Sam's News — space — 2026-08-23¶

Space¶

7.5 NASA funds 18 innovative spaceflight concepts including femtosatellite mission to Saturn¶

NASA has selected 18 technology proposals through its Innovative Advanced Concepts awards program to advance experimental spaceflight research.

Sources: Space.com RSS, Space RSS

7.5 NASA plans fusion-powered interplanetary spacecraft SR-1 Freedom for 2028 Mars mission¶

NASA plans to launch the SR-1 Freedom, its first fusion-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars in 2028.

Sources: WKYC RSS

7.5 NASA's Voyager Probes Celebrate 50 Years of Exploration Since 1977 Launch¶

NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in summer 1977 for a brief Jupiter mission, mark 50 years of deep space exploration.

Launch date: August 20, 1977; entered interstellar space 49 years later
Only spacecraft to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
Mission cost exceeded $865 million; originally designed for 4 years
As of November 2026: 13.2 billion miles from Earth at 34,000 mph
Loses ~4 watts annually; NASA installed lower-power devices August 2026
Twin Voyager 1 expected 16 billion miles away by November 2026

Sources: New Hampshire Public Radio Web Search Update to: Voyager Probes' Remarkable Journey: 49 Years in the Solar System

7 NASA Cancels Rescue Mission for Swift Telescope, Observatory Set to Re-enter Atmosphere¶

NASA has canceled its commercial rescue mission to save the aging Swift Observatory, a gamma-ray burst detector in operation since 2004. The spacecraft, which had begun tumbling, will now re-enter Earth's atmosphere within months after a private mission by Katalyst Space's LINK spacecraft failed due to attitude control issues.

Swift Observatory has been operating since 2004 and specializes in gamma-ray bursts (GRBs)
The $30 million commercial boost mission by Katalyst Space failed due to spacecraft attitude control issues
The telescope will re-enter Earth's atmosphere in a few months
LINK spacecraft was unable to complete the planned orbital boost

Sources: WIRED AI Web Searched, Discover Magazine AI Web Searched, New Scientist AI Web Searched, NASA AI Web Searched, Live Science AI Web Searched

7 Multi-spacecraft constellation reveals true scale of solar coronal mass ejection¶

A fleet of 17 spacecraft observing the same coronal mass ejection from different vantage points exposed the full extent of solar eruptions.

Sources: Space.com RSS

7 NASA advances commercial cargo lander development for lunar base infrastructure¶

NASA and commercial partners are developing next-generation cargo landers as part of efforts to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon.

Sources: Universe Today RSS

7 NASA's Voyager probe missions mark 50 years of interstellar exploration legacy¶

NASA's Voyager probes have achieved five decades of operational service and scientific achievement in deep space exploration.

Sources: New Hampshire Public Radio RSS

7 NASA Funds 18 Innovative Space Projects Including Saturn Satellites and Lunar Bases¶

NASA is financing 18 innovative space missions spanning Saturn-bound satellites to underground lunar habitats.

Sources: Прямий RSS

6.5 China delays Chang'e 7 lunar south pole mission due to weather¶

China postponed its Chang'e 7 mission to the Moon's south pole because of severe weather near the launch site.

Sources: Space.com RSS, Ars Technica RSS, Phys.org RSS

5.5 NASA's 1984 Honeybee Space Experiment: Testing Comb-Building in Microgravity¶

In 1984, NASA sent approximately 3,300 honeybees into space to study how colonies build comb structures without gravity.

Sources: The Economic Times RSS