United States Archives

Spain Signs Up as 25th Nation in Artemis Pact

Officials from NASA and the U.S. State Department gathered in Madrid Tuesday as Science and Innovation Minister Diana Morant signed off for Spanish agreement to the Artemis Accords, marking the 25th nation to join the U.S.-led treaty to govern conduct in orbit and beyond.

U.S. Budget Proposals for 2024 Would Add $5 Billion in Space Spending

Unclassified federal space spending would top $60 billion in 2024 under budgets proposed by the White House March 10, with an extra $5 billion planned for civil and military programs.

New Congress Names Space Committee Leaders

With Republicans reclaiming a narrow majority in the U.S. House, leaders have spent January determining who will get gavels on the committees and subcommittees that set military and civil space policy and spending levels. In the Senate, Democrats kept control, leaving most of their top leaders o… Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password

International Space Station Damage Triggers Apparent Detente

A micrometeorite the width of a pencil tip sliced through a Soyuz spacecraft docked at the International Space Station at nearly 16,000 mph, wrecking a radiator for the spacecraft’s computers and delaying the return of three astronauts in orbit by months, officials from NASA and Russian space agency Roscosmos said during a rare joint news conference Wednesday.

New Leader Takes Space Force Helm as Dangers in Orbit Loom

Pentagon leaders emphasized the growing importance of missions in orbit Wednesday as they welcomed the second general to command the Space Force. The new chief of space operations, Gen. Chance Saltzman, pledged to get his young service ready for war.

November Space Council Meetings Could Shape Commercial Regulations

The National Space Council asked for comment on new commercial space systems and how the commercial space sector could be regulated during a pair of online meetings set for November. The council wants input from industry and the public. The move is part of a Biden Administration push to deal with issues including crowded orbits and the safety of space tourists.

U.S. Defense Strategy Document Pledges Commercial Space Protection

In a first-of-its-kind shift in stated strategy, the Biden Administration pledged, in a document that outlines Pentagon plans, to protect growing American commercial interests in space while advancing military space capabilities and international cooperation in orbit. Military space has returned to the spotlight in recent years after a slump that accompanied the end of the Cold War.

Rivals Launch Military Satellites Amid U.S.-led Space Defense Drills

A flurry of military and intelligence satellite launches by rival powers this month came as the United States and two dozen partner nations wrapped up the largest global space defense wargame in history.

Russia launched what some leaders have described as a spy satellite for Iran and its own on-orbit snooping satellite Cosmos-2558, which is circling Earth in an orbit conspicuously close to a recently launched U.S. National Reconnaissance Office satellite, a Netherlands researcher confirmed.

Solving Space Junk Problem Could Net Federal Prize

A grand prize could be in the offing for inventors who come up with new methods to prevent orbiting debris or design tools that can clean up space junk, according to recommendations from the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Space Matters: Experts Call for More Governance in LEO

The Wild West regulatory environment in low Earth orbit was ranked as a top threat to space sustainability by a panel of experts convened for Space Symposium 365’s Space Matters webcast Thursday.

Clockwise from top left, panelists former Rep. Robert Walker, Carissa Christensen, former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, and Patricia Cooper.