‘It’s extremely worrisome.’ NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope faces potential 20% budget cut just 4 years after launch

The galaxy GN-z11 as seen by Hubble (inset) an illustration of a feeding black hole

The scientists behind NASA’s largest and most powerful space telescope ever built are bracing for potentially crippling budget cuts, and the observatory is only halfway through its primary mission. The team overseeing NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been directed to prepare for up to 20% in budget cuts that would touch on every … Read more

Vast Space now aims for 2026 launch of Haven-1 space station module after key milestone (photos)

A man in a grey long-sleeve shirt and ginger hair faces away, looking up with his left hand holding the hatch at the end of a large white conical vessel with a gridded latus around its exterior.

Vast Space is taking big steps toward putting the first commercial space station in orbit. The California-based startup recently completed a major testing milestone for the qualification vessel of its upcoming Haven-1 station, a benchmark Vast also used to reevaluate the launch date for the company’s first flight-ready module. “With the completion of our primary … Read more

SpaceX to launch water-hunting moon probe ‘Lunar Trailblazer’ on Feb. 26

LITTLETON, Colorado — A university-led lunar orbiter designed to pinpoint the location of ice or liquid water trapped in rocks on the moon’s surface is nearly ready for takeoff. The Lunar Trailblazer is slated to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket no earlier than Feb. 26 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It … Read more

SpaceX will launch Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander to the moon in mid-January with these 10 NASA payloads

Firefly Aerospace’s first mission to the moon is nearly ready to fly. The company’s Blue Ghost lunar lander arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Monday (Dec. 16) for integration with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the robotic probe — as well as the private Japanese moon lander Resilience … Read more