Old rocket parts and decommissioned satellites are whizzing around in low Earth orbit, where they risk colliding with the ever-growing constellations of modern satellites being launched.
Orbital missions will unlock the next phase of Starship’s development, providing better data on the performance of the spacecraft’s heat shield and allowing for tests of in-orbit refuelling, which will be essential for missions to Mars.
Makenzie Lystrup’s departure from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center comes soon after the resignation of the director of JPL.
The SJ-21 and SJ-25 satellites “merged” on July 2 and have remained together since then.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk suggested on X that a high-pressure nitrogen tank failure was behind the explosion of the company's massive Starship rocket.
Unlike in recent tests, SpaceX’s ninth Starship survived launch, but a fuel tank leak meant it lost control before it could complete its objectives.
The next Starship launch may come as soon as next week. A test of its Raptor engines suggests SpaceX has resolved the issues that plagued its recent flights.
Stratolaunch completed two flights of its autonomous Talon-A2 rocket plane earlier this year, as the US aims to gain ground in its race for hypersonic supremacy with China.
A successful reflight of SpaceX's Super Heavy booster would be an important milestone for its Starship program.
The core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System is now integrated with the rocket’s twin boosters.
