Science

WASHINGTON — SpaceX plans to test several upgrades to its Starship vehicle on its next test flight, scheduled for as soon as Jan. 10, as well as conduct the first payload deployments from it. SpaceX outlined its plans for the seventh test flight of the Starship/Super Heavy vehicle in a Jan. 3 statement. It confirmed

A new study identifies 18 genome regions that influence tooth size and shape, of which 17 have not been linked to our chompers before – and shows how genetic variation affects tooth dimensions across ethnicities. One of the variants, in the gene HS3ST3A1, could have been inherited from Neanderthals, according to the international team of

If the modern age of astronomy could be summarized in a few words, it would probably be “the age of shifting paradigms.” Thanks to next-generation telescopes, instruments, and machine learning, astronomers are conducting deeper investigations into cosmological mysteries, making discoveries, and shattering preconceived notions. This includes how systems of planets form around new stars, which

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX launched the Thuraya-4 voice and data connectivity satellite Jan. 3 for Space42, the United Arab Emirates’ recently formed AI-powered space technology champion. The first Falcon 9 mission of 2025 placed the satellite in a geostationary transfer orbit, shortly lifting off at 8:27 p.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Based on

On Wednesday, Mukuku Village in Kenya got an unexpected visitor from space. At about 3 p.m. local time, a large metallic ring weighing about 1,100 pounds and measuring 8 feet in diameter crash-landed in the village, the Kenya Space Agency said in a statement. The agency said no one was injured, and that the space

HELSINKI — India’s space agency is planning 10 orbital launches in 2025 along with a debut commercial launch, potentially taking the country’s launch activity to double figures for the first time. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath told Indian media that 10 orbital launches are planned across the year, including four Geosynchronous Satellite

Back when the Universe was new, following the Big Bang some 13.8 billion years ago, galaxies took a bit of time to assemble themselves from the surrounding primordial soup. A new discovery right at the end of the Cosmic Dawn is challenging how long we thought that assembly took. JWST has spotted a huge, ultramassive

TAMPA, Fla. — Eutelsat said Jan. 2 it has restored services across its low Earth orbit (LEO) OneWeb broadband network following a two-day outage. The French company, which also operates a fleet of 35 geostationary satellites, said in a brief news release the disruption was caused by a software issue within its ground segment. Delays

When a magnetar within the Milky Way galaxy belched out a flare of colossally powerful radio waves in 2020, scientists finally had concrete evidence to pin down an origin for fast radio bursts. A mind-blowing new study has now narrowed down the mechanism. By studying the twinkling light of a fast radio burst detected in

WASHINGTON — The world set another record for orbital launches in 2024 in a continuing surge of launch activity driven almost entirely by SpaceX. There were 259 orbital launch attempts in 2024, a 17% increase from the previous record of 221 orbital launch attempts in 2023, based on SpaceNews analysis of open source records. That

By the end of this decade, nations and private companies may well be mining the surface of the Moon. But as space becomes accessible to more nations and corporations, we need to stop and ask ourselves what commercial activities we want to allow, including on the Moon. Now is the time to create the rules

We could be producing concrete that’s 30 percent stronger by processing and adding charred coffee grounds to the mix, researchers in Australia discovered. Their clever recipe could solve multiple problems at the same time. Every year the world produces a staggering 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of coffee waste globally. Most ends up in

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission has formally allocated additional spectrum for launch applications, fulfilling a provision in a bill passed earlier this year. The FCC published Dec. 31 a report and order that allocated spectrum between 2360 and 2395 megahertz for use in communications to and from commercial launch and reentry vehicles on a

As Earth completes yet another full orbit around the Sun, an encroaching storm is expected to bathe the planet in a glorious glow of auroral light. On December 29 and 30 , the Sun unleashed a series of huge eruptions, flares, and coronal mass ejections, possibly right in our direction. The flash of electromagnetic radiation

In the early days of the modern Olympics and Paralympics, athletes competed using heavy, non-aerodynamic equipment. The record for throwing a javelin, for instance, has almost doubled since 1908, when the sport was introduced. Athletes have got better – but so has their equipment. In fact, sporting equipment (and the materials it is made from)

Conversational artificial intelligence (AI) tools may soon “covertly influence” users’ decision making in a new commercial frontier called the “intention economy”, University of Cambridge researchers warned in a paper published Monday. The research argues the potentially “lucrative yet troubling” marketplace emerging for “digital signals of intent” could, in the near future, influence everything from buying

HELSINKI — India successfully launched spacecraft Monday designed to test docking technologies crucial to the country’s major space ambitions. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) lifted off at 11:30 a.m. Eastern (1630 UTC; 10 p.m. local time) Dec. 30 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, with the rocket climbing into the night sky.

If finding the right present and making sure the recipient gets it on time leaves you feeling anxious, you’re not alone. More than half of Americans say that gift-giving stresses them out. Concerns about on-time delivery are so common that people share holiday deadlines for each shipping service. And in the event that you can’t

In August 2018, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) began its long journey to study the Sun’s outer corona. After several gravity-assist maneuvers with Venus, the probe broke Helios 2’s distance record and became the closest object to the Sun on October 29th, 2018. Since then, the Parker probe’s highly elliptical orbit has allowed it to

TAMPA, Fla. — SpaceX successfully launched four Astranis-built broadband spacecraft toward geostationary orbit Dec. 29, marking the first time a single commercial manufacturer has flown four of its own satellites on one mission to GEO. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites lifted off 12:00 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, placing

In 2024, space exploration dazzled the world. NASA’s Europa Clipper began its journey to study Jupiter‘s moon Europa. SpaceX’s Starship achieved its first successful landing, a critical milestone for future deep space missions. China made headlines with the Chang’e 6 mission, which successfully returned samples from the far side of the Moon. Meanwhile, the International

The recent congressional approval of the first-ever acknowledgment of space launch noise impacts on nearby communities is a landmark moment for both the aerospace sector and the communities that host these transformative activities. The commercial spaceflight industry must continue growing, but at the same time, the American public must remain safeguarded. Congress’ recent legislative recognition of the

Every year, the International Space Station produces some of the world’s best photography. Astronauts tend to be technically skilled with a camera, yes. Many of them are engineers, after all. Their real photography advantage, though, is the glorious view from space as they circle our planet every 90 minutes. Astronauts Suni Williams and Tracy C.

SANTA FE, N.M.— Blue Origin says it is ready for the first launch of its New Glenn rocket after completing a static-fire test Dec. 27, hours after receiving a launch license. The seven BE-4 engines in the first stage of New Glenn ignited shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral

The mystery of dark matter could be solved in as little as 10 seconds. When the next nearby supernova goes off, any gamma-ray telescope pointing in the right direction might be treated to more than a light show – it could quickly confirm the existence of one of the most promising dark matter candidates. Astrophysicists

TAMPA, Fla. — Slam Corp, the shell company founded by former MLB player Alex Rodriguez, extended its merger deadline with Lynk Global but must refund $81 million to investors who redeemed shares instead of seeking a stake in the direct-to-smartphone satellite operator. The three-month extension gives the shell company until March 25 to complete the

On this day three years ago, we witnessed the nail-biting launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the largest and most powerful telescope humans have ever sent into space. It took 30 years to build, but in three short years of operation, JWST has already revolutionised our view of the cosmos. It’s explored our

HELSINKI — Chinese launch startup Landspace has secured major funding from a state-backed investment initiative to boost its development of reusable launchers. Landspace received 900 million yuan ($123 million) from China’s National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, according to Chinese media reports Dec. 25. The company stated that the funds will primarily be used for

The plot has just thickened in the mystery tale about the unseen mass skulking inside the largest cluster of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. In the heart of Omega Centauri, a huge glob of gravitationally bound stars over 17,000 light-years away, astronomers have just uncovered evidence of an entire swarm of stellar-mass black holes.

There’s a light that never goes out… well, almost never. Since the invention of commercial light bulbs in the late 19th century, one bulb has outshone all others. In 2025, it could enter its 124th year of working life. Exactly when the 60-watt bulb was manufactured and the year it was first turned on are