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Check latest news on Astronomy, Space Exploration, Planets, Earth, Mars, NASA news, Asteroid news and more on Interesting Engineering

9/11/2026
New Houston stand puts Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine through mission-like tests

New Houston stand puts Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine through mission-like tests

Venus Aerospace also fired its Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine on the new Houston stand.

Aamir Khollam

2 days ago

Space nuclear reactor secures $161M defense deal to end 60-year orbital power gap

Space nuclear reactor secures $161M defense deal to end 60-year orbital power gap

Antares plans to test its Mark-1 reactor for more than six months in 2027 on a ground-to-space demonstration.

Aamir Khollam

3 days ago

9/10/2026
World’s first zinc Hall-effect thruster fires in space on its maiden attempt

World’s first zinc Hall-effect thruster fires in space on its maiden attempt

Muon’s Starlight thruster has demonstrated solid-zinc propulsion in orbit.

Aamir Khollam

3 days ago

World’s largest atlas of universe’s gas bodies compiled, could decode how galaxies form, evolve

World’s largest atlas of universe’s gas bodies compiled, could decode how galaxies form, evolve

The significance of the project extends well beyond simply counting galaxies.

9/9/2026
How spacecraft survive the trip back to Earth after leaving the planet

How spacecraft survive the trip back to Earth after leaving the planet

Engines, parachutes and wings guide vehicles through their final descent.

Atharva Gosavi

5 days ago

Radio astronomy helped us land on the Moon. It could now enable ‘first contact’ with aliens

Radio astronomy helped us land on the Moon. It could now enable ‘first contact’ with aliens

Dr. Emma Chapman (astrophysicist, University of Nottingham) on SETI and becoming “better listeners” of the cosmos

Chris Young

5 days ago

9/6/2026
US boosts its on-orbit threat inspection capability with new successful demonstration

US boosts its on-orbit threat inspection capability with new successful demonstration

The demonstration was conducted as part of the VICTUS HAZE tactically responsive space mission.

9/2/2026
Helogen plans to manufacture medical materials in orbit with autonomous factories in space

Helogen plans to manufacture medical materials in orbit with autonomous factories in space

A space factory could soon make materials for artificial retinas and implants.

Kaif Shaikh

11 days ago

US Space Force turns to Leonardo DRS to track hypersonic projectiles from space

US Space Force turns to Leonardo DRS to track hypersonic projectiles from space

The US Space Force has tapped Leonardo DRS to advance a new space sensor designed to detect, identify, track, and target fast-moving threats.

Kaif Shaikh

12 days ago

8/31/2026
Earth-moon space laser communication verified at 248,000-mile distance

Earth-moon space laser communication verified at 248,000-mile distance

The optimized system hit 1.25 Mbps uplink and 100 Mbps downlink speeds.

Mrigakshi Dixit

14 days ago

NASA launches new telescope that can scan the universe 1,000 times faster than Hubble

NASA launches new telescope that can scan the universe 1,000 times faster than Hubble

Nancy Grace Roman telescope can scan vast areas of the sky rapidly, surveying the universe up to 1,000 times faster than Hubble.

Jijo Malayil

14 days ago

This startup’s space mirrors could extend solar power into the night. Astronomers have concerns

This startup’s space mirrors could extend solar power into the night. Astronomers have concerns

Reflect Orbital’s satellites “are fundamentally incompatible with astronomy,” astronomer Samantha Lawler told IE in an interview.

Chris Young

14 days ago

8/29/2026
Inside the 10-foot space telescope designed to hunt distant alien worlds

Inside the 10-foot space telescope designed to hunt distant alien worlds

The telescope’s instruments can fit inside a commercial rocket fairing.

8/27/2026
World’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor to map Earth’s shifting water and ice

World’s first space-based quantum gravity sensor to map Earth’s shifting water and ice

NASA’s quantum gravity sensor mission will test ultracold atoms in space to track water, ice, and underground resources.

Aamir Khollam

17 days ago

Four hours instead of 15,000 years: Interlune makes gas-rich moon dirt on Earth

Four hours instead of 15,000 years: Interlune makes gas-rich moon dirt on Earth

The company embedded helium-4 into ilmenite using an accelerated helium plasma process.

Mrigakshi Dixit

18 days ago

8/25/2026
Phased array antennas steer space signals without moving for military satellites

Phased array antennas steer space signals without moving for military satellites

Redwire is investing in phased array antennas to boost data links for future U.S. military satellite networks.

Aamir Khollam

19 days ago

Elon Musk’s SpaceX unveils world’s biggest $100B Louisiana spaceport with 10 launchpads

Elon Musk’s SpaceX unveils world’s biggest $100B Louisiana spaceport with 10 launchpads

“SpaceX makes sci-fi real.” Elon Musk’s reaction to the company’s colossal new Louisiana launch site.

Aamir Khollam

20 days ago

8/24/2026
New orbital power grid targets 10x boost for space-based computing and data centers

New orbital power grid targets 10x boost for space-based computing and data centers

Wireless power beaming could give orbital computers up to 10x more power without larger solar arrays.

Neetika Walter

21 days ago

8/23/2026
20 GW of computing capacity: NVIDIA-backed US startup to build data centers in space

20 GW of computing capacity: NVIDIA-backed US startup to build data centers in space

US company Starcloud is developing satellites equipped with high-performance GPUs, including NVIDIA hardware, to run AI workloads in space.

Bojan Stojkovski

22 days ago

8/22/2026
China’s reusable rocket advances could strengthen the PLA’s space-based kill chain

China’s reusable rocket advances could strengthen the PLA’s space-based kill chain

China’s answer to reusable rockets could make its military satellite network more resilient.

Kaif Shaikh

23 days ago

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About Space

Space is both an engineering problem and a scientific one. It involves building systems that can survive harsh environments and using them to collect data that can't be gathered any other way. This category covers how spacecraft are designed and operated, and how space is used as a platform for science, observation, and experimentation.
Coverage at Interesting Engineering spans space discoveries, launch vehicles, satellites, space stations, planetary missions, and space-based observatories. That includes communications and navigation satellites, Earth observation and climate monitoring, astrophysics missions, planetary science, heliophysics, and exploration beyond Earth orbit. The focus is on how these missions are planned, built, and run, not just on their scientific results.
Space systems face constraints that don't exist elsewhere: mass limits, radiation exposure, extreme temperatures, long delays, and the inability to repair hardware once it's deployed. This category looks at how those constraints shape engineering choices, mission design, testing, and risk management. It also examines why space projects often take years to launch and even longer to deliver meaningful data.
On the science side, the category looks at how instruments are designed, calibrated, and validated, and how raw data becomes usable science. Space-based research often depends on long-term observations, precise measurements, and careful interpretation, especially when studying distant objects or slow-moving processes.
We also cover the growing complexity of orbital activity. Increased launch rates, commercial operators, and small satellites have expanded access to space while creating challenges around congestion, debris, and coordination. Scientific, commercial, and military uses increasingly overlap, shaping how space is governed and managed.
Rather than treating space as aspiration or spectacle, this category focuses on function. It tracks missions that deliver lasting scientific value, systems that operate reliably over time, and the practical work required to keep space both useful and usable.