Q&A with Keith Gendreau, principal investigator of the first X-ray space communications experiment (members only)

Intuitive Machines, under contract to carry NASA science instruments to the moon on a privately-developed robotic spacecraft, said this week its first commercial lunar mission will target landing in October 2021 near a deep, narrow valley named Vallis Schröteri.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine says he is “fairly confident” that astronauts can fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spaceship at the end of May or early June, pending final parachute tests, data reviews and a training schedule that can escape major impacts from the coronavirus pandemic.

Look back on last week’s launch of a Russian Proton rocket from Kazakhstan with the EchoStar 21 communications satellite, a commercial craft designed to beam broadband connectivity to customers across Europe.