Marcia Dunn –

David Orr rides his bike past SpaceX’s mega rocket Starship as it is prepared for a test flight from Starbase, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

SpaceX’s supersized Starship launches into orbit for the first time but flight ends early

September 28, 2026 at 4:38 p.m.

SpaceX launched its enormous Starship into orbit for the first time Monday and successfully delivered the most advanced Starlink satellites yet, but cut the flight short to ensure safety.

This composite image provided by NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington on Oct. 22, 2013, shows Mercury as it appeared to the Messenger spacecraft following a flyby of the planet. (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington via AP)

The planet Mercury may be shrinking faster than scientists expected

September 10, 2026 at 8:28 a.m.

A new study shows that little, wrinkly Mercury may be shrinking faster than expected, the cosmos’ version of a grape shriveling into a raisin under the sun.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, encapsulated in a protective payload fairing atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, is seen at sunrise, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

NASA’s newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe

August 30, 2026 at 11:24 a.m.

NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before.

President Donald Trump participates in a Congressional Space Medal of Honor ceremony at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Houston, and puts a medal on Artemis II Astronaut and Mission Specialist, Jeremy Hansen. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)

Artemis II astronauts receive nation’s highest space honor for their successful moonshot

August 28, 2026 at 5:45 p.m.

The Artemis II astronauts who flew around the moon earlier this year have received the nation's highest space honor.

FILE – A man views the lunar eclipse, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in South Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

Near-total lunar eclipse is coming up with the Americas in prime position

August 27, 2026 at 9:15 a.m.

After being shut out of this month’s total solar eclipse, the Americas will have the best seats in the celestial house when Earth’s shadow briefly envelops the moon.

FILE – In this image provided by NASA the Artemis II crew, counterclockwise from top left, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman and Pilot Victor Glover pose with eclipse viewers during a lunar flyby on April 6, 2026. (NASA via AP, File)

Looking to see the solar eclipse from North America? Here’s where and when to catch a sliver.

August 11, 2026 at 3:17 p.m.

If you look skyward Wednesday and if you’re far enough north in the U.S. and Canada, you might savor a partial eclipse as the moon nibbles away at the sun.

FILE – A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A with a payload of a pair of lunar landers at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Scientists are certain a wayward SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon as predicted

August 5, 2026 at 2:41 p.m.

A SpaceX rocket that launched a pair of lunar landers slammed into the moon as predicted on Wednesday after drifting off course for the past year, scientists reported.

A discarded SpaceX rocket is on a high-speed collision course with the moon

July 31, 2026 at 1:22 p.m.

A drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago.

This image provided by the European Southern Observatory shows the Beta Pictoris region on March 6, 2014. (ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 via AP)

Faint new planet is revealed around a young star after a decade in hiding

July 15, 2026 at 3:58 p.m.

Astronomers have discovered a faint, elusive planet orbiting a young star after more than a decade of cosmic hide-and-seek.

This photo provided by NASA shows Kieran Wilson, LINK’s principal investigator, and Hunter Robertson, a space systems engineer, both at Katalyst Space, standing next to their spacecraft inside the SES (Space Environment Simulator) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., April 17, 2026, ahead of thermal vacuum testing. (Sophia Roberts/NASA via AP)

Rescue mission launches to save NASA telescope that’s falling back to Earth

July 3, 2026 at 2:01 p.m.

A three-armed spacecraft rocketed into orbit Friday to rescue a NASA telescope that’s in danger of crashing back to Earth.

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