NASA opens SpaceX’s moon lander contract to rivals over Starship delays

October 21, 2025 9:34 AM

NASA opens SpaceX’s moon lander contract to rivals over Starship delays

NASA said on Monday it was opening the marquee U.S. moon landing contract to other bidders because Elon Musk's SpaceX has experienced mounting delays with its Starship lunar lander. The move paves the way for rivals such as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to snatch a high-profile mission to land the first astronauts on the moon in half a century. "I'm in the process of opening that contract up. I think we'll see companies like Blue get involved, and maybe others," the U.S. space agency's acting chief ...

SpaceX completes 11th Starship test before debuting upgraded prototype

October 14, 2025 9:58 AM

SpaceX completes 11th Starship test before debuting upgraded prototype

Elon Musk's SpaceX launched its 11th Starship rocket from Texas on Monday and landed it in the Indian Ocean, the last flight before the company begins test-launching a new version of the giant rocket outfitted with more features for moon and Mars missions. Starship, which includes the Starship upper stage stacked atop its Super Heavy booster, launched at 6:23 p.m. CT (2323 GMT) from SpaceX's Starbase facilities. After sending the Starship stage to space, Super Heavy returned for a soft water la...

Russia developing Starlink rival at ‘rapid pace,’ space chief says

September 17, 2025 3:42 PM

Russia developing Starlink rival at ‘rapid pace,’ space chief says

Russia will soon have a rival to Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink, as it tries to shift away from outdated thinking that has allowed SpaceX to win the crown of satellite dominance, Russia's space chief said on Wednesday. Starlink says it operates the world’s largest satellite constellation with more than 8,000 satellites, and Musk is credited by Russian officials with revolutionising the launch of space vehicles - to Russia's cost. Dmitry Bakanov, the new 39-year-old head of R...

Spaceflight accelerates the aging of human blood-forming stem cells

September 9, 2025 1:24 PM

Spaceflight accelerates the aging of human blood-forming stem cells

New research has identified yet another way that spaceflight tampers with the human body. A study involving samples flown on four SpaceX resupply missions to the International Space Station has revealed that space travel accelerates the aging of blood-forming stem cells crucial for blood and immune system health. The scientists in the NASA-funded study conducted real-time monitoring of stem cells from the bone marrow of individual donors to track the changes that unfolded during missions lastin...

Cloudy weather delays SpaceX Starship’s latest launch to overcome testing troubles

August 26, 2025 10:56 AM

Cloudy weather delays SpaceX Starship’s latest launch to overcome testing troubles

Elon Musk's SpaceX postponed the 10th launch of its Starship rocket due to cloudy weather in Texas on Monday, another slight delay in its efforts to overcome development setbacks and achieve several long-sought milestones essential to the Mars rocket system's reusable design. The 232-feet (71-metres) tall Super Heavy booster and its 171-feet (52-metres) tall Starship upper half, which together make it taller than New York's Statue of Liberty, sat on a launch mount at SpaceX's Starbase rocket fa...

SpaceX postpones Starship test flight over ground system issue

August 25, 2025 11:41 AM

SpaceX postpones Starship test flight over ground system issue

Elon Musk's SpaceX on Sunday called off the launch of Starship's tenth mission from Texas over an issue at its launch site, delaying an attempt to achieve several long-sought development milestones missed due to past tests ending in early failures. The 232-foot(70.7-meter)-tall Super Heavy booster and its 171-foot(52-meter)-tall Starship upper half sat stacked on a launch mount at SpaceX's Starbase rocket facilities as it was being filled with propellant ahead of a liftoff time of 7:35 p.m. ET ...

SpaceX launches joint astronaut crew to ISS in NASA’s Crew-11 mission

August 2, 2025 3:56 PM

SpaceX launches joint astronaut crew to ISS in NASA’s Crew-11 mission

An international crew of four astronauts launched toward the International Space Station from Florida on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket, embarking on a routine NASA mission that could be the first of many to last a couple months longer than usual. The four-person crew - two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and Japanese astronaut - boarded SpaceX's Dragon capsule sitting atop its Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and beat gloomy weather to blast off at 11:43 a.m. ET (1543 GMT). A...

Trump says he wants Musk and his companies to thrive in US

July 25, 2025 9:24 AM

Trump says he wants Musk and his companies to thrive in US

President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would not destroy Elon Musk's companies by taking away federal subsidies and that he wants the billionaire tech entrepreneur's businesses to thrive. The remarks follow a public clash with his former close ally over his tax bill. In July, the space and automotive billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill would bankrupt America. "Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taki...

Trump’s Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX

July 22, 2025 3:48 PM

Trump’s Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk’s SpaceX

The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The shift marks a strategic pivot away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX, whose Starlink and Starshield satellite networks have become central to U.S. military communications. It comes amid a deteriora...

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space mission will boost India’s Gaganyaan project: ISRO

July 15, 2025 2:40 PM

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla’s space mission will boost India’s Gaganyaan project: ISRO

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's space mission will play a crucial role in India's first manned spaceflight under the Gaganyaan programme, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said on Monday. Shukla became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space where he undertook scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). "This has been an unforgettable experience for him (Shubhanshu Shukla). He carried out multiple experiments aboard the Space Shuttle and the Int...