The US government wants to bypass environmental laws for commercial launches and spacecraft reentries

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A new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposal says the agency wants to speed up commercial space licensing for rocket launches and spacecraft re-entries by removing “unnecessary” environmental regulations. The proposed FAA rule, released yesterday (July 29), has a 30-day period for comment and if approved, would apply to rocket launches, re-entering spacecraft, and the sites at which launches and re-entries take place. The FAA proposes to “waive requirements of laws of the U.S. for a license or permit, after consultation with the head of the appropriate executive agency, when the…

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Students Take on Airborne Field Research with NASA

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3 min read Students Take on Airborne Field Research with NASA The gusty wind didn’t make it easy to hold tight to a balloon so large. The balloon, a scientific instrument called an ozonesonde, was about to be released into the atmosphere above the Texas Gulf Coast by students from NASA’s SARP (Student Airborne Research Program), which concluded its summer session July 27. The balloon’s job was to measure ozone concentrations as it rose through the atmosphere. The SARP students in the atmosphere group prepare a weather balloon by filling…

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NASA Assigns Astronaut Deniz Burnham to First Space Station Mission

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NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham poses for a portrait at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham will embark on her first mission to the International Space Station, serving as an Expedition 76 flight engineer. Burnham will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov. Launch is targeted for March 2027, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the trio will spend about seven months aboard the orbiting laboratory. During her expedition, Burnham will conduct scientific investigations and technology…

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HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ teases shape-shifting Manhunters: ‘The most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy’ (video)

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Lanterns | Official Trailer | HBO Max – YouTube Watch On Trailers and teasers for HBO’s upcoming “Lanterns” series have been suspiciously devoid of much outer space footage for the intergalactic cops known as the Green Lanterns, but that’s all history now with this exhilarating new preview. Beware the power of this illuminating peek that not only delivers generous doses of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) mentoring his young apprentice, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), but also tosses in cool shots above an alien planet, a prison world, and what could be…

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Starburst Galaxy Centaurus A

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Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Macarena Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI) In this July 6, 2026, image, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system. Centaurus A is 11 million light-years away from Earth, relatively close in cosmic terms. Yet, unlike most nearby galaxies, it is very active, making it a powerful laboratory for understanding how galaxies and black holes grow and evolve…

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NASA Johnson Interns Shaping the Future of Exploration 

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7 Min Read NASA Johnson Interns Shaping the Future of Exploration  NASA’s Johnson Space Center interns pose for a group photo in the Teague Auditorium in Houston. From left are Macie Landon, John Graham Reynolds, and Morgan Gridley.  Credits: NASA/Sumer Loggins NASA interns at Johnson Space Center are applying their talents to real-world projects while working alongside the engineers, scientists, communicators, and innovators advancing human spaceflight. Learn how these students are gaining hands-on experience, contributing to real missions, and preparing to join the nation’s highly skilled and competitive aerospace workforce.   Meet the students behind the work and discover what inspired them to…

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‘It’s going to do things that currently are impossible’: The Roman Space Telescope, NASA’s next great observatory, is ready to launch Aug. 30

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The next great American observatory in space is just one month away from leaving this planet. NASA scientists got together Wednesday (July 29) to share a status update on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope — the agency’s next great observatory that will soon join the ranks of absolute legends like the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. And that press conference was overflowing with good news. The $4 billion Roman Space Telescope is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket on Aug. 30 at 7:26 a.m.…

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NASA Awards 2026 Innovative Technology Concepts

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A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2026 NIAC awardees. Credit: NASA The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies in areas ranging from the exploration of the solar system to understanding the universe. The 18 NIAC Phase I awards total $3.2 million. Each award provides up to $175,000 for a nine-month initial investigation. The NIAC projects are about early-stage concept development and are not considered official NASA missions. “NASA has outlined an…

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