astronauts to Gateway, NASA plans to launch the crew using the Orion spacecraft with an upgraded SLS rocket. Before that happens, all launch materials, from boosters to payload adapters, have to be thoroughly tested and cleared for takeoff.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about the upcoming Artemis IV mission and the Gateway hub on the moon.

By the end of the year, nearly a half-dozen other spacecraft will launch to the ISS, delivering crew, cargo, research and technology demonstrations. It's one of the busiest eras the orbital laboratory has ever experienced, as recent years, especially, have seen a high increase of activity. But absent from the mix of shuffling spacecraft, at least for the rest of 2025, is Boeing's Starliner.

The last update provided about the stalled but stalwart space capsule announced a suite of tests set for this summer at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. NASA and Boeing had hoped to have those tests completed and fixes determined to ready Starliner for another flight by the end of this year, but that timeline seems to have slipped. NASA officials say they are now working toward the goal of launching Starliner again no sooner than early 2026.

Starliner launched on its first astronaut mission, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), in June 2024, carrying NASA astronauts Sunita "Suni" Williams and Butch Wilmore to the ISS on a mission expected to last about a week. It wasn't the spacecraft's first flight — Starliner launched on two uncrewed orbital flight tests (OFTs), one in 2019 and the other in 2022. OFT-1 was meant to dock with the ISS, but a software anomaly led to an incorrect orbital insertion burn that prevented the rendezvous altogether. A few inflight hiccups notwithstanding, OFT-2 addressed the issues of its predecessor mission, reached the ISS and successfully paved the way for the spacecraft's first flight with astronauts onboard.

On their way to the ISS, Williams and Wilmore put Starliner through its paces, performing a series of maneuvering tests before its final approach and docking with the space station. Unfortunately, their shakedown cruise was a little too shaky.

Four protective enclosures known as "doghouses" are mounted around the perimeter of Starliner's service module. Each contains a cluster of reaction control system (RCS) thrusters used for attitude control and fine maneuvering. Starliner's OMAC (Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control) thrusters are also located within the doghouses. Both systems use helium pressurization and the same propellants delivered through a shared network of feed lines and valves, creating a complex and interconnected system within each housing.

Once CFT was on orbit, Starliner experienced multiple helium leaks traced to components within these doghouses, as well as the in-flight failure of five out of its 28 RCS thrusters. As a result, Williams and Wilmore's stay aboard the ISS was extended multiple times while NASA and Boeing troubleshot the issues from the ground. Out of an abundance of caution, the decision was ultimately made to return Starliner to Earth without the astronauts aboard.

Starliner's return happened without incident in September, with the spacecraft successfully parachuting down for an uncrewed landing in White Sands, New Mexico. (NASA would later indicate that the CFT crew would have been fine returning on Starliner, but, as with all things space, better safe than sorry.) Meanwhile, Williams and Wilmore were absorbed into the ISS long-term crew rotation and made part of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission and ISS Expeditions 71/72. They returned with the two otherCrew-9 astronauts aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom in March, their one-week orbital stay coming to an end more than eight months later than originally expected.

By then, NASA and Boeing had performed extensive analyses of the issues inside Starliner's doghouses and slated the affected components for evaluation at NASA's White Sands testing facility this summer.

"We know that we get some permeation of oxidizer vapor across [the thrusters], and the seal that we had was not very robust for oxidizer exposure," explained Steve Stich, NASA commercial crew program manager, during a press briefing on July 10. "We have various materials and tests right now to improve that seal on the helium interface at the flange of the thruster."

Those tests will help determine a new material for use to prevent those leaks in the future and to provide better insulation from the doghouses' other components and thrusters. To better understand the effects of temperature swings within the doghouses, NASA is performing a series of "pulse trains" designed to cycle through a sequence of thruster burns at varying intensities and frequencies.

"We're learning a lot about the differences in the oxidizer valve temperatures," Stich explained. "The thruster has [oxidizer] that comes in on one side and fuel that comes in the other. We're learning a lot about the differences in those temperatures as a function of pulse training."

Those tests are designed to inform thermal models for an integrated doghouse test at White Sands, which is expected to begin sometime near the end of next month, according to Stich. "That'll involve a series of RCS thrusters being fired at the same time as our OMAC orbital maneuvering thrusters to understand the heat going into that doghouse," he said.

Some improvements to Starliner's doghouses have already been made, Stich indicated, including thermal modifications like the addition of a shunt and other barriers designed to prevent heat from the OMACs radiating back into the housing cluster. "So, we're making a lot of progress in understanding the thermal performance. These will build the informed thermal modeling," Stich said.

As for when Starliner might make its way back to the launch pad, it seems 2025 is no longer on the table. "We really are working toward a flight as soon as early next year," Stich said. He added, however, that NASA is hoping to begin crew rotation flights "no earlier than the second rotation spot at the end of next year."

NASA crew rotations aboard the ISS typically last six to eight months, lining up two launches per year to ferry astronauts to and from the orbital laboratory. Slating the first crewed, operational Starliner mission for the end of 2026 likely means the spacecraft's next launch won't include any astronauts aboard. "There's a strong chance we'll fly a cargo flight first," Stich said.

"What we're really looking at is, can we test all the changes that we are making, to the doghouses in particular, and would we want to validate those in flight first?" he explained.

NASA has been eager for Starliner to gain its crew certification. Both Starliner and SpaceX's Crew Dragon were chosen for development in 2014 under the space agency's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contracts, with the intent of introducing redundant access to low Earth orbit (LEO) for the United States through at least 2030, around when the ISS is expected to be officially decommissioned.

Beginning with its cargo variant, SpaceX evolved Dragon into a crew-capable spacecraft and began flying astronaut missions to the space station in 2020. Dragon's eleventh operational NASA crew launch is slated for the end of July. Even with SpaceX's success, though, NASA still sees Starliner as a critical part of the agency's human spaceflight goals in LEO.

"Even SpaceX is cheering on Starliner," NASA astronaut Mike Fincke told Space.com. "The more ways we have to get to space, the more people can fly in space, the better it is for our country," he said.

Fincke will serve as mission pilot for Crew-11 when it launches this summer, but his spot as part of the next SpaceX crew was solidified, in part, because of the delays Starliner has faced over the last several years. He was originally assigned to fly as pilot for Starliner-1, and he has therefore trained extensively aboard the Boeing spacecraft.

Despite the problems Starliner has faced, Fincke says he would still love to fly aboard the Boeing capsule. "When NASA says it's ready to go fly again with people, I hope they sign me up," he said.

What is it?

The X-59 aircraft measures around 99.7 feet (30.4 meters) long, with a wingspan of 29.7 feet (9 meters). With the wind tunnel at the JAXA research facility only measuring around three feet (or a meter) across, the researchers realized they would have to test the aircraft using a much smaller model.

They scaled down the X-59 to 1.62% of its actual size, around 19 inches from front to back. Then they exposed the model to supersonic wind speeds of approximately 925 miles per hour (or 1,488 km per hour) also known as a cruising speed of Mach 1.4.

Where is it?

The wind tunnel is at a JAXA research facility in Chofu, Japan.

Why is it amazing?

The X-59, with its stretched noise and ultrathin wings, is designed to diffuse the supersonic shock waves created when the aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound. So instead of a loud sonic boom, the plane should create more of a "thump" noise.

Using a model, the researchers could gain key information about how air flows over and around the aircraft, allowing them to improve its design even further to reduce its noise. This test was the third of a series of wind tunnel tests, giving experts insights into the noise the aircraft makes when flying at high speeds.

The X-59 itself was built by Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in California and is slated to make its first historic flight sometime this year.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about the recent build of the X-59 aircraft and other experimental planes.

SpaceX sent 26 more Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Tuesday (July 15), after a launch from southern California.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:05 p.m. PDT (10:05 p.m. EDT or 0205 GMT July 18), escaping the fog and cloud cover blanketing Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The satellites (Group 15-2, according to SpaceX's website) entered orbit about eight and a half minutes later and were on track to be deployed after a second burn of the Falcon's upper stage about an hour into the mission.

The rocket's first stage, having flown to space and back, made a successful landing on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Pacific Ocean. The stage, referred to by SpaceX by its serial number, B1093, last flew in June on the third of what is now its four total Starlink flights.

Tuesday's launch added to SpaceX's megaconstellation, which numbers more than 7,950 active Starlink satellites. The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has approved SpaceX to launch a total of 12,000 units, though the company seeks to launch upwards of 30,000 additional spacecraft.

These lakes and Titan's seas are filled with liquid hydrocarbons like ethane and methane rather than water. And though we know water is a key ingredient of life on Earth, astrobiologists have theorized that Titan's liquid hydrocarbons could allow the molecules needed for life to form, whether that life is similar to what we see on Earth or a very different form of life.

This new research suggests a way vesicles could form on Titan based on what we know about its atmosphere and chemistry. The formation of such compartments is a key step on the road to the development of "protocells."

"The existence of any vesicles on Titan would demonstrate an increase in order and complexity, which are conditions necessary for the origin of life," Conor Nixon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said in a statement.

"We're excited about these new ideas because they can open up new directions in Titan research and may change how we search for life on Titan in the future."

The path to life starts with pockets

The process of creating vesicles begins with molecules called amphiphiles, dual-nature molecules with both water-loving (hydrophilic) and water-repellent (hydrophobic) ends. Under certain conditions, these molecules can self-organize to create vesicles.

On Earth, when amphiphiles meet water, they group together to form spheres similar to soap bubbles with the water-loving end facing outwards, protecting the hydrophobic end.

If two layers of amphiphiles are together, they can form a bilayer "ball" with a shell of water sandwiched between the two layers of molecules. A structure that resembles a living cell.

This process would be very different on Titan due to its environment, one that is radically different than Earth's.

Titan isn't just the largest moon in the solar system; it is also the moon with the densest atmosphere. This is primarily because of Titan's cool temperature and its distance from the sun, which prevents its atmosphere from being stripped by the solar wind.

From 2004 to 2017, the Cassini spacecraft was able to stare through this substantial atmosphere to discover how the meteorological cycle of Titan has influenced its surface.

Though the majority of Titan's atmosphere is composed of nitrogen, its clouds are composed of methane that erodes the surface and river channels as it falls as rain and fills its lakes and seas. When exposed to sunlight, the methane evaporates and rises to the atmosphere again, regenerating Titan's clouds.

The activity of methane through Titan's atmosphere allows complex chemistry to happen, particularly when sunlight splits methane molecules, creating fragments that recombine as complex organic molecules.

This team theorizes that vesicles might form on Titan when sea-spray droplets are thrown into the atmosphere by methane raindrops landing on the surface of lakes and seas.

If the surfaces of Titan's seas are coated with layers of amphiphiles, the sea-spray droplets will be too. That means when those launched droplets fall back to the methane seas, they meet the amphiphile sea-layer and form a bilayer vesicle, enclosing the original droplet.

Over time, these vesicles could be dispersed through the lakes and seas, interacting and potentially leading to the creation of protocells.

The discovery is sure to generate excitement for NASA's forthcoming Dragonfly mission, which will set off for Titan in 2028. Arriving in 2034, the nuclear-powered rotocopter craft aims to explore prebiotic chemistry and habitability on the Saturnian moon.

Understanding this process as it occurs on Titan, if it is occurring, could shed light on the mystery of how life emerged on Earth.

The team's research was published on July 10 in the journal International Journal of Astrobiology.

SpaceX launched the third batch of satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband megaconstellation early on Wednesday morning (July 16).

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 24 Kuiper craft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday at 2:30 a.m. EDT (0630 GMT).

Wednesday, by the way, is the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 launch. That famous NASA mission put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin down on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969.

Project Kuiper is Amazon's version of Starlink, the broadband megaconstellation that SpaceX operates in low Earth orbit (LEO). Kuiper will eventually consist of more than 3,200 satellites, which will be lofted on more than 80 launches over the coming years. (The Starlink network, which is already up and running, consists of nearly 8,000 satellites — and that number is growing all the time.)

Wednesday morning's launch was the third such mission. The first two Kuiper liftoffs were performed by United Launch Alliance Atlas V rockets, in April and June of this year.

During Wednesday's mission, which SpaceX called KF-01, the Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth 8.5 minutes after launch as planned. It landed on the SpaceX droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the first launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That's a rarity, as SpaceX is known for its rocket reuse; one of the company's Falcon 9 boosters has a whopping 29 launches under its belt.

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling the 24 Project Kuiper satellites to LEO. They'll be deployed at an altitude of 289 miles (465 kilometers) over a nearly eight-minute span that begins roughly 56 minutes after launch. The Kuiper craft will later raise their orbits to their final altitude of 392 miles (630 km).

Editor's note: This story was updated at 3 a.m. EDT on July 16 with news of successful launch and rocket landing.

SpaceX aims to launch the 10th test flight of Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built, about three weeks from now, company founder and CEO Elon Musk said via X on Monday (July 14).

It will be the fourth launch of the year for Starship, whose two stages — the Super Heavy booster and Ship upper stage — are designed to be fully and rapidly reusable.

It's been a bumpy path to the launch pad for Flight 10. The Ship upper stage originally slated to fly the mission exploded on a test stand at SpaceX's Starbase site in South Texas on June 18, during preparations for a common prelaunch engine trial.

SpaceX soon determined a likely cause — the failure of a pressurized nitrogen tank in Ship's nosecone area. The company is now working to get a different Ship vehicle ready for Flight 10.

Ship has also had some in-flight issues recently: SpaceX lost the vehicle on Flight 7, Flight 8 and Flight 9, which launched in January, March and May of this year, respectively.

Super Heavy has performed better. On Flight 7 and Flight 8, for example, the booster successfully returned to Starbase, where it was caught by the launch tower's "chopstick" arms. Flight 9 featured the first-ever reuse of Super Heavy, putting the Flight 7 booster back into action. (SpaceX didn't attempt to catch the booster again; it broke apart over the Gulf of Mexico during Flight 9, shortly after initiating a landing burn.)

SpaceX plans to employ the chosticks recovery strategy for both Super Heavy and Ship over the long haul, making the reuse of each stage more efficient.

Let's take a closer look at the positives first. The bill contains special provisions for NASA's Artemis moon program, which seeks to return astronauts to the surface of the moon. Artemis 1, an uncrewed mission that took a jaunt around the moon, has already flown — as things stand, Artemis 2 is scheduled for launch in the first half of 2026 and will send astronauts on a flyby mission around the moon. Artemis 3 is planned to be the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.

However, beyond these three missions, the new bill makes $4.1 billion available for two new lunar landings, Artemis 4 and Artemis 5, splitting that money into just over a billion dollars that can be spent each year for 2026, 2027, 2028 and 2029. There is also another $20 million set aside for the procurement of the Orion space capsule from Lockheed Martin.

Then, there's $2.6 billion allotted for development of the Lunar Gateway station, a proposed outpost that would be set up in orbit around the moon and act as a way-station for missions in the Earth–moon system and beyond. In March, the current administration proposed cutting Artemis and Gateway from its Financial Year (FY) 2026 budget, effectively cancelling the Artemis program after Artemis 3 and relying on private companies to take humans back to the moon. The addition of funding for both in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is therefore something of a turnaround, an amendment to the Act initiated by Republican senator Ted Cruz of Texas.

There will also be $1.25 billion, split into $250 million each year for the years 2025–2029, dedicated to keeping the International Space Station running ahead of its retirement in the early 2030s. The Act also calls for $700 million to fund a high-performance Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, to be procured from a U.S. commercial provider no later than December 31, 2028 which the Act specifies as being "capable of providing robust, continuous communications for a Mars sample-return mission ... [and] future Mars surface, orbital, and human exploration mission."

These plans, however, appear to be at odds with the administration's proposed FY 2026 budget, which seeks to gut NASA's science missions, including the Mars sample-return mission.

The FY 2026 budget proposes to cut NASA's overall funding by 24%, from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, but the cuts would not be spread evenly across the agency. The Science Mission Directorate would take one of the hardest hits, with its funding slashed by 47%. As a result, around half of NASA's science missions either in development or in operation would be cancelled. Among the threatened missions are the Juno mission presently at Jupiter, New Horizons that's on its way out of the solar system, the two proposed Venus missions DAVINCI and VERITAS and Mars Sample Return, for which samples are already waiting to be picked up from the surface of the Red Planet thanks to the Perseverance rover.

In response, a joint statement has been issued by all the surviving former heads of NASA's Science Mission Directorate — Alphonso Diaz, John Grunsfeld, Lennard Fisk, Wesley Huntress, Alan Stern, Edward Weiler and Thomas Zurbuchen — requesting that the government rethink the proposed cuts.

In their statement, they highlight NASA's science achievements, from the Mars rovers to the James Webb Space Telescope (neither of which are currently under threat, though the JWST could indirectly experience some major effects), and their concern that the budget cuts could see the United States hand its leadership in space science over to China.

They write that the proposed budget "walks away from dozens of current, extraordinarily successful and productive science missions in extended operations on a combined budget that is only about three per cent of NASA's annual funding."

The threat isn't just to NASA-led missions. The financial budget also calls for the cancellation of NASA contributions to missions by other space agency's, such as an astrobiology instrument and the launch vehicle for the European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin Mars rover.

"The proposed cuts would force the U.S. to abandon its international partners who historically contribute significantly to U.S. space science missions," the former heads write.

Meanwhile, the government is continuing with plans to axe these missions even ahead of the FY 2026 bill being signed into law. According to Ars Technica, scientists on dozens of missions have been asked by NASA leadership to provide a "close-out" plan ahead of cancellation, with the assumption that this will happen on Oct. 1, which is the beginning of the next fiscal year in the U.S.

All in all, for now, it seems that crewed spaceflight is the winner, while the consequences for NASA's science missions remain muddled and potentially catastrophic.

The full text of the Act can be read on the U.S. Senate website.

Welcome home! Four astronauts have returned to Earth following more than two weeks living aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to the ISS, known as Ax-4, concluded early this morning, with the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule "Grace" splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT; locally, 2:32 a.m. PDT). Grace undocked from the ISS yesterday (July 14) at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT), beginning the 22-hour final leg of the crew's journey in space.

On the mission, Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight, extended her record for cumulative days spent by an American in space to 695. Whitson was joined by a trio of first-time astronauts from three different countries, none of which had ever sent a citizen to the ISS before.

Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla, who served as Ax-4's pilot, hails from India. He is a pilot in the Indian Air Force and one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, expected sometime in 2027.

Ax-4 mission specialist Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski, from Poland, is a member of the European Space Agency's (ESA's) astronaut reserve program, and Tibor Kapu, a mission specialist from Hungary, is a member of HUNOR, Hungary's orbital astronaut program.

Ax-4 launched on June 26 from storied Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew aboard Grace lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and docked with the space station a day later. Their mission was expected to last about two weeks but was extended by four days to achieve favorable orbital phasing during their return.

While aboard the ISS, the Ax-4 crew carried out a record number of science investigations and public outreach events. With contributions from a total of 31 different countries, Ax-4 astronauts completed more than 60 experiments and technology demonstrations  — more than any previous Axiom mission.

Ax-4's splashdown this morning followed about 22.5 hours on orbit after their departure from the ISS. After nearly a full day flying their return trajectory, the crew's final minutes before splashdown passed relatively quickly.

Grace began its atmospheric descent at approximately 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT; locally, 2:18 am PT). Having survived the char of the most unforgiving layers of Earth's upper atmosphere, the spacecraft's drogue parachutes deployed to stabilize its plummet. Shortly thereafter, the Dragon's four main chutes unfolded to slow the capsule's descent even further.

The Ax-4 spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, where it was met by the SpaceX Dragon recovery vessel "Shannon." Once safely hoisted aboard "Shannon," the Ax-4 crew will disembark Grace to begin acclimating to Earth's gravity once again.

This is only SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery, after the Crew-9 mission to the ISS came down this past March. SpaceX has shifted permanently Pacific Ocean spacecraft recoveries to avoid possible instances of pieces of Dragon's trunk surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth, which were reported during some Atlantic Ocean and Gulf returns.

The empty space station docking port left behind after Ax-4's undocking won't remain so for long. The next astronauts launching to the ISS are slated for liftoff no earlier than July 31. That mission, SpaceX's Crew-11, will launch a crew rotation for NASA that's expected to last between six and eight months.

China just sent a new batch of supplies toward its Tiangong space station.

A Long March 7 rocket lifted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan island this evening (July 14) at 5:34 p.m. EDT (2134 GMT; 5:34 a.m. on July 15 China Standard Time), carrying the Tianzhou 9 freighter skyward.

Tianzhou 9 is hauling about 7.2 tons (6.5 metric tons) of cargo to Tiangong, which is currently occupied by the three astronauts (or taikonauts, as China calls them) of the Shenzhou 20 mission.

Among the supplies are food, fuel and a variety of hardware and scientific equipment, including two spacesuits.

"These brand-new spacesuits feature an extended operational lifespan, from three years of 15 spacewalks previously to four years of 20 spacewalks," the state-run China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported.

"Tianzhou 9 will also bring a set of core muscle training device[s] to further upgrade the space station's gym, which will help taikonauts counteract muscle atrophy in microgravity," the outlet added.

As its name suggests, Tianzhou 9 is the ninth cargo mission that China has launched to support its astronauts in low Earth orbit.

The first Tianzhou lifted off in April 2017 and docked with Tiangong 2, a prototype space lab that tested technology ahead of the construction of the larger Tiangong outpost. The other Tianzhous have either met up with Tiangong proper or its core module, which launched in April 2021.

China finished building the three-module Tiangong space station in October 2022. The outpost is about 20% as massive as the International Space Station, but that could change: China has voiced a desire to expand Tiangong in the coming years.

The largely classified X-37B – also called the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV) program – carried out its seventh mission, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on March 7, touching down after 434 days in orbit.

As for how that $1 billion would be spent, and when the next X-37B would depart, Space.com reached out to the space plane's builder, Boeing. We received a "thank you for the query" in response, and an inquiry-altering note to contact the Air Force for comment on the X-37 schedule and budget.

Space test platform

"The USSF X-37B program supports technology risk reduction, experimentation, and operational concept development for future re-usable space vehicles," responded USAF Colonel Lori Astroth, Public Affairs Deputy Director for Space within the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs at the Pentagon.

The X-37B program "serves as a flexible space test platform to conduct various experiments that can be transported to space and returned to Earth," Col. Astroth added. "Further information regarding X-37B's cost and budget information is not releasable."

Highly elliptical orbit

That last hush-hush flight of the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 (OTV-7) featured the craft being hurled into a highly elliptical high Earth orbit via a Falcon Heavy rocket back on December 28, 2023.

After aerobraking to a low Earth orbit and completing its test and experimentation objectives, the space plane successfully performed its deorbit and landing procedures.

As did the previous (OTV-6) space plane trek, OTV-7 also involved a service module that expanded the capabilities of the spacecraft.

"The successful completion of the novel aerobraking maneuver demonstrated the agile and flexible capabilities the X-37B provides the United States Space Force," according to the statement issued by the Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs.

The aerobraking technique entails use of atmospheric drag over the course of multiple passes to change orbits while expending minimal fuel.

"While on orbit, Mission 7 accomplished a range of test and experimentation objectives intended to demonstrate the X-37B's robust maneuver capability while helping characterize the space domain through the testing of space domain awareness technology experiments," the statement notes.

Flight roster

Here's a listing of previous flights of the space plane:

• OTV-1: launched on April 22, 2010 and landed on December 3, 2010, spending over 224 days on orbit.
• OTV-2: launched on March 5, 2011 and landed on June 16, 2012, spending over 468 days on orbit.
• OTV-3: launched on December 11, 2012 and landed on October 17, 2014, spending over 674 days on-orbit.
• OTV-4: launched on May 20, 2015 and landed on May 7, 2015, spending nearly 718 days on-orbit.
• OTV-5: launched on September 7, 2017 and landed on October 27, 2019, spending nearly 780 days on-orbit.
• OTV-6: launched on May 17, 2020 and landed on November 12, 2022, circling Earth for 908 days.
• OTV-7: lofted on December 28, 2023 and touched down on March 7, 2025, circling Earth for 434 days.

First use technologies

The builder of the vehicle, Boeing, has previously noted that the X-37B makes use of several “first use in space” technologies including:

• Avionics designed to automate all de-orbit and landing functions.
• Flight controls and brakes using all electro-mechanical actuation; no hydraulics on board.
• Use of a lighter composite structure, rather than traditional aluminum.
• New generation high-temperature wing leading-edge tiles and toughened uni-piece fibrous refractory oxidation-resistant ceramic (TUFROC) tiles and advanced conformal reusable insulation (CRI) blankets.

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the Space Force is utilizing the X-37B system as an on-orbit testbed to try out new technologies, to better understand similar adversarial platforms and to design new training environments, citing comments to the publication in January by Chief of Space Operations General Chance Saltzman.

The four astronauts of Axiom Space's latest private mission have concluded their stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Ax-4's SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, named Grace, undocked from the ISS this morning (July 14), carrying the quartet on the last leg of the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission.

Undocking occurred at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT) today. Grace safely maneuvered away from the orbital laboratory, which was the Ax-4's crew's home for the past 2.5 weeks — about half a week longer than originally expected. Grace performed a series of deorbit burns, and is on a trajectory to return to Earth around 5:30 a.m. EDT (0930 GMT), Tuesday (July 15).

Ax-4's commander is former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who is now Axiom's director of human spaceflight. "Space Station, Grace," Whitson said over the communication system as the Crew Dragon crossed out of the ISS's safety "keep-out sphere," "The Ax-4 crew wants to thank you very much for your support. You guys are amazing."

Her crewmates are pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla and mission specialists Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski and Tibor Kapu. This was the first spaceflight for each of those three. But Ax-4 is Whitson's fifth mission to orbit and raises her current record for most cumulative days in space by an American to 695.

Grace docked to the ISS with the Ax-4 crew aboard on June 26. Their mission, Axiom's fourth to the space station, is an extension of the Houston-based company's previous crewed flights, with research and science investigations aimed at furthering understandings of the microgravity environment.

The Ax-4 crew took on more than 60 experiments and technology demonstrations with contributions from 31 different nations, as well as a number of public outreach events, breaking a record for Axiom as it continues to hone its orbital operations.

Not only was this the first spaceflight for Shux, Suave and Kapu, but they were the first citizens of their respective countries to launch on a mission to the ISS. Shux is a pilot in the Indian Air Force and is one of four astronauts selected for the Indian Space Research Organization's (ISRO) upcoming first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan. Suave is a Polish astronaut from the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu is a member of HUNOR, Hungary's orbital astronaut program.

The Ax-4 mission launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 26 from storied Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Florida. The crew spent a little more than a full day catching up to the ISS, and were scheduled to remain aboard the space station for about two weeks. Their mission lasted about four days longer than expected.

Departure procedures began this morning around 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT), with the Ax-4 crew entering Grace and closing the hatch at 5:07 a.m. EDT (0907 GMT). Now, crew and Dragon are on a 22.5-hour trajectory on course to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, early Tuesday.

This will only be SpaceX's second West Coast crew recovery. The first was that of the Crew-9 ISS mission in March. SpaceX has shifted permanently to Pacific Ocean rather than Atlantic or Gulf recoveries, after instances of debris from Dragon's trunk surviving atmospheric reentry and crashing back to Earth.

The new reentry path minimizes the chances that such debris could cause damage or injury, SpaceX representatives have said.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the four Ax-4 astronauts is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday around 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT).

You'll be able to watch that milestone live via NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space, the Houston company that organized the Ax-4 mission. Space.com will carry NASA's feed, if the agency makes it available.

NASA will begin its stream at 4:30 a.m. EDT (0830 GMT) to cover the closing of the hatches between the ISS and the Crew Dragon, which is expected around 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 GMT).

The agency will pick up its coverage at 6:45 a.m. EDT (1045 GMT) for undocking. SpaceX and Axiom will begin their streams at this time, according to NASA.

NASA did not provide an estimated time for Ax-4's splashdown back on Earth, which will occur in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. The agency did say, however, that Axiom will stream the mission's reentry and return on the company's website.

Ax-4 is commanded by Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut who has spent more total time in space than any other American (nearly 700 days!) and now serves as Axiom's director of human spaceflight.

Her crewmates are mission pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India; Polish mission specialist Sławosz Uznański, who's a European Space Agency astronaut; and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary. These three are the first people from their respective countries ever to visit the ISS.

Ax-4 launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on June 25 and arrived at the ISS a day later.

The four private astronauts have performed more than 60 scientific experiments and outreach activities during their time in orbit, which was expected to be two weeks. That was always a rough estimate, however: Dragon departure dates from the ISS are flexible, dependent on weather conditions near the splashdown site.

As its name suggests, Ax-4 is the fourth crewed ISS mission that Axiom has operated. The other three launched in April 2022, May 2023 and January 2024. All have used SpaceX hardware.

SpaceX launched a mystery satellite to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) from Florida's Space Coast early Sunday morning (July 13).

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Sunday at 1:04 a.m. EDT (0504 GMT), on a mission SpaceX called Commercial GTO-1.

The company didn't identify the payload, though it's believed to be an Israeli communications satellite called Dror-1 .

"Dror-1 is a geostationary communication satellite built and developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)," NextSpaceflight.com wrote.

"It is intended to meet the satellite communication needs of Israel for the next 15 years," the outlet added. "Dror-1 is comprised primarily of local Israeli technologies developed at IAI, including an advanced digital communication payload and 'smartphone in space' capabilities, to provide communication agility throughout the satellite’s lifetime in space."

Geostationary orbit lies 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth. At this altitude, orbital speed matches our planet's rotational speed, so spacecraft in this path "hover" over the same patch of Earth continuously.

The Falcon 9's first stage, designated B1083, came back to Earth as planned on Sunday. It touched down about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. That description did not give an estimated time for the deployment of the Commercial GTO-1 satellite.

Chinese commercial launch firm Landspace is preparing for the first flight of its Zhuque-3 rocket, with a debut launch targeted for the final quarter of 2025.

Zhuque-3 is a stainless steel rocket with a reusable first stage that Landspace hopes can earn contracts to launch satellites for China's megaconstellation projects. The company carried out launch and landing tests last year, with one of the hops reaching around 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) in altitude before executing a powered descent and safe landing.

The Zhuque-3 first stage is powered by nine Tianque-12A methane-liquid oxygen engines self-developed by Landspace. The company carried out a 45-second hot fire test of the first stage last month, successfully firing all nine engines in sequence.

The successful test has now paved the way for a first orbital launch in the final quarter of 2025, according to a CCTV report.

Zhuque-3, which is named for the vermillion bird from Chinese mythology, is designed to carry up to 40,350 pounds (18,300 kilograms) to low Earth orbit (LEO) in reusable mode. The first Zhuque-3 rockets will stand around 217 feet (66 meters) tall, before possibly being extended by around 33 ft (10m) and upgraded with Tianque-12B engines.

The rocket could mark a major breakthrough for Chinese reusable launchers and also boost the country's overall capabilities. By comparison, China's current most powerful rocket is the expendable Long March 5 series rocket, which can carry around 55,100 lbs (25,000 kg) to LEO. SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9, meanwhile, can haul about 50,265 pounds (22,800 kg) to LEO, according to its specifications page.

Landspace is one of China's earliest commercial rocket companies. Its first launch, with the solid propellant Zhuque-1, failed on its first and only launch in 2018, with the company pivoting to focus on the methane-liquid oxygen propellant Zhuque-2. That rocket would, in July 2023, become the first rocket using this propellant mix to reach orbit.

The Zhuque-3 faces a number of competitors, with commercial counterparts Space Pioneer, iSpace, Galactic Energy and Orienspace, as well as the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp., among those working on their own reusable rockets.

Orbital observation

"As the saying goes, yesterday’s coffee is today’s coffee," wrote NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, an Expedition 73 flight engineer, on social media.

The water reclamation system on the International Space Station recycles the crew's waste water — including their urine and perspiration — into clean drinking water, enabling their long stays in low Earth orbit. This week Kim was assigned to replace the recycling tank.

"At a high level, urine from astronauts is mixed with chemicals which are then stored in this recycle tank as a holding reservoir before additional processing," wrote Kim. "Though Houston [Mission Control] works hard to remotely control and run the system, sometimes an astronaut is required to physically maintain the equipment."

Science status

Among the research that was conducted by the Expedition 73 crew aboard the space station this week was:

Circadian Light — Flight engineer Nichole Ayers documented her experience being exposed to a new lighting system that gradually cycles through different settings as compared to the static illumination aboard the space station. The new approach is designed to improve cognitive performance and combat monotony.

Plant Cell Division — Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi used a centrifuge and a strain of cultured tobacco cells to study how varying levels of gravity affect plant formation. The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) experiment is focused on the future of crop growth on the moon and Mars.

Muscle Stimulation — Ayers and her fellow NASA flight engineer Anne McClain used electrodes to send electrical impulses into Ayers' legs as a possible countermeasure to muscle atrophy. The technique may someday add to crew members' exercise regimes when in micro- and low-gravity environments.

Russian flight engineer Sergey Ryzhikov also set up a camera for students to point at Earth from the station's vantage point in orbit. Fellow cosmonaut Alexey Zubritskiy took part in a blood pressure study.

Station keeping

In addition to Kim working to service the water reclamation system, the Expedition 73 crew also devoted time to maintaining the space station's systems, including:

Progress M-31 (92P) — Flight engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritskiy opened the hatch leading into the newly docked Progress cargo spacecraft on Sunday (July 6) and, joined by fellow cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, worked throughout the week to unload the 3 tons of supplies it delivered.

Treadmill — Ryzhikov and Zubritskiy also repaired and replaced the treadmill on the Russsian segment of the space station on Tuesday (July 8).

Pressure valves — Flight engineer Jonny Kim worked on an issue with the valves used to depressurize Nanoracks' commercial airlock called "Bishop" by configuring cables and setting up hardware to support the troubleshooting effort.

Astronaut activity

Were this a sci-fi TV show, it might be called "Station Trek: The Next Generations"...

Expedition 73 flight engineers Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain have more in common with Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) commander Peggy Whitson than all having been (or currently are) NASA astronauts.

"Peggy Whitson was on the astronaut selection committee that selected me in 2013, and I was on the selection committee that selected Nichole Ayers in 2021," wrote McCain on social media. "Now, we all are living and working together aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 73 and Ax-4 missions (and having a LOT of fun in the process)."

"When you reach your goals, send the elevator back down!" McCain wrote.

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4)

The four members of Axiom Mission-4 have completed their second week aboard the space station, working on science and outreach activities up to the end of their stay.

Among the research they conducted this week was the growth of microalgae and nutrient-rich plants as possible future food sources; studies focused on how microgravity affects eye movement, motor skills and cardiovascular function, the latter as specifically related to blood flow to the brain; and a fluid dynamics experiment simulating planetary atmospheric phenomena such as the North Polar Hexagon on Saturn.

Polish astronaut Sławosz "Suave" Uznański-Wiśniewski of ESA joined Peggy Whitson to show eating the first pierogi in space, and the four crew members provided a live science update from orbit. On Saturday (July 12), they are scheduled to take part in an exclusive interview with CNN International.

The AX-4 crew is set to depart the space station on Monday (July 14) at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT), given acceptable weather conditions for a splashdown off the coast of California.

By the numbers

As of Friday (July 11), there are 11 people aboard the International Space Station: Expedition 73 commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA, Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers and Jonny Kim of NASA and Kirill Peskov, Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos, all flight engineers, as well as Ax-4 commander Peggy Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of ISRO and mission specialists Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of ESA and Tibor Kapu of HUNOR.

There are three docked crew spacecraft: SpaceX's Dragon "Endurance" attached to the forward port of the Harmony module, Dragon "Grace" on the space-facing port of Harmony and Roscosmos' Soyuz MS-27 attached to the Earth-facing port of the Prichal node.

There are two docked cargo spacecraft: Roscosmos' Progress MS-30 (91P) attached to the aft port of the Zvezda service module, and Progress MS-31 (92P) docked to the space-facing port of the Poisk module.

As of Friday, the space station has been continuously crewed for 24 years, 8 months and 10 days.

The billionaire tech entrepreneur and private astronaut, who until recently was on track to become NASA administrator, announced today (July 11) that he's gifting $15 million to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Alabama for its Space Camp programs.

The money will help fund the Center's Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex, which is currently under construction, as well as a fourth dormitory for Space Camp students, according to Space & Rocket Center officials.

The Space & Rocket Center, a Smithsonian affiliate, is the official visitor center for Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA's lead facility for rocket technology development.

It's also home to a number of education and outreach initiatives, including Space Camp, Space Camp Robotics, Aviation Challenge, U.S. Cyber Camp, the Space Camp Institute and the INTUITIVE Planetarium.

The 42-year-old Isaacman, who founded the payment-processing company Shift4, attended the Aviation Challenge program when he was 12. That experience helped inspire him to become a pilot, according to Space & Rocket Center officials.

The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex is named after the three-day SpaceX orbital mission that Isaacman funded and commanded in September 2021. Isaacman made a $10 million donation in 2022 to get the complex started, and the new gift will fund mission operations for Space Camp and activities for Space Camp Robotics and U.S. Cyber Camp students.

Those activities — which include simulated missions to the moon and Mars — are named after Polaris Dawn, Isaacman's second spaceflight. That five-day mission, which flew with SpaceX in September 2024, featured the first-ever private spacewalk.

"The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex and the Polaris Dawn mission activities will transform Space Camp," Space Camp Vice President Robin Soprano said in an emailed statement. "Through this extraordinary investment, we are building cutting-edge experiences to take our programs and our students into the future."

The Inspiration4 Skills Training Complex is expected to open in time for the 2026 summer camp season, Space & Rocket Center officials said in the statement. More funding will be needed before construction on the fourth Space Camp dorm can begin, they added.

President Donald Trump announced in December 2024 that Isaacman was his choice for NASA administrator. Isaacman sailed through the nomination process and was set to be confirmed in early June.

But on May 31, Trump withdrew the nomination, later explaining that he did so after learning about Isaacman's contributions to Democratic politicians. Isaacman has stressed that he has donated to politicians of both parties over the years, and that he disclosed these contributions early in the nomination process.

Isaacman may not be done with politics; he said recently that he's considering running for office as a Republican.

"Honestly, I am not sure where I land," he said in an X post on Thursday morning (July 10). "I am enjoying my first break from professional obligations since I was 16. I love space exploration and the necessary goal of making life multiplanetary and pursuing the secrets of the universe. At the same time, we won't get where we need to be or serve the interests of the American people if those with the ability to help are deterred by the ugliness of politics. I don't need money. I don't need power and I don't need to humor those defending the status quo at the expense of America's competitiveness.

"I can just help for all the right reasons."

What is it?

Sitting at 177 feet (54 meters) long with a 12 foot (3.6 meter) diameter, NASA's SLS rocket booster is designed to be the largest segmented solid propellant booster built for flight. The power for this booster comes from an added fifth segment, allowing the booster to launch heavier spacecraft. NASA plans to use the SLS rocket, including two boosters, for its Artemis program.

The recent test was a result of the Booster Obsolescence Life Extension (BOLE) project, which looked at optimizing booster design for lower-cost and more efficient options. This test was the first full-scale ground test of the five-segment booster, known as Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1).

Where is it?

This firing was done at at Northrop Grumman's test facility in Promontory, Utah, where the booster was also manufactured.

Why is it amazing?

While the booster performed impressively under extreme conditions, an unexpected anomaly caught engineers' attention: around 15 seconds before shutdown, the nozzle appeared to detach and release debris, accompanied by a bright plume flare.

Despite this hiccup, NASA considered the test successful, achieving several primary objectives and giving insights into further improving the booster before the upcoming Artemis launches.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about about NASA's SLS rocket and the upcoming Artemis launches.

The exercise, known as Resolute Space 2025, will see over 700 Space Force Guardians train alongside international counterparts and personnel from the U.S. Joint Force, which consists of units from the other branches of the nation's military.

Resolute Space will see Space Force Guardians practice space-based capabilities such as "electromagnetic warfare, space domain awareness, orbital warfare, and navigational warfare," according to a Space Force statement. The exercise will combine live warfighting training (using real space-based assets) alongside virtual and "synthetic" environments, which combine real elements alongside simulated ones to provide a realistic training experience.

Space domain awareness, or SDA, refers to the service's ability to locate, identify and track objects in space. But the types of space-based and space-enabled warfare listed in the statement are still somewhat being refined and defined by the U.S. Space Force and other militaries.

Electromagnetic warfare consists of using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio frequencies, microwaves, visible light such as lasers, etc.) to disrupt or deny adversary spacecraft operations. Such operations include jamming spacecraft transmissions or using lasers to blind the optical sensors on spy satellites. Navigational warfare involves disrupting signals from systems like GPS or other position and timing services, while orbital warfare remains slightly less defined.

Space Force has conducted "simulated on-orbit combat training" in the past, but just what these exercises entailed isn't well known; Space Force and the U.S. Department of Defense reveal few details about their orbital arsenal and its capabilities.

In a 2022 exercise known as Space Flag 22-3, Space Force and joint personnel tested "complex astrodynamics while maneuvering and operating during simulated on-orbit combat engagements" in a "contested, degraded and operationally limited environment." What types of spacecraft might have been involved are unknown.

Despite the lack of details, Space Force is touting its preparedness to fight in space. In the statement about Resolute Space 2025, U.S. Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman said the exercise will send a "clear message" that Space Force is "prepared to fight and win in space shoulder to shoulder with our joint and allied partners" and proves the service's commitment to "deliver peace through strength in the face of any challenge."

Resolute Space will be held as part of a larger training event that began on July 8 and involves the whole Department of the Air Force, under which the Space Force is organized.

That Department-Level Exercise, or DLE, combines Resolute Space with four other large-scale training events. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink called the DLE the "first of its kind since the Cold War" in a Space Force statement.

The exercises will take place at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, Peterson, Schriever, and Buckley Space Force Bases, and across locations in the Indo-Pacific region, an area where geopolitical tensions are being felt as China continues to bolster its military strength both on the ground and in space.

On Wednesday evening (July 9), President Donald Trump named Sean Duffy interim chief of the space agency. Duffy takes over from Janet Petro, who had served as acting NASA administrator since Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20.

It's unclear how long Duffy will serve in his new role, but it could be a while. Trump has yet to name a replacement for Jared Isaacman, who he originally nominated to be permanent NASA chief before rescinding that nomination on May 31.

However long he stays in the job, Duffy will be quite busy: He's also Trump's Secretary of Transportation. Here's a short primer on Duffy, whose background is far more colorful than that of most government officials.

Duffy was born on Oct. 3, 1971 in Hayward, a small city in northern Wisconsin. He's the 10th of 11 children in an Irish Catholic family, according to his biography on the U.S. Department of Transportation website. He "comes from a long line of lumberjacks, who helped build his beloved state of Wisconsin," the biography states.

Duffy himself was big into timber sports; he started log rolling at age five and speed climbing — racing vertically up 60- and 90-foot (18- and 27-meter) poles — at 13, according to an early 2000s feature in Classic Wisconsin.

"There's a huge log rolling school here in Hayward," Duffy told the publication at the time, "so a lot of the kids in the community would come down and take log rolling lessons, much the same as kids would take soccer lessons and swimming lessons in other communities."

He got very good at such contests. At the time the Classic Wisconsin article was published, Duffy (then 30 years old), held two world speed-climbing titles.

Duffy stayed in the upper Midwest U.S. for college, graduating from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota with a B.A. in marketing in 1994.

Three years later, the wider world got its first look at Duffy. He starred in "The Real World: Boston," the sixth season of the MTV reality show that put a disparate group of young people together in a house for a few months and chronicled their lives and interactions. (The show is still going, though its MTV days ended in 2017.)

Duffy was one of seven people in the Boston house. He remained in the "Real World" universe for a spell after that stint ended, participating in the spinoff shows "Road Rules: All Stars" and "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons."

On "Road Rules: All Stars," he met Rachel Campos, an alum of "The Real World: San Francisco," which aired in 1994. The two got married in 1999.

"Rachel and Sean are America’s first and longest-married reality TV couple," Duffy's Department of Transportation bio reads. "They have been married for 25 years and have nine children together."

The same year he got married, Duffy graduated from the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He began his law career in private practice but in 2002 was appointed district attorney of Wisconsin's Ashland County.

Duffy, a Republican, held that post until 2010, when he was elected to represent Wisconsin's District 7 in the U.S. House of Representatives. He won reelection multiple times and made an imprint on the body, "serving on the House Financial Services Committee and actively leading on local transportation issues via his co-chairmanship of the Great Lakes Task Force," according to his Department of Transportation bio.

Duffy stood behind many of Trump's initiatives and priorities during the president's first term. In 2017, for example, he supported the executive order temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. A year later, he introduced a bill designed to give Trump more tariff-imposing power.

Duffy left Congress in September 2019 to spend more time with his family as he and his wife prepared to welcome a baby daughter who had been diagnosed with a heart condition.

He then worked as a CNN political commentator and as a lobbyist with the firm BGR Group. In January 2023, he began co-hosting "The Bottom Line with Dagen and Duffy," a show on the Fox Business channel. But it wouldn't be long before he returned to politics.

In November 2024, Trump announced that he had tapped Duffy to lead the Department of Transportation during his second presidential term. Duffy will continue to hold this high-profile job while steering NASA as interim chief.

Duffy may lack a substantive science, engineering and aerospace background, but he seems to have plenty of enthusiasm. "Honored to accept this mission. Time to take over space. Let's launch," he said via X on Wednesday evening.

It's too soon to say what Duffy's appointment will mean for NASA. The agency is beleaguered at the moment, facing large cuts to its coffers, its workforce and its science portfolio: Trump's 2026 budget, if enacted, would slash the agency's overall funding by 24% and its science budget by nearly half, resulting in the cancellation of dozens of missions.

Having Duffy in the top spot may give NASA something of a boost, in the form of a direct line to the president via one of his trusted allies, Ars Technica's Eric Berger noted. But, Berger added, "it is also possible that he takes his mandate to slash NASA's budget and workforce seriously, and in doing so would be vastly more effective than Petro."

NASA is targeting July 31 for the launch of its next astronaut mission with SpaceX. The flight, called Crew-11, will lift off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A), at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, sending the Crew Dragon Endeavour to low Earth orbit (LEO). The flight will mark the sixth mission for Endeavour, making it SpaceX's most-flown Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Aboard, NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (Crew-11 commander) and Mike Fincke (pilot) will be joined by mission specialists Kimiya Yui from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), and Oleg Platonov, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. This will be the first spaceflight for Cardman and Platonov, the second for Yui and the fourth for Fincke.

The Falcon 9 first stage supporting Crew-11, designated B1094, has launched two previous missions: Starlink 12-10 and, most recently, the private Ax-4 astronaut mission on June 25. B1094 is currently undergoing the final stages of refurbishment leading up to the July 31 launch. It will be transported to SpaceX's Horizontal Integration Facility next to LC-39A to be mated to the rocket's second stage ahead of a static-fire test at the pad in a week or two, according to NASA's Commercial Crew Program Manager Steve Stich during a mission briefing on Thursday (July 10).

Crew Dragon Endeavour has also undergone refurbishment since its last launch  — Crew-8, in March 2024  — and has received some upgrades ahead of the Crew-11 mission. Endeavour will be the first Crew Dragon to fly with the updated drogue 3.1 parachutes, first flown on SpaceX's CRS-32 Cargo Dragon mission. The upgrades include stronger crowns in the parachutes' materials and a new packaging system designed for "more orderly inflation," Stich said during Thursday's briefing.

"This Dragon spacecraft has successfully flown 18 crew members representing eight countries to space already, starting with [NASA astronauts] Bob [Behnken] and Doug [Hurley] in 2020, when it returned human spaceflight capabilities to the United States for the first time since the shuttle retired in July of 2011," explained Sarah Walker, SpaceX's director of Dragon mission management.

Crew-11 had been slated for launch in "late July/early August" but was accelerated by about 2 weeks to accommodate a critical ISS reboost maneuver to be performed by a SpaceX Cargo Dragon as a part of the upcoming CRS-33 station resupply mission. CRS-33 will be the first Cargo Dragon with altitude-correction hardware designed to maintain the space station's orbit, and will mark a step furthering NASA and SpaceX's efforts to develop a U.S. vehicle that will deorbit the ISS at the end of its life at the end of 2030 or thereabouts.

The Crew-11 launch date is part of a tight choreography of space station traffic over the next several months, which includes the recent arrivals of the Ax-4 private astronaut mission, as well as Russia's Progress 92 cargo flight. Axiom's astronauts must depart the ISS before Crew-11's launch, which will be followed in a matter of days by the departure of Crew-10. That will clear a port for the arrival of SpaceX's CRS-33 Cargo Dragon and make way for the upcoming boost maneuver.

"Providing multiple methods for us to maintain the station altitude is critically important as we continue to operate and get the most use out of our limited launch resources that we do have," Bill Spetch, ISS operations integration manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, said during Thursday's briefing. "We're really looking forward to demonstrating that capability with [CRS-33] showing up after we get through the Crew-11 and Crew-10 handover."

Between now and the end of the year, the ISS is also expecting the arrival of Northrop Grumman's NG-23 Cygnus cargo mission, JAXA's HTV-X cargo vehicle, and the Soyuz MS-28 mission carrying NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev in November.

The members of Crew-11 will be part of ISS Expedition 73/74 and will experience a significant milestone during their mission. Nov. 2 will mark 25 consecutive years that the ISS has sustained a continual human presence. "That's going to be a huge milestone," said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate. The occasion, he added, is "a great testament to the work of our commercial partners, our international partners and the whole NASA team."

Crew-11's launch window opens at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT) on July 31. If that launch schedule holds, the crew will have a 39-hour transit to meet up with the space station — the longest time between launch and rendezvous for a Crew Dragon ISS mission to date. Mission constraints like onboard consumables dictate that the spacecraft dock with the ISS within a 40-hour window following launch, but Cardman says that comes with some wiggle room.

"That 40-hour limit is in place so that we can preserve margin for the downhill as well," Cardman explained to Space.com, "so nothing magically happens at 40 hours and one second."

An on-time departure would put Crew-11 on track to dock with the ISS around 3:00 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Aug. 3, after which the four astronauts will settle into their new orbital home for a long-duration stint aboard the space station that will be filled with a complex schedule of science, maintenance and staring endlessly at the wonders of Earth below.

"We will have a world-class physics experiment one hour and then fixing the toilet the next hour and then doing some biological science data collection on myself the next," Cardman explained.

"Understanding how to live and work for long durations — going and staying — is a really interesting challenge, and I'm grateful that we've gotten the chance to do this — to hone our skills on the ISS, so that we can do this for longer durations on the moon," she said. "The International Space Station, in my perspective, is an absolutely critical stepping stone as we think about going farther afield."

NASA's Artemis program aims to extend humanity's reach back to the lunar surface, where the space agency hopes to establish a sustained presence, in part as a testing ground for even longer missions to Mars.

Cardman, like the rest of Crew-11, is excited for her mission ahead, and also for her first spaceflight. "I have spent so many years imagining exactly what this is going to be like. I know very much what my day-to-day will be like, but I have no idea how it will make me feel. I can't wait to find that out, and I can't wait to find that out specifically with this crew. Both Oleg and I are rookies, and we've got the great fortune of flying with two veterans who will hopefully be there to take pictures of us taking our first pictures of Earth."

Fincke, who has logged 382 days in space to date over the course of three missions, is the most experienced of the Crew-11 spacefarers.

"I'm looking forward to seeing Zena and Oleg's expressions the first time that they're in space, because I remember how moving it was, and how breathtaking it was for me, and I want to share their joy in that," he told Space.com.

His advice for his fellow crew members: "Really enjoy every day. Whether it's fixing a toilet or doing some world-class science, or getting ready for a spacewalk, or talking to some school kids on the ground, it's just a really special time."

On Thursday (July 10), the U.S. Senate appropriations committee voted on a bill that provides NASA's science programs with $7.3 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. The bill would reject the Trump administration's budget proposal for the agency, which slashes such funding by 47%.

The bipartisan Senate bill — worked on by Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) — initially won by a vote of 15-14. However, primarily due to contention surrounding the location of the FBI headquarters, the bill was ultimately withdrawn and another vote will be conducted during a future meeting.

"The bill funds NASA at $24.9 billion, slightly above [fiscal year 2025 levels] to explore the solar system, to advance our understanding of climate change, promote innovation and sustainability in aeronautics," Sen. Van Hollen said during Thursday's committee meeting. "We rejected cuts that would have devastated NASA's science by 47% and would have terminated 55 operating and planned missions."

Some of those missions that Trump's 2026 budget proposal put on the chopping block include the Jupiter-orbiting Juno mission, the New Horizons Pluto spacecraft, the DaVinci Venus probe and the OSIRIS-APEX asteroid-sampling spacecraft, to name just a few.

For this reason, many experts in the scientific community have strongly opposed Trump's budget proposal — which cuts NASA's overall budget by 24% and calls for about a third of its staff to be let go. The opposition includes all seven former NASA science chiefs, scientists in attendance of this year's huge American Astronomical Society meeting and bipartisan U.S. Planetary Science Caucus chairs.

"For NASA, the bill reflects an ambitious approach to space exploration, prioritizing the agency's flagship program Artemis, and rejecting premature terminations of systems like SLS and Orion before commercial replacements are ready," Sen. Moran said during the meeting.

SLS (which stands for Space Launch System) and Orion are both part of NASA's Artemis program that aims to return humans to the lunar surface over the next few years — the former refers to the bright orange rocket component of the project, and the latter refers to the white capsule that'll physically carry astronauts to the moon.

"We make critical investments to accelerate our plans to land Americans on the lunar surface before the Chinese, but also in the technologies and capacity to land astronauts on Mars," Sen. Moran said.

The bill goes beyond NASA as well. For instance, it also includes support for the National Science Foundation (NSF), asking only cut the agency's funding by just $60 million — which equates to only about a 0.67% budget decrease. That's a huge boost compared to what Trump requested for the agency, and a departure from moves taken by the White House, such as a recent abrupt decision to remove over 1,800 NSF staff from the agency's headquarters.

"The bill provides $9 billion for the National Science Foundation, sparing it from the proposed 57% cut advanced in the President's budget request," Sen. Van Hollen said. "This bill protects key science missions that are fundamental to furthering our understanding of the Earth and [making us] better stewards of our natural resources, and supports critical programs … to safeguard the Earth from natural disasters."

The National Weather Service (NWS) also remains "fully funded" under this bill for the purposes of "employing the people who work at the National Weather Service to protect our well being," Sen. Moran said.

"This bill is a blueprint on how to govern in a constrained fiscal environment," he said. It provides this blueprint, he added, "by making smart strategic choices, cutting where we can, investing where we must, and always staying focused on trying to deliver value to the American people."

The bill also offers support for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which has already seen quite a few cuts over the last few months, including over 800 worker layoffs and possible building closures.

"We maintain the current, next-generation satellites that track severe weather, promote and support American businesses and exports and spur economic development nationwide," Van Hollen said. Such work, he added, also helps to "create cybersecurity and AI standards, promote economic development nationwide and enable sustainable management of ocean resources, conduct periodic censuses …. and much more."

Passage of the Senate bill — if it does indeed hold — is far from the end of the story, however. To take effect, budget bills must pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and then be signed by the president. There's certainly no guarantee that agreement will come easily in this case.

What is it?

This composite picture combines Hubble's optical observations with James Webb's near-infrared imagery, showing new details into the region's complex interstellar landscape. Hubble's optical view highlights the glowing ionized gas, sculpted into blue-tinted bubble-like cavities.

In contrast, Webb's infrared view shows dust-rich red filaments, which appear dark in the Hubble's telescope but light up in JWST's lens.

Where is it?

Both NGC 456 and NGC 460 are found in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way.

Why is it amazing?

By comparing the radiation from each galaxy using both visible light and infrared wavelengths, scientists can study how hot young stars, around only 1 to 10 million years old, shape their environment. The astronomers can use both telescopes to see how gas and dust converge during stellar growth.

The region that these two star clusters are in harbors rare O-type stars, which are large, hot stars that burn hydrogen, as our sun does. Astronomers believe that out of the 400 billion stars in our Milky Way, only 0.0005%, or 20,000 stars, are O-type stars.

Want to learn more?

You can read more about about the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, and star clusters as astronomers continue to look at the night sky.

The announcement, posted on the President's Truth Social platform on July 9, credits Duffy for doing a "TREMENDOUS job" in his role as transportation secretary, which it seems he will maintain as he also oversees the space agency. The appointment came on the eve of the Senate Appropriations Committee's scheduled markup of the White House's bill that allocates funds to NASA, which proposes a nearly 25% cut to the agency's overall budget, and decimates funding for current and future science missions by almost 50%.

"Honored to accept this mission," Duffy posted on X in response to Trump's announcement, adding, "Time to take over space. Let's launch." Duffy is replacing Janet Petro, the former Director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center who has served as acting administrator since Trump's inauguration in January.

The move comes a little more than a month after the President withdrew his nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA Administrator, which was largely viewed as retaliation over Trump's ongoing public feud with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

Isaacman faced little opposition through his various nomination hearings, and was generally viewed as a promising choice to lead the space agency, though questions about his relationship with Musk fueled criticisms of his nomination.

Isaacman, the billionaire tech entrepreneur who founded Shift4 Payments, has funded two privately-crewed missions to Earth orbit with SpaceX, creating the appearance of a possible conflict of interest as he prepared to begin his role as NASA Administrator.

He never got that chance, though. And after Trump withdrew his nomination, there has been speculation that the process to find his replacement would leave the space agency without permanent leadership until 2026. Since his dismissal, however, Isaacman has remained remarkably positive in his public statements about his situation, and even praised Duffy's appointment as a "great move," in a post on X, adding in a follow-up post that an acting administrator "who can text the President" is a positive step forward for NASA.

In her role throughout the ongoing political shuffle, Acting Administrator Petro has been quick to enact changes at NASA in line with the President's efforts to reduce the federal workforce and in anticipation of the FY2026 budget cuts. Though, while dutifully aligning NASA with the President's priorities, she voiced readiness for a new administrator to be confirmed. "I think I am the one most looking forward to that I know across the agency," she said during the Space Foundation's 40th annual Space Symposium in April.

Now, it seems some of the weight on Petro's shoulders is being alleviated as Duffy steps into the role.

"He will be a fantastic leader of the ever more important Space Agency, even if only for a short period of time," Trump said in his Truth Social post.

Duffy is viewed as a Trump loyalist. A former Fox Business show host, he served as a Republican in congress, representing Wisconsin between 2011-2019, and was sworn in as Secretary of Transportation on Jan. 28. He also garnered public attention earlier in life, appearing on MTV's "The Real World" in 1997, and later in the show "Road Rules: All Stars."

Over the past six months, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), one of ten federal administrations within the Department of Transportation, has faced a litany of safety challenges, including a deadly mid-air collision over Washington, D.C. in January, staffing shortages and outdated air traffic control infrastructure. In his role as Secretary of Transportation, Duffy has made modernization of the FAA one of his top priorities. Now, he finds himself at the helm of another agency facing significant budget and staffing reductions.

As a Trump insider with no real background in space, it's possible we may see more decisive action taken within NASA, especially as it pertains to the government's Deferred Resignation Program for federal employees and the space agency's Reduction in Force efforts. Duffy's nomination comes amid reports that more than 2,000 senior leadership staff are expected to leave the agency in the face of those initiatives, according to Politico.

The administration's budget proposal for NASA shifts the agency's focus largely toward human exploration of the moon and Mars, while slashing funding for planetary science missions. The current Fiscal Year 2025 concludes at the end of September, after which more NASA employees may find themselves out of a job. Over 40 space missions, ranging from planned and upcoming to actively performing scientific research in space, are on the chopping block, and for those working on those missions, nothing is guaranteed right now beyond Sept. 30.

Houston-based company Axiom Space's fourth crewed mission to space is nearing its end, and its four astronauts are filling every last minute with science, amazing views of Earth and pierogis.

The crew of Axiom-4 (Ax-4) have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked there on June 26. Their days have been filled with more than 60 research experiments and outreach events, breaking an Axiom mission record for on-orbit activities.

Lucie Low, Axiom's chief scientist, spoke with the Ax-4 crew during a mission science briefing on July 5. The four astronauts discussed some of the experiments they have been working on during their time aboard the orbital laboratory.

Ax-4 is commanded by former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who's currently Axiom's director of human spaceflight. She also holds the record for most cumulative days in space by an American, which is inching closer to 700 with each additional day she remains aboard the ISS. Before this mission, her record stood at 675. Whitson has been a helpful voice of experience as her crew navigates life in microgravity, according to Axiom.

Whitson explained to Low that the research the Ax-4 astronauts are conducting on orbit is not only helping the science community, but also the growing number of international partnerships in space. Whitson's crew includes mission pilot Shubhanshu "Shux" Shukla from India and mission specialists Sławosz "Suave" Uznański, a Polish astronaut from the European Space Agency, and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The experiments they're conducting represent contributions from a total of 31 countries.

"Axiom-4 is a government-sponsored research mission for a global space community," Whitson said.

"I am so proud that ISRO [the Indian Space Research Organization] has been able to collaborate with national institutions all over the country," Shux told Low. "They came up with some fantastic research."

Axiom has published daily updates during the mission, describing experiment progress and highlighting outreach events that different Ax-4 crew members have taken part in, including a microalgae investigation Shux is working on to measure the affects of microgravity on the organism's biology and its potential use as an in-space resource.

Kapu boasted about Hungary's skill in dosimetry research. He has been taking part in a technology demonstration using the Rad Nano Dosimeter, a miniature device designed to be continuously worn to monitor a body's radiation exposure, carbon dioxide levels and the effects of magnetic fields. He is also cultivating radishes and peppers aboard the ISS, which he said are growing "extremely fast."

Suave told Low one of the experiments that has excited him the most is a brainwave interface device that allows someone to control a machine with only their brain — the first time such a demonstration has been conducted in space. Suave also took time alongside Whitson for another video downlink on July 6, Ax-4's flight day 12.

The pair spoke with Sonya Gavankar McKay, Axiom's director of digital strategy, from the space station's Columbus module. McKay virtually joined Whitson and Suave for a mission update and to share a quick meal.

Holding a food packet identical to one used by the Ax-4 crew in space, McKay speared her fork through a pierogi as she asked Suave how to say, "enjoy your meal," in Polish ("ciesz się posiłkiem," according to Google Translate).

Suave and Whitson, also with pierogis on their forks, let them float weightlessly in front of the camera for close-ups. "Pierogi is a very Polish dish," Suave explained, describing the cuisine as a quintessential comfort food.

He was also asked about some of his photography and the views he has captured of Earth from space. "I try to capture every moment," Suave said, adding that any free time he has, he spends by the ISS' giant cupola windows, staring back down at the planet below.

Potentially nearing the end of their scheduled two weeks in space, McKay asked Whitson how the Ax-4 had adjusted to the realities of weightlessness. Despite the crew's packed schedule, Whitson says they have managed to get the hang of things.

"What's amazing is how much the guys have really gotten their space legs," she said. "They're really getting very efficient and working much more efficiently, and they're way less stressed."

Following their SpaceX Falcon 9 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 25, Ax-4 is expected to remain on orbit for about two weeks. Their earliest return would be July 10, but Axiom, SpaceX and NASA have yet to confirm a date.

The crew's departure from the ISS is largely dependent on weather at their spacecraft's splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean, with some wiggle room built in to the visiting crew's stay aboard the space station in the event of a delay. The departures of both the Ax-1 and Ax-3 missions were held up nearly a week due to unfavorable weather at their splashdown zones.

The seven signatories — John Grunsfeld, Alphonso Diaz, Lennard Fisk, Wesley Huntress, Alan Stern, Edward Weiler, and Thomas Zurbuchen — warn the "indiscriminate cut" would end dozens of current and future missions, "severely [damaging] a peerless and immensely capable engineering and scientific workforce" and "needlessly [putting] to waste billions of dollars of taxpayer investments." Furthermore, the budget cut would eliminate the United States as a global leader in space science, ceding power to China and other nations.

They also call attention to the numerous benefits of NASA's science programs, which only comprise about 3% of NASA's total budget. "The economics of these proposed cuts ignore a fundamental truth: investments in NASA science have been and are a powerful driver of the U.S. economy and technological leadership," the authors write in the letter, pointing to successful missions like the Mars rovers, the Hubble Space Telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope and the Parker Solar Probe, among many others.

"These activities inevitably result in novel technologies, algorithms, and advanced materials, while advancing the experience and knowledge of NASA engineers. Collectively these have direct, positive, and measurable benefits to our economy and our national security," they write.

The letter is just the latest major response to the proposed NASA budget cuts. The Planetary Society, a nonprofit space advocacy organization, previously called the proposed cuts "an extinction-level event" for NASA science. The organization's "Save NASA Science" campaign collected more than 20,000 signatures from constituents across all 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries. Additionally, bipartisan groups in both the House and the Senate have issued their own letters opposing the budget cut.

"NASA's science programs enjoy broad public and bipartisan support for good reason: NASA science delivers for the American people, providing broad direct benefits in addition to giving citizens the awe and inspiration that only NASA can provide," write the former NASA science chiefs in this newest letter. "The science that NASA produces results in a positive view of America at home and around the world. They are a visible example of what makes America great."

Trump announced in December 2024 that he had chosen Isaacman, a billionaire tech entrepreneur and private astronaut, to lead the nation's space agency. Isaacman sailed through the various nomination steps after Trump took office and was set to be confirmed by the Senate in early June.

But on May 31, the White House pulled the rug out, announcing that Isaacman was gone. "It's essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump's America First agenda, and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon," White House spokesperson Liz Huston said in an emailed statement on May 31.

Trump gave some specifics Sunday (July 6) on Truth Social, the social media network that he owns. He posted a lengthy rebuke of erstwhile supporter and ally Elon Musk, decrying the SpaceX chief's recently revealed plans to start a new political party.

Toward the end of that broadside, Trump addressed the NASA nomination situation, saying that Musk had requested that his "close friend" Isaacman be given the space agency's reins.

Trump wrote that, while he initially thought Isaacman "was very good," the president "was surprised to learn that he was a blue-blooded Democrat, who had never contributed to a Republican before."

"Elon probably was, also," the president added. "I also thought it inappropriate that a very close friend of Elon, who was in the Space Business, run NASA, when NASA is such a big part of Elon's corporate life."

Isaacman pushed back against these claims in a post Monday (July 7) on X, the social media site that Musk owns.

Isaacman — who funded and commanded two missions to Earth orbit that used SpaceX hardware — stressed that he knows Musk only in a professional capacity. And he said that Trump mischaracterized his campaign contributions, which he made open and available throughout the nomination process.

"I have been relatively apolitical — a right-leaning moderate — and my political donations across both parties (though 10x more to Republicans) were disclosed in writing, with rationale, before my nomination was ever submitted to the Senate," Isaacman wrote.

The 42-year-old billionaire, who founded the payment-processing company Shift4, took the high road in his post, as he has done throughout the tortuous nomination process.

"Personally, I don't regret anything — it was an honor to even be considered by the President," Isaacman wrote. "I loved DC and my brief time in the arena. The real disappointment is the time lost by Senators and staff who invested six months into a confirmation process that was ultimately withdrawn."

Since Trump's inaugauration on Jan. 20, NASA has been led by Acting Administrator Janet Petro. Trump has not yet named a replacement for Isaacman.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with the broadband internet units (Group 10-28) at 4:21 a.m. EDT (0821 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About nine minutes later, the satellites reached space and, 50 minutes after that, were deployed into orbit.

"Deployment of 28 Starlink satellites confirmed," SpaceX announced on the X social media network.

In the interim, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage (Booster 1077) completed its 22nd flight to and from space, landing on the droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX's Starlink network provides broadband internet access to areas across the globe where other types of coverage is unavailable or is disabled. Through a partnership with T-Mobile, it has also started providing direct to cell service, which SpaceX has enabled for the flash flooded areas in Texas.

"In support of those impacted by flooding in Texas, Starlink is providing Mini kits for search and rescue efforts – ensuring connectivity even in dead zones – and one month of free service for thousands of customers in the region, including those who paused service so they can reactivate Starlink during this time," the company wrote on X.

"The Starlink team and T-Mobile have also enabled basic texting (SMS) through our Direct to Cell satellites for T-Mobile customers in the areas impacted by flooding in Texas. This includes Kerr County, Kendall County, Llano County, Travis County and Comal County. Additionally, anyone in the impacted areas with a compatible smartphone will be able to receive emergency alerts from public safety authorities," Space wrote.