This Week
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This week, space always has something to offer.
The Newsletter
All the exciting things happening!
NASA Volunteers Double Known Population of Brown Dwarfs
A new paper from NASA’s Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project announces that volunteers have essentially doubled the number of known brown dwarfs, with over 3,000 new discoveries made over the past 10 years since the project began. Brown dwarfs are balls of gas the size of Jupiter, less massive than stars. There’s one for every three or four stars near the Sun.
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-05T13:48:55Z
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg SFB
The Starlink 17-29 mission is the 44th dedicated flight supporting the broadband internet constellation so far in 2026. Liftoff from pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. PDT (10:35 p.m. EDT / 0235 UTC).
Source: Spaceflight Now | Published: 2026-05-05T13:15:50Z
Ahuachapán and Its Restive Neighbors
From a geothermal hotspot to the one-time “Lighthouse of the Pacific,” the heat is on beneath the volcanic landscape of western El Salvador.
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-05T04:01:00Z
Lockheed Martin announces collaboration with Firefly Aerospace and Seagate for off-shore launches
The announcement comes ahead of Firefly Aerospace’s first quarter earnings call for investors. A timeline for the first ocean-based Alpha rocket launches wasn't announced.
Source: Spaceflight Now | Published: 2026-05-04T21:52:31Z
NASA Welcomes Ireland as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
Ireland signed the Artemis Accords Monday during a signing ceremony hosted by NASA, becoming the latest nation to commit to the responsible exploration of space for all humanity. Ireland, a longstanding member of ESA (European Space Agency) and a valued international partner for NASA, now joins all 23 ESA member states as a signatory of […]
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-04T21:09:23Z
NASA Fosters Development of Lunar Resource-Seeking Technologies
To support long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA and industry are developing technologies that can extract resources such as hydrogen and helium-3 from lunar soil, known as regolith. This capability, known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), allows explorers to use what is already available on other planetary bodies, from water ice to minerals. […]
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-04T20:32:47Z
Launch Preview: three launches — a calm before the storm?
Two Falcon 9 launches and a Chang Zheng 7 make up the launch roster for… The post Launch Preview: three launches — a calm before the storm? appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
Source: NASASpaceflight | Published: 2026-05-04T18:45:36Z
NASA Welcomes Malta as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory
The Republic of Malta became the 65th signatory to the Artemis Accords on Monday during a ceremony in the town of Kalkara with NASA and U.S. Department of State officials present. “Today, it’s my pleasure to welcome the Republic of Malta to the Artemis Accords community,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in recorded remarks. “By […]
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-04T17:46:22Z
Breaking Barriers at 3rd Annual Findings from the Field Symposium
This year’s Findings from the Field Student Research Symposium welcomed 106 students, grades four through eight, 29 educators, and 15 Subject Matter Experts, and it featured 68 research posters, 14 lightning talks, and 5 discussion sessions.
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-04T16:58:41Z
Blue Origin Moon Lander Completes Testing at NASA Vacuum Chamber
Also known as Endurance, MK1 is an uncrewed cargo lander funded by Blue Origin as a commercial demonstration mission to advance Human Landing System capabilities in support of NASA’s Artemis program. The tests in Chamber A represent a public-private partnership model, with Blue Origin conducting work through a reimbursable Space Act Agreement. Endurance will demonstrate […]
Source: NASA | Published: 2026-05-04T16:31:01Z
And that sums up the exciting activities that are happening this week. Be back next week!