Tag: Space
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Trump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA
This week, as part of the process to develop a budget for fiscal-year 2026, the Trump White House shared the draft version of its budget request for NASA with the space agency. This initial version of the administration’s budget request calls for an approximately 20 percent overall cut to the agency’s budget across the board,…
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“What the hell are you doing?” How I learned to interview astronauts, scientists, and billionaires
I recently wrote a story about the wild ride of the Starliner spacecraft to the International Space Station last summer. It was based largely on an interview with the commander of the mission, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore. His account of Starliner’s thruster failures—and his desperate efforts to keep the vehicle flying on course—was riveting. In…
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NASA nominee asks why lunar return has taken so long, and why it costs so much
WASHINGTON, DC—Over the course of a nearly three-hour committee hearing Wednesday, the nominee to lead NASA for the Trump administration faced difficult questions from US senators who sought commitments to specific projects. However, maneuvering like a pilot with more than 7,000 hours in jets and ex-military aircraft, entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman dodged most…
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SpinLaunch—yes, the centrifuge rocket company—is making a hard pivot to satellites
Outside of several mentions in the Rocket Report newsletter dating back to 2018, Ars Technica has not devoted too much attention to covering a novel California space company named SpinLaunch. That’s because the premise is so outlandish as to almost not feel real. The company aims to build a kinetic launch system that spins a…
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Rocket Report: Next Starship flight to reuse booster; FAA clears New Glenn
Welcome to Edition 7.38 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX test fired a Super Heavy booster that launched in January on Thursday, in South Texas. This sets up the possibility of a reused Super Heavy rocket launching within the next several weeks, and would be an important step forward in the Starship launch program. It’s also…
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Starliner’s flight to the space station was far wilder than most of us thought
As it flew up toward the International Space Station last summer, the Starliner spacecraft lost four thrusters. A NASA astronaut, Butch Wilmore, had to take manual control of the vehicle. But as Starliner’s thrusters failed, Wilmore lost the ability to move the spacecraft in the direction he wanted to go. He and his fellow astronaut,…
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Europe’s quest to finally land on Mars takes another turn
Oh, ExoMars, what a long, strange trip it has been. Are you ever going to go to space? The ExoMars mission represents Europe’s third attempt to land successfully on Mars, and at a cost of more than $1.3 billion. there is a lot riding on its success. But success is far from assured for a…
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Europe’s quest to finally land on Mars takes another turn
Oh, ExoMars, what a long, strange trip it has been. Are you ever going to go to space? The ExoMars mission represents Europe’s third attempt to land successfully on Mars, and at a cost of more than $1.3 billion. there is a lot riding on its success. But success is far from assured for a…
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Tuesday Telescope: A close-up of the magical camera at the end of a robotic arm
Welcome to the Tuesday Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light—a little too much pseudoscience and not enough science. We’ll let other publications offer you a daily horoscope. At Ars Technica, we’ll take a different route, finding inspiration from very real images of a universe that is…
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NASA to put Starliner’s thrusters through an extensive workout before next launch
More than half a year after an empty Starliner spacecraft safely landed in a New Mexico desert, NASA and Boeing still have not decided whether the vehicle’s next flight will carry any astronauts. In an update this week, the US space agency said it is still working through the process to certify Starliner for human…