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NASA spacecraft to get bonus time studying Mercury
Running low on fuel after completing the first global survey of Mercury, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft could get an extra month of time at the solar system's innermost planet thanks to a crafty new way of using helium gas to temporarily forestall the mission's end next year.
VideoRussian Earth observing satellite ready for launch
A Soyuz rocket is scheduled for launch Friday with Russia's Resurs P2 satellite, a civilian-operated spacecraft with a sharp-eyed camera to collect high-resolution imagery for Russian government authorities and international agencies.
VideoSoyuz rocket lifts off with Russian eavesdropping satellite
A satellite to collect intelligence for the Russian government launched Thursday on top of a Soyuz rocket and reached orbit a few minutes after liftoff from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome about 500 miles north of Moscow.
VideoPhotos and video: Angara 5’s thunderous liftoff
Russia's new Angara 5 rocket, the biggest Russian launcher since the end of the Cold War, made a pre-dawn blastoff from the wintry Plesetsk Cosmodrome on Tuesday on a successful first flight. See video and photos of the fiery liftoff from the snowy launch pad.
VideoRussia’s Angara 5 rocket launched on successful maiden flight
A new Russian rocket designed as a successor to the workhorse Proton booster lifted off Tuesday on a maiden test flight that could signify Russia's shift away from launching satellites at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Scientific riches await Philae comet lander, if it wakes up
Optimistic Europe's hibernating Philae comet lander can be revived, mission controllers plan to try and contact the spacecraft as soon as January as the search narrows for the probe's final resting place -- a site within arm's reach of pristine ice and organic matter ripe for analysis if the mission gets a new lease on life.
Ratchet wrench ’emailed’ to space station
A future where mission control can digitally dispatch tools, spare parts and other vital materials to far-flung space crews took one giant leap toward reality when a 3D printer aboard the International Space Station produced a ratchet wrench on demand.
Russia set for debut launch of Angara 5 rocket
Russia's powerful new Angara 5 rocket -- made of a cluster of five kerosene-fueled main engines -- is being prepared for a maiden test flight as soon as Tuesday that could usher in a new era in the Russian space program, according to Russian news reports.
Woerner tapped as next ESA director general
Johann-Dietrich Woerner, head of the German Aerospace Center, will take over as director general of the European Space Agency on July 1. Woerner will take the helm from Jean-Jacques Dordain, who has held the top post at ESA since 2003.
Planet-hunting telescope to launch on Falcon 9 rocket
NASA's decision to launch a satellite to search for planets around other stars on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in 2017 will allow officials to cancel plans to order a solid-fueled kick motor to send the telescope into a unique high-altitude orbit, the mission's top scientist said.