NASA
NASA and Boeing deny Starliner crew is ‘stranded’: ‘We’re not in any rush to come home’
NASA and Boeing officials pushed back against recent reporting that the two astronauts brought to the ISS on Starliner are stranded on board. The companies said in a press conference…
NASA has selected SpaceX to develop a spacecraft that will de-orbit the International Space Station in 2030 — a contract valued at as much as $843 million, the agency announced…
William Anders, astronaut who took the famous ‘Earthrise’ photo, dies at 90
William A. Anders, the astronaut behind perhaps the single most iconic photo of our planet, has died at the age of 90. On Friday morning, Anders was piloting a small…
NASA puts $10M down on Mars sample return proposals from Blue Origin, SpaceX and others
It turns out the space industry has a lot of ideas on how to improve NASA’s $11 billion, 15-year plan to collect and return samples from Mars. Seven of these…
If you’ve been looking forward to seeing Boeing’s Starliner capsule carry two astronauts to the International Space Station for the first time, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. The…
We all fall down sometimes. Astronauts are no exception. You need to be in peak physical condition for space travel, but bulky space suits and lower gravity levels can be…
Intuitive Machines made history when it became the first private company to land a spacecraft on the moon, so it makes sense to adapt that tech for Mars.
Update: The Starliner mission will not move forward until no earlier than May 17, NASA announced. The long delay is to ensure launch provider United Launch Alliance can roll the…
NASA is expanding its Wallops Island facility to support three times as many launches
NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, to increase the number of authorized rocket launches at the site by almost 200%, according…
NASA orders studies from private space companies on Mars mission support roles
Mars exploration has always been the exclusive purview of national space agencies, but NASA is trying to change that, awarding a dozen research tasks to private companies as a prelude…
Boeing’s Starliner set to fly astronauts for the first time on May 6
This will mark Starliner’s second flight to the ISS: The first, an uncrewed mission called Orbital Flight Test-2, took place in May 2022.
TechCrunch Minute: NASA needs your help to bring rocks back from Mars
NASA’s decision to scrap its $11 billion, 15-year mission to Mars to bring back samples could create a startup feeding frenzy, TechCrunch reports. Describing its plans as too slow, and…
Space startups are licking their lips after NASA converts $11B Mars mission into a free-for-all
Considering how heavily both primes and space startups have been investing in interplanetary capability, this announcement arguably amounts to a historic windfall.
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. Happy Eclipse Day for everyone celebrating! I’m fortunate to be living in a part of the country that’s in the path of totality,…
NASA has given three space companies the chance to design the next-generation moon buggy — but only one design will go to space. Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab…
NASA’s snake robot is designed to search out life in the icy oceans of a Saturn moon
The snake robot form factor has existed for decades. In addition to the diversity it adds to the world of automation, the design has several pragmatic attributes. The first is…
Intuitive Machines’ second moon mission is still on track to launch before the end of this year, after the company only had to make minor adjustments to the lunar lander…
SpaceX looks to scale astronaut launch capacity with second Florida pad
SpaceX is in the final stages of certifying a second pad for astronaut launches, which should ease launch site congestion and help the company scale the number of humans it…
SpaceX is aiming to launch its massive Starship rocket for the third time as soon as March 14, the company confirmed in a social media post Wednesday. SpaceX is still…
Intuitive Machines’ first moon lander also broke ground with safer, cheaper rocket-style propulsion
Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander officially lost power today after spending seven days on the moon. The lander made history for being the first American hardware to reach the lunar…
Intuitive Machines faces early end to moon mission after lander tips over
Intuitive Machines’ first moon mission will come to a premature end due to the spacecraft landing on its side, which altered how the solar panels are positioned in relation to…
Historic spacecraft landing double-header from Varda, Intuitive Machines
Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. My stomach is still in knots from the Intuitive Machines landing livestream. I think it’s fair to say that the words of Tim…
Intuitive Machines makes history by landing the first commercial spacecraft on the moon
Intuitive Machines has landed a spacecraft on the lunar surface, in a historic first for a private company. Flight controllers confirmed the landing at 5:23 p.m. CST, though the exact…
Varda Space, Rocket Lab nail first-of-its-kind spacecraft landing in Utah
A spacecraft containing pharmaceutical drugs that were grown on orbit has finally returned to Earth today after more than eight months in space. Varda Space Industries’ in-space manufacturing capsule, called…
Intuitive Machines lunar lander en route to the moon after SpaceX launch
Intuitive Machines’ first mission to the moon is now underway. The company’s Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the early hours of Thursday…
Intuitive Machines to take its shot at reaching the moon with first private lunar lander
Intuitive Machines is looking to succeed where past ventures have failed with its inaugural lunar lander mission, which would mark the first time a private company has landed a spacecraft…
Secretive moon startup led by ex-Blue Origin leaders raises new tranche of funding
A stealth startup led by ex-Blue Origin leaders, focused on harvesting resources from the moon, has quietly closed a sizable new tranche of funding, according to regulatory documents. Interlune, a…
SpaceX will reap the benefits of new Dragon research opportunity
SpaceX will become the co-owner of valuable data, biological samples, and possibly even patents and intellectual property related to human spaceflight, according to the terms and conditions of a new…
SpaceX will launch the Starlab private space station using Starship
Starlab, the private space station being developed by Voyager Space and Airbus, will go to orbit onboard a SpaceX Starship rocket before the decade is out, the companies announced Wednesday.…
Watch SpaceX launch a Northrop Grumman resupply mission to the ISS
SpaceX is teaming up with Northrop Grumman today to deliver more than 8,000 pounds of cargo, fresh food and scientific experiments to astronauts on the International Space Station. The NG-20…
