ULA CEO Bruno resigns Tory Bruno, the longtime chief executive of United Launch Alliance, is leaving the joint venture for another opportunity.

ULA announces that CEO Tory Bruno is resigning after 12 years at the Boeing-LM joint venture "to pursue another opportunity." newsroom.ulalaunch.com/releases/sta...

Long March 12A set for debut launch and landing attempt early tomorrow. ~2 hour launch window opens 0154 UTC Dec. 23 (8:54 pm EST Dec. 22) according to airspace closure notice.

Rocket Lab wraps up record launch year Rocket Lab successfully launched a Japanese radar imaging satellite Dec. 21 in the final flight of a record-setting year for the company.

Isaacman emphasizes accelerating NASA programs as he takes agency’s reins New NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he wants NASA to move faster on programs such as Artemis but acknowledged he needs time to get up to speed on NASA’s activities.

Blue Origin flies first wheelchair user to space Blue Origin flew its final New Shepard suborbital mission of the year Dec. 20, carrying six people, including the first person who uses a wheelchair to travel to space.

We're targeting tomorrow December 21 NZDT for our next Electron launch with a dedicated mission for iQPS. Launch of 'The Wisdom God Guides' from LC-1 is set for: 🚀 7:38 pm NZT, Dec 21 🚀 3:38 pm JST, Dec 21 🚀 06:38 UTC, Dec 21 🚀 1:38 am ET, Dec 21 🚀 10:38 pm PT, Dec 20

NASA safety panel recommends review of Artemis plans NASA’s safety advisers are recommending that the agency reconsider its Artemis lunar landing architecture as well as how it handles incidents such as the flawed Starliner test flight.

When you’re thinking a little too much about a certain billionaire.

ESA weighing options to address exploration funding shortfall The European Space Agency expects to decide in February how to address a 20% funding shortfall in its exploration program.

Astrobotic secures contracts for suborbital vehicle development Astrobotic said Dec. 19 it has won $17.5 million in NASA and military contracts to develop three new reusable suborbital vehicles for technology demonstrations and other applications.

Trump signs sweeping executive order to assert U.S. dominance in space The White House issued a sweeping executive order on space policy Dec. 18 covering topics from NASA’s exploration plans to space security.

The previous two NASA administrators were sworn in by vice presidents (Bridenstine by Pence; Nelson by Harris.) Isaacman was sworn in by a district judge. www.nasa.gov/news-release...

Space community celebrates Isaacman confirmation The space community welcomed the confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA’s next administrator, expressing hope he can lead the agency forward and relief that a long confirmation process is over.

Senate confirms Isaacman as NASA administrator The Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator Dec. 17, concluding arguably the most unusual effort to select a leader in the space agency’s history.

The Senate has confirmed Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator on a 67-30 vote.

Ariane 6 launches Galileo navigation satellites An Ariane 6 rocket placed two satellites for Europe’s Galileo navigation system into orbit Dec. 17.

Max Space unveils plans for commercial space station Max Space, a startup developing expandable module technologies, plans to build a commercial space station that could launch on a single Falcon 9 rocket.

MAVEN telemetry shows changes to spacecraft orbit and rotation New analysis suggests that problems with NASA’s MAVEN Mars orbiter may be more serious than a simple communications glitch.

SpaceX claims close approach to Starlink satellite by payload from Chinese launch A reported close approach between a Starlink satellite and a recently launched Chinese spacecraft highlights the challenges of coordinating spacecraft operations and verifying potential close calls in orbit.

If a solar storm was powerful enough to knock out every satellite’s ability to maneuver, the Kessler Syndrome would be pretty low on society’s list of concerns.

Digantara raises $50 million to expand from space surveillance to missile defense Digantara Industries, an Indian space situational awareness company, has raised $50 million as it expands into the United States and pursues opportunities in missile defense.

"It's been quite a year," NASA associate administrator for science Nicky Fox says at a NASA Earth science town hall at #AGU25, in what might qualify as the understatement of the year.

Welcome to launch day. Again! Less than 48 hours after our last Electron mission was on the pad at LC-1, this time we're ready to liftoff for @KAISTPR. 🚀9:55 am KST 🚀7:55 pm EST 🚀4:55 pm PST 🚀00:55 UTC 🚀1:55 pm NZT

NASA to test SpaceX’s Starshield in pilot program NASA plans to test SpaceX’s Starshield satellite network, designed primarily for national security customers, to support operations of the agency’s Deep Space Network.

Telemetry analysis "suggests that the MAVEN spacecraft was rotating in an unexpected manner when it emerged from behind Mars. Further, the frequency of the tracking signal suggests MAVEN’s orbit trajectory may have changed." science.nasa.gov/blogs/maven/...

Starfish Space and Impulse Space demonstrate autonomous spacecraft proximity operations Two space companies have collaborated to demonstrate automated close approaches between spacecraft using a single camera as the primary sensor.

Rocket Lab launches JAXA tech demo satellite A Rocket Lab Electron rocket successfully launched a technology demonstration satellite for JAXA Dec. 13 as the company reshuffles its launch manifest.

"RAISE And Shine" and welcome to launch day. Our 77th Electron mission is scheduled for liftoff for JAXA today in T-6 hours. Liftoff is set for 🚀 4:09 pm NZDT 🚀 12:09 pm JST 🚀 03:09 UTC 🚀 10:09 pm ET 🚀 7:09 pm PT

Computer problem delays Monday's Proton launch. Details: russianspaceweb.com/2025.html#el...

SpaceX executive confirms interest in an IPO SpaceX’s chief financial officer has confirmed the company is considering an initial public offering as soon as next year to raise money for projects such as orbital data centers.

Intuitive Machines and Telespazio to collaborate on lunar satellite networks Intuitive Machines will work with Telespazio on their planned lunar satellite networks to ensure interoperability and improve performance.

NASA astrophysics director offers optimistic vision despite budget uncertainty The head of NASA’s astrophysics division offered an upbeat assessment of upcoming missions, a stark contrast to the bleak outlook in the agency’s budget proposal six months ago.

NASA advances heliophysics mission into next phase NASA has selected a heliophysics mission to move into the next phase of development amid broader concerns about the state of the field.

Senate Majority Leader Thune has filed cloture on Jared Isaacman's nomination to be NASA administrator, a procedural move that sets up a confirmation vote as soon as Monday.

Report identifies science objectives of human Mars exploration The search for past or present life should be the top science objective of future human missions to Mars, a new National Academies report concludes.

Overview Energy demonstrates technologies for space solar power A space solar power startup has emerged from stealth after demonstrating a key technology for its plans to transmit power from space to the Earth.

NASA loses contact with MAVEN Mars orbiter NASA has lost contact with a Mars orbiter that has circled the planet for more than a decade, collecting science data and serving as a key communications relay.

The committee's executive sessions normally are livestreamed. Very strange they would choose not to do so here.

The Senate Commerce Committee has released the questions for the record from Jared Isaacman's second confirmation hearing last week, ahead of this afternoon's committee vote. Rep Q's: www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil... Dem Q's: www.commerce.senate.gov/services/fil...

NASA extends agreement with CASIS for ISS national lab NASA has extended an agreement with a nonprofit organization to manage the portion of the International Space Station designated as a national laboratory, likely for the final time.

Study quantifies costs of EU Space Act to European and U.S. companies A proposed European Union space law could cost both European and American space companies hundreds of millions of euros in lost revenue annually, according to a new study.

There's a barrage of Chinese launches in the coming days. Dec. 8: Long March 6A at Taiyuan Dec. 9: Long March 2D at Jiuquan Dec. 9: Long March 3B at Xichang Dec. 10: Kinetica-1 at Jiuquan Dec. 11: Long March 12 at Wenchang (Dec. ??: Long March 12A (Jiuquan)) & more to follow

Isaacman, senators emphasize urgency in returning humans to the moon Senate Commerce Committee leaders said they hope to swiftly confirm Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator as he delivered a “message of urgency” about returning astronauts to the moon before China.

Official launch video from Landspace.

Antares raises $96 million for nuclear reactors on Earth and in space Nuclear power startup Antares announced a $96 million Series B round Dec. 2 to fund work on developing small nuclear reactors, including for space applications.

Vega C launches South Korean satellite A Vega C rocket launched a South Korean satellite Dec. 1 as responsibility for the launches prepares to shift from Arianespace to Avio.

Isar Aerospace wins launch contract for European tech demo satellite German launch startup Isar Aerospace won a contract to launch a European technology demonstration satellite on its Spectrum rocket in late 2026.

From a press release by Sen. Cornyn about a meeting with Jared Isaacman: "Mr. Isaacman committed to follow Sen. Cornyn’s provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, now law, to move the Space Shuttle Discovery in one piece from Virginia to its rightful home in Space City."

I am happy to be one of 36 former NASA Astronauts endorsing Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator. I think he will bring renewed energy to NASA, and I encourage the US Senate to confirm him as soon as possible. #nasa #jaredisaacman