Science

WASHINGTON — A Ukrainian defense technology company and a Danish satellite manufacturer have begun operating an experimental communications satellite in orbit. Ukrainian startup Himera and Denmark’s GomSpace said Oct. 27 that their Obria Nano satellite, launched Oct. 1 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare mission, is undergoing tests. The companies plan to design a constellation that

It took approximately 4 billion years of cumulative evolution to make modern humans, but it only took us 0.000075 of that immense span to settle the entire globe – including (kind of) Antarctica, thanks to the invention of high-capacity poo incinerators.  Our innate intrepidity and ants-in-the-pants-iness have driven us across scorching deserts, the rarefied air

For all they seem to glisten and glint palely amid the velvet darkness of the night, stars are rarely pure white. The cosmos is scattered with a panoply of hues – red stars and blue, yellow and orange. But some regions of the spectrum are noticeably absent from the stellar lineup. There is, in particular,

The future we’ve feared is already here. In a new report, researchers detail how grim the climate crisis has become in 2026, and how Earth’s climate system continues to plunge farther and faster into terrible new territory. “Rapid destabilization is now a diagnosis rather than a warning for the future,” says co-lead author William Ripple,

– Paris-based FLEXELL SPACE FRANCE SAS creates a local business hub in Europe– New entity to support ongoing contract and volume-production discussions with European customers, from technical reviews to supply planning Paris, France – Flexell Space, a space solar solution company, announced the establishment of its French entity, FLEXELL SPACE FRANCE SAS, in Paris to

There’s something about psychopaths that gives them an edge. Research suggests people with the darkest of impulses can be remarkably adept at climbing the corporate ladder, often ending up in places of great power. But how far back does this creepy phenomenon of corporate psychopathy go? According to organizational behavior researcher Clive Roland Boddy of

Move away from a fire, and you expect to feel cooler. But with the Sun, something very strange happens. The Sun’s outer atmosphere is hundreds of times hotter than its visible surface. Where does the energy behind that difference come from? The visible surface is around 5,500 °C, while the outer atmosphere, called the corona,

Charred coffee grounds could make concrete up to 30 percent stronger, scientists in Australia have found. Their clever recipe could solve multiple problems at once. Each year, the world produces about 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of coffee waste, most of which ends up in landfills. “The disposal of organic waste poses an environmental

Paris, France | October 2026 – Global satellite services revenues are forecast to grow 44% to reach $145 billion by 2035, according to the 33rd edition of Novaspace’s Satellite Connectivity and Video Market report. The next decade will mark a fundamental shift in the industry as data services become the dominant growth engine, driving revenues

Scientists have used human fossils from Morocco to create a digital face from around 315,000 years ago. The result offers a glimpse of what some of the earliest known members of our species might have looked like. Despite its strong features and projecting jaw, the face would not seem entirely out of place today. “As

When we look up at Mars, many millions of miles away, it’s inspiring to think that someone may be looking back at us – not any heat-ray-equipped aliens, thankfully, but one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments: NASA’s Perseverance rover.  In July of 2020, the affectionately nicknamed Percy left Earth forever in a bright flash of hope

The Southwestern US is in an ongoing megadrought that began in 2000, largely driven by overconsumption of water and climate change. Water scarcity in the region is immediately visible in the Colorado River and the reservoirs of Lake Mead and Lake Powell. As the region’s agricultural industries and human populations grow, water levels continue to

Satellite operations are growing more complex. For national security missions, that means faster decisionmaking, greater resilience and the ability to adapt on orbit is needed. Today’s operators must modernize mission management, integrate new technologies and deliver capabilities without compromising security, reliability or operational control. Join SpaceNews and RTX on Nov. 5 for a virtual event

How grounded do you feel in the present moment? It may be a little less than you think. Even as you fix your gaze on the screen in front of you to read these words, your brain may be flickering between what you’re consciously taking in and other visual information that never quite reaches your

Many things scattered throughout the Milky Way flicker, glow, and pulse in idiosyncratic ways. From the staccato static of a pulsar to the sudden eruption and slow fade of light from a nova, astronomers have a good handle on the various transient changes cosmic objects undergo. It would be a mistake, however, to think the

If we really want to know how our coastlines are going to fare under extreme conditions, we’re going to need some extreme scientific experiments. Scientists from the Netherlands have raised the bar, going to great lengths to demonstrate the physical power of salt marshes in the face of massive storm surges. Water engineer Pim Willemsen

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss talks with the CEO of Aalyria Brian Barritt about how networks are evolving, what scaling the company means and the role of software interoperability for space. About Space Minds Space Minds is a new audio and video podcast from SpaceNews that focuses on the inspiring leaders, technologies and exciting

The fossil record shows that our Homo erectus ancestors were the first hominins to show signs of adapting to life on the ground, with longer legs and shorter arms emerging (the name translates to ‘upright human’). It’s therefore important that anthropologists can date the species correctly – and a new fossil analysis from an international

Data centers need water to stay cool and functional, and lots of it: The larger facilities can consume as much water a day as a town of 50,000 people, and because much of the cooling involves evaporation, freshwater is often preferred. That raises serious questions about the environmental impact of the cloud compute we use

TechnoMile, the leading AI solution that unifies growth, contracts, compliance, and security workflows, has been named a 2026 Inc. Power Partner Awards winner, recognizing the company among the leading B2B partners supporting entrepreneurs and businesses across the country. The annual Inc. Power Partner Awards honor B2B companies that have demonstrated a track record of helping

Over 30 percent of Americans believe in the concept of reincarnation, the notion that people who die will be reborn again in this world. While there’s no firm scientific evidence suggesting that it actually happens – nor of what happens to our consciousness after we die – the study of reincarnation, and our beliefs about

LOS ANGELES — October 20, 2026 AnySignal, a leading provider of software-defined radios and space-based networking, today announced an agreement with Reflect Orbital to deliver space-to-earth communications for Reflect Orbital’s inaugural satellite and two subsequent missions. The agreement includes the delivery of AnySignal’s USX space transceivers for flight operations and the implementation of the AnyLink software

SAN FRANCISCO –Spanish startup UARX Space is remedying anomalies identified during the maiden flight of OSSIE-D, an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) launched Oct. 1 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission. At least 10 PocketQubes have been deployed.  “Immediately after launch, we experienced a communications blackout with our spacecraft,” Andrés Villa Granata, UARX co-founder and chief technology officer,

Artificial intelligence is changing how intelligence organizations collect, process and exploit satellite imagery. As the volume of Earth observation data grows, AI is becoming essential for identifying patterns, detecting anomalies and delivering intelligence at operational speed. Join SpaceNews and Vantor on Oct. 29 for a virtual event that will explore how machine learning is transforming

The deep sea may seem very far away, but it’s more connected to our world than you might think. In the South China Sea, for instance, nutrient-rich waters well up from the deep, sustaining coastal fisheries that support the livelihoods of about 3.7 million people each year. Mining companies also have their eyes on the

Nearly half of US adults share their bed with a furry friend. But anyone who has slept with a dog knows they can be a total nuisance. They can take over your mattress, snore loudly in your ear, and drool on your pillow. Throughout the night, they repeatedly stand up, walk in circles, and plop

For wealthy and politically stable nations, the task of maintaining and digitizing climate records is a high-tech enterprise. But this has not been the case in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Much of the Congo Basin’s climate data for the past century has been recorded on paper, written by hand, and stored in an

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 15, 2026 — Agile Space Industries, a leading provider of in-space chemical propulsion solutions, has expanded into the Seattle metropolitan area with the opening of a new office in Bellevue, Washington. The expansion builds on Agile’s continued growth, extending its engineering capabilities and strengthening its presence in one of the nation’s most

For thousands of years, a mysterious army has stood vigil – silent and impassive in the dark, never wavering from their solemn duty. They are the warriors of the Terracotta Army, carefully crafted 2,200 years ago in China to guard the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang. The work is exquisite – at first glance, the

In this episode, SpaceNews’ Mike Gruss talks with NASA’s Shatel Bhakta, the principal systems engineer for Moon Base, about what’s needed between now and 2028 and the incremental steps to the future. About Space Minds Space Minds is a new audio and video podcast from SpaceNews that focuses on the inspiring leaders, technologies and exciting