Space — July 2026

FAA moves to waive environmental rules for launches

The FAA wants to exempt commercial rocket launches and reentries from 13 federal environmental laws, including NEPA, to clear a licensing backlog.

SpaceX wins $1.6B Space Force order for 18 launches

The Falcon 9 missions will carry Pentagon sensors built to track fast-moving threats like hypersonic missiles.

NASA fuels Roman telescope for its August 30 launch

Hubble's much wider-eyed successor is fully fueled and on track for liftoff from Florida next month.

Rocket Lab's $266M deal will launch from Alaska

The Space Force contract, Rocket Lab's biggest ever, pays for up to 18 suborbital missile-defense test launches from a new Kodiak spaceport.

NASA's Chris Williams returns to Earth after 241 days

Williams and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan Sunday, capping an eight-month mission that included spacewalks and cancer research.

Wildfire nearly took out NASA's link to deep space

A wildfire near Madrid forced NASA to evacuate one of only three stations that talk to spacecraft across the solar system, and the damage still isn't confirmed.

SpaceX's Starship finally flies real Starlink satellites

After an aborted July 16 launch, Starship's 13th flight succeeded Friday, deploying working Starlink V3 satellites for the first time.

SpaceX's Starship tries again Friday night

After Raptor engines aborted the July 16 launch, Starship gets a second try Friday, carrying the first Starlink V3 satellites ever flown.

China's Gravity-1 rocket launches 9 satellites from the sea

Orienspace's Gravity-1, the world's most powerful solid rocket, made its third flight and first paying commercial run.

SpaceX launches a robot that repairs satellites in orbit

The Mission Robotic Vehicle will refuel and repair aging satellites in orbit, on a mission designed to run for a decade.

SpaceX's giant Starship gets a second try Thursday

After four Raptor engines failed to ignite on July 16, SpaceX swapped two out and now aims for July 23 — carrying the first Starlink V3 satellites aboard.

Scientists just proved AI can be fooled into seeing aliens

Michigan State researchers tricked an AI into seeing signs of life 100% of the time — a warning for real alien-hunting missions.

The US Space Force tripled its launch budget ceiling to $17 billion

Space Systems Command can now spend up to $17 billion on rocket launches, up from $5.6 billion — opening far more work to six companies.

NASA scrapped a Moon-landing mission after years of delays

The CP-12 mission to the Moon's far side is cancelled — the landing had slipped to 2030 or later.