Mission Reports

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman who bankrolled the first human space mission with all private citizens last year, announced plans Monday for up to three more SpaceX missions, a privately-funded program that will include the first commercial spacewalk, and ultimately a ride on the giant Starship rocket ship.

The first images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were unveiled Friday, a “selfie” showing the observatory’s 21.3-foot-wide primary mirror and a mosaic showing multiple images of a nondescript star being used to align the 18 segments making up the main mirror.

SpaceX plans to transform parts of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to become an operational base for the company’s super-powerful Starship launcher, while keeping a sprawling complex in South Texas as a research and development location for the heavy-lift rocket program, Elon Musk said Thursday.

An Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is preparing to soar into orbit Sunday with an Indian radar imaging satellite and two rideshare payloads, including one built in the United States in partnership with science institutes in India, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Four NASA-funded nanosatellites were lost Thursday when an Astra rocket tumbled out of control minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, the fourth time in five tries that the startup space company has failed to reach orbit.