Week in images: 12-16 May 2025
Week in images: 12-16 May 2025.
Space news
Mars Express updates software, extends lifetime until 2034
Mars Express mission operators at ESOC successfully sent a new software patch that would allow the spacecraft to operate in its third decade..
Rocket Report: How is your payload fairing? Poland launches test rocket.
No thunder down under..
Hubble Captures Cotton Candy Clouds
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a sparkling cloudscape from one of the Milky Way’s galactic neighbors, a dwarf galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud. Located 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the Milky Way’s many small satellite galaxies. This view of dusty […].
Beyond launch: SpaceX’s expanding role in U.S. defense
SpaceX’s ascent from commercial launch provider to indispensable national security asset marks one of the most significant shifts in America’s defense industrial base in decades. As Elon Musk’s company extends […] The post Beyond launch: SpaceX’s expanding role in U.S. defense appeared first on SpaceNews..
NASA X-59’s Latest Testing Milestone: Simulating Flight from the Ground
NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft successfully completed a critical series of tests in which the airplane was put through its paces for cruising high above the California desert – all without ever leaving the ground. “The idea behind these tests is to command the airplane’s subsystems and flight computer to function as if it […].
ESA Launches Phase 2 of Reusable Upper Stage Demonstrator Project
The European Space Agency has issued a call for proposals for the second phase of its Reusable Upper Stage Demonstrator project. Initially announced in March 2024, the Reusable Upper Stage Demonstrator project is being managed by ESA’s Space Transportation Technology Coordination Office under the agency’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). The FLPP initiative focuses on […] The post ESA Launches Phase 2 of Reusable Upper Stage Demonstrator Project appeared first on European Spaceflight..
Virgin Galactic says production of new spaceplanes on track
Virgin Galactic says production of its new suborbital spaceplanes remains on track to allow commercial flights to begin in the middle of next year as it contemplates restarting ticket sales. The post Virgin Galactic says production of new spaceplanes on track appeared first on SpaceNews..
Eutelsat’s DoD setback adds to GEO headwinds as LEO growth builds
The sudden loss of a large U.S. Department of Defense contract has added to Eutelsat’s geostationary challenges as the French operator shifts greater focus to its low Earth orbit OneWeb constellation. The post Eutelsat’s DoD setback adds to GEO headwinds as LEO growth builds appeared first on SpaceNews..