October 18, 2025

China Achieves Numerous Breakthroughs in Space Exploration Quest (Source: Xinhua)
Ranging from the construction of the space station to the first-ever sampling of soil from the far side of the moon by the Chang'e-6 mission and the exploration of Mars by the Tianwen-1 mission, China has achieved notable breakthroughs in space exploration during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) -- making important contributions to humanity's exploration of space and sci-tech frontiers. Click here. (10/17)

ESA Awards Contract for Reusable Rocket Stage Recovery Vessel (Source: European Spaceflight)
ESA has awarded a contract for the design of a reusable rocket stage recovery vessel to the Italian aerospace and defense systems company Ingegneria Dei Sistemi (IDS). The project is part of a broader contract awarded to the Italian rocket builder Avio for the development of a reusable rocket upper stage.

In December 2024, the company revealed that it had also been involved in the development of a recovery vessel for a “pathfinder activity” focused on designing a fully reusable rocket capable of delivering up to 60 tonnes to low Earth orbit. (10/16)

Vast Gearing Up to Launch its Haven-1 Private Space Station in 2026 (Source: Space.com)
Vast is moving into the final stages of building its Haven-1 private space station, readying for launch in 2026, in a move that could open up a new era in human spaceflight. In the past couple of weeks, the California-based startup has completed the final weld on the primary structure of Haven-1, followed by painting. Next steps include integrating the flight article's hatch and a domed window as the company moves closer to realizing its vision of a private space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). (10/16)

An Army of Robot Telescopes in Texas Makes the Stars Feel Closer Than Ever (Source: New York Times)
Eleven buildings, nearly identical, look like bland, oversize backyard sheds. Several large R.V.s are parked nearby. Not long ago, cows grazed here. But as the sun sets on a clear day, the buildings groan and creak as the roof of each shed rolls back, like the sliding lid on a wooden box. Revealed within the sheds are hundreds of telescopes, which intermittently twitch and pirouette, a robot army awakening. Their owners are nowhere to be seen.

This is Starfront Observatories. If you want to explore the universe but do not want to go outside, this might be the place for you. In an age of digital cameras and state-of-the-art internet, amateur astronomy can now be a remote-controlled hobby, and a far more sophisticated one. (10/17)

Dry Ice May Burrow Through Mars Lke Sandworms in 'Dune' (Source: Space.com)
Planetary scientists have long puzzled over strange, sinuous trenches etched into desert dunes on the Red Planet. The channels look freshly dug, complete with raised rims and winding paths, yet Mars today is too cold, too dry and too lifeless for running water — or giant worms — to be the cause.

Instead, a new study suggests that the gullies are sculpted by slabs of dry ice that form during the Martian winter. As spring approaches and temperatures warm, the sand heats up and blocks of ice break off, sliding and sublimating their way through the Martian sand. (10/16)

Two Spacecraft To Fly Through Comet 3I/ATLAS's Ion Tail – Will They Be Able To Catch Something? (Source: IFL Science)
The spacecraft in question are NASA’s Europa Clipper, going to the eponymous icy moon of Jupiter, and the European Space Agency’s Hera, which is travelling to the binary asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos, the site of the first-ever planetary defense demonstration when the DART mission purposely hit Dimorphos, shifting its orbit. According to a new paper, both spacecraft will be aligned in such a way that they could be entering the comet’s ion tail in the coming weeks. (10/16)

Space Force Operationally Accepts SciTec's Revolutionary Missile Warning System (Source: SciTec)
The Space Force achieved a key milestone with operational acceptance of the second operational delivery of the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) to the 11th Space Warning Squadron at Buckley Space Force Base. This delivery adds and integrates FORGE Mission Data Processing (MDP) with the cyber-secure FORGE Framework to dramatically expand the accuracy, performance, and resiliency of Missile Warning. (10/16)

Japan’s Interstellar Plans To Take A Slice of SpaceX’s Business (Source: Aviation Week)
Amid stables for 1,400 dairy cows, a tanker truck empties its load: a liquid stream of manure that pours out, flows into a trough, then into a pipe that leads to a giant bubbling vat. Eventually, this will become the element that propels hopes and dreams—otherwise known as rocket fuel. Interstellar Technologies has partnered with the industrial gas company Air Water to develop liquid biomethane (LBM) rocket fuel from cow manure.

The process begins at dairy farms in Hokkaido, Japan, where manure is collected from livestock. The manure is put into an anaerobic digester, where microorganisms break down the waste and produce biogas. Air Water transports the biogas to a factory where the methane is separated from other components, cooled, and liquefied to create high-purity biomethane. In 2023, Interstellar Technologies conducted a successful static fire test of a prototype rocket engine using the cow manure-derived LBM. The company plans to use this fuel in its orbital rocket, "Zero," to launch small satellites into space. (10/17)

NASA Leadership Candidates Include Retired Air Force Officer (Source: Bloomberg)
Retired US Air Force Lieutenant General Joseph Guastella is being considered for the top job at NASA, according to people familiar with the discussions, adding to the pool of candidates in contention for the administrator role. Guastella is the former deputy chief of staff for operations at the Air Force and worked on space-related issues during his military career. He’s currently an executive at defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. (10/16)

UK's Open Cosmos to Build Spanish Component of the Atlantic Constellation (Source: European Spaceflight)
UK-headquartered satellite manufacturer Open Cosmos has been selected over Deimos by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Spanish Space Agency (AEE) to build the Spanish component of the Atlantic Constellation.

The Constelación Atlántica (Atlantic Constellation) is a joint initiative between Spain and Portugal to build a 16-satellite Earth observation constellation for coastal surveillance, environmental management, and climate monitoring. Each country has committed €40 million to the project. The United Kingdom has also pledged £3 million to support the development of an additional satellite. (10/17)

Don't Give Russia Space (Source: Kyiv Independent)
Dmitry Bakanov of the Russian Space Agency recently announced that over the next five years, Russia will try to create an "analogue of Starlink" by launching 292 new satellites. The dual-use "Rassvet" project aims to expand high-speed broadband internet to 97% of Russian households by 2030. A satellite internet constellation could significantly aid Russia's invasion of Ukraine by providing secure battlefield communications, giving Russian forces greater mobility and improved command and control. (10/16)