Space, NASA and Science News

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Discovered: An 'Infinite' Supply of Energy

NASA is looking to fuel longer space missions, and Infinity Fuel Cell & Hydrogen, Inc. is helping make that possible.   Infinity’s patented technology generates power where batteries can’t—like in the vacuum of space or the crushing depths of the ocean. Through tests with NASA, they’ve proven their tech can survive a freezing 14+ day lunar night. They’ve also launched aboard a Blue Origin rocket and are now being tested for unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) missions. Backed by $50M+ in past and current contracts with NASA, the US Navy, and the Air Force, Infinity is steadily advancing to commercialization.   Now, a partnership with Plug Power is opening the door for Infinity to adapt its tech for terrestrial markets, expanding potential use cases to areas like microgrids and off-grid clean energy. Investors have only three days left to join Infinity as they expand to new energy markets. Become an Infinity shareholder by June 26.*

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With SLS rocket future uncertain, L3Harris still cranking out engines

While NASA’s Artemis program may ultimately abandon the Space Launch System rocket, for now, Melbourne-based L3Harris is pushing forward with the manufacture of the powerful rocket’s core stage engines.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/24/with-sls-rocket-future-uncertain-l3harris-still-cranking-out-engines/?

SpaceX launches historic mission to space station on new Crew Dragon dubbed ‘Grace’

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX’s fifth and final Crew Dragon spacecraft finally made it off the ground on a private astronaut mission for Axiom Space.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/25/nasa-clears-way-for-spacex-axiom-space-to-try-overnight-launch-to-space-station/

Astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary blast off on a privately funded trip to the space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — India, Poland and Hungary launched their first astronauts in more than 40 years Wednesday, sending them on a private flight to the International Space Station.

https://apnews.com/article/spacex-axiom-india-hungary-poland-astronauts-d4a18fffaed4cfacf0c26157c98ef198?

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SpaceX Crew Dragon with 4 Axiom Space astronauts docks with space station

The International Space Station got more international Thursday with the arrival of astronauts from three countries making their first visit to the orbiting laboratory aboard the private Axiom Space Ax-4 mission flying on a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/26/spacex-crew-dragon-with-4-axiom-space-astronauts-docks-with-space-station/?

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Northrop Grumman tests future Artemis booster, but suffers destructive ‘anomaly’

Northrop Grumman saw some fiery drama during a test of a more powerful version of the solid rocket booster that would be used if NASA’s Artemis program ever gets to its ninth launch using the beleaguered Space Launch System rocket.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/28/northrop-grumman-tests-future-artemis-booster-but-suffers-destructive-anomaly/?

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Overnight Canaveral launch marked 500th for SpaceX Falcon 9

An early Wednesday morning launch on the Space Coast marked the 500th time SpaceX has flown its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, reusing the fleet-leading first stage booster for a record 29th time.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/02/overnight-canaveral-launch-marked-500th-for-spacex-falcon-9/?

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Cosmic Adventures

Explaining space tourism The billion-dollar space tourism industry offers jaunts—whether for minutes or days—into zero-gravity conditions generally for recreation rather than scientific research (read history). Space tourists can buy a seat—often in the tens of millions of dollars per trip—from a small number of space travel agencies (Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Axiom Space, to name the major players) and experience unparalleled views of the Earth.   Industry leaders offer two tour categories: fast orbital launches high enough above Earth’s atmosphere to maintain stable orbit, and suborbital. Suborbital trips offer tourists a few minutes of weightlessness from just above or below the Karman Line—the generally acknowledged boundary into space at around 62 miles above sea level.   As the International Space Station is expected to be retired by 2030, NASA’s Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program is currently supporting efforts by Axiom Space, Blue Origin, and Starlab Space to launch orbital space stations that can house both astronauts and tourists.   ... Read our full explainer on Space Tourism here.   Also, check out...  > The overview effect: How space travel changes you. (More) > Remembering Pan Am's "First Moon Flights Club." (More) > The startup selling tours of space via balloon. (More)

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Moving NASA HQ from DC to Space Coast still on lawmakers’ minds

As a newly elected President Trump announced laid out his plans to reduce workforce and waste last year, Florida politicians began floating the idea to relocate NASA’s headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Florida. That idea isn’t dead.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/13/moving-nasa-hq-from-dc-to-space-coast-still-on-lawmakers-minds/?

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SpaceX brings crew home safely on private Ax-4 mission

The four private astronauts who spent more than two weeks aboard the International Space Station on the Axiom Space Ax-4 mission returned to Earth with a splashdown early Tuesday, having completed a nearly day-long flight home on the newest SpaceX Crew Dragon.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/14/ax-4-mission-to-depart-space-station-aboard-spacex-crew-dragons-1st-flight-home/?

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Largest piece of Mars on Earth fetches meteoric $5.3 million at New York auction

The largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth was sold for just over $5 million at an auction of rare geological and archaeological objects in New York on Wednesday, while a juvenile dinosaur skeleton went for more than $30 million. Read More.     Cosmic collision Using ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein, researchers detected a cosmic merger of unprecedented proportions. A collision between two black holes — each more massive than 100 suns — is the largest of its kind ever recorded, astronomers said.

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Blocks all stacked for NASA’s future Artemis tower at KSC

There’s still more than a year’s worth of work to do on NASA’s future Artemis launch tower at Kennedy Space Center, but all of the big pieces have been put in place.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/22/blocks-all-stacked-for-nasas-future-artemis-tower-at-ksc/?

SpaceX sends up satellites on 2nd launch attempt from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX got to within 15 seconds of a launch from Cape Canaveral on Monday, but a “hold, hold, hold” call from among the mission control team members forced an abort. They were back for another try Tuesday and pulled it off.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/21/evening-spacex-launch-on-tap-from-cape-canaveral-if-weather-holds/?

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With delay until 2026, Boeing Starliner next flight may not carry humans, NASA says

As SpaceX prepares to send up its 19th Dragon spacecraft with humans on board, the Boeing Starliner — which has only completed half of a crewed mission to date — remains in fix-it mode.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/23/with-delay-until-2026-boeing-starliner-next-flight-may-not-carry-humans-nasa-says/?

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Amazon’s $140 million Space Coast investment begins to pay off

The satellite train is starting to pick up steam for Amazon as its $140 million processing facility at Kennedy Space Center gears up to support multiple missions at a time.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/24/amazons-140-million-space-coast-investment-begins-to-pay-off/?

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Astronauts for Crew-11 fly into KSC ahead of upcoming launch

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The business of hurtling humans into space is getting routine on the Space Coast with the fourth flight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon queued up for this week. The crew going for that ride arrived in Florida on Saturday.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/26/astronauts-for-crew-11-fly-into-ksc-ahead-of-this-weeks-launch/?

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Weather scrubs Crew-11 launch, NASA and SpaceX to try again Friday

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — The next four humans in the parade of SpaceX launches from the Space Coast will have to wait at least another day for their trip to the International Space Station after weather caused a late scrub Thursday.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/31/spacex-crew-11-launch-on-tap-just-after-noon-with-chance-for-sonic-boom/?

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SpaceX punches through Crew-11 launch while NASA mulls space station commitment

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER – What seems routine is anything but, with the latest crew launching to the International Space Station amid NASA’s attempts to navigate shifting priorities under the Trump administration.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/01/watch-live-nasa-spacex-try-again-to-launch-crew-11-sonic-boom-possible/?

Astronauts launch to the space station after sidelined by Boeing’s troubled Starliner

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing’s Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX.

https://apnews.com/article/spacex-nasa-astronauts-d90068c27fff2ed2438d1776e0632443?

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> US track and field star Sha'Carri Richardson arrested for allegedly assaulting boyfriend and fellow Olympian Christian Coleman (More) | USA Track and Field Championships wrap up; see full results (More)

> Flaco Jiménez, six-time Grammy-winning Tejano music legend, dies at age 86 (More) | Jeannie Seely, Grammy-winning country musician, dies at age 85 (More)

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New NASA head wants moon nuclear reactor, with likely launch from Florida

The new head of NASA wants to get nuclear power on the moon before China does, which could mean another Florida launch with radioactive material.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/05/new-nasa-head-wants-moon-nuclear-reactor-with-likely-launch-from-florida/?

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Veteran of 4 spacecraft, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore retires

Barry “Butch” Wilmore has flown on the space shuttle, a Russian Soyuz, Boeing’s Starliner and a SpaceX Crew Dragon.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/06/veteran-of-4-spacecraft-nasa-astronaut-butch-wilmore-retires/?

SpaceX scrubs Thursday attempt, will aim for Friday to send up more Amazon satellites

SpaceX was not one of Amazon’s original choices to fly up its Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites, but Elon Musk’s company is about to knock out its second launch in less than a month for the company that seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/07/spacex-aims-to-send-up-more-of-competitor-amazons-internet-satellites/?

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SpaceX Crew-10 departs space station, headed back to Earth

The four members of the SpaceX Crew-10 mission climbed aboard the Crew Dragon Endurance and departed the International Space Station on Friday evening for an overnight trip back to Earth.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/08/nasa-spacex-set-to-bring-crew-10-back-to-earth/?

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Astronomers may have found a gas giant exoplanet orbiting a nearby star inside the "Goldilocks zone" where liquid water could exist, the N.Y. Times reports. Gift link.

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SpaceX scrubs again, will try again Monday to launch competitor Amazon’s satellites

SpaceX was not one of Amazon’s original choices to fly up its Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites, but Elon Musk’s company is about to knock out its second launch in less than a month for the company that seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/09/spacex-aims-to-send-up-more-of-competitor-amazons-internet-satellites/?

Years late, but ULA’s Vulcan set for 1st national security launch

United Launch Alliance was supposed to fly its first national security mission on its new Vulcan rocket three years ago. It may finally begin its big game of catchup this week.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/10/years-late-but-ulas-vulcan-set-for-1st-national-security-launch/?

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On 5th try, SpaceX manages launch of competitor Amazon’s satellites

SpaceX was not one of Amazon’s original choices to fly up its Project Kuiper broadband internet satellites, but Elon Musk’s company just knocked out its second launch in less than a month for the company that seeks to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/09/spacex-aims-to-send-up-more-of-competitor-amazons-internet-satellites/?

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ULA Vulcan cuts through night skies on landmark national security mission

CAPE CANAVERAL — United Launch Alliance punched out its first Vulcan Centaur launch of the year Tuesday night, and its first ever for the Space Force.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/12/ula-vulcan-could-fly-sunset-launch-on-landmark-national-security-mission/

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NASA’s Webb telescope finds a new tiny moon around Uranus

NEW YORK (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope has spotted a new tiny moon orbiting Uranus.

https://apnews.com/article/new-moon-uranus-jwst-5b348bb1443477ebad62bed7245abbf3?

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Secretive mini space shuttle set for Space Coast launch; late-night sonic boom possible

It won’t have any crew, but the U.S. Space Force is set to send the Boeing-built X-37B spacecraft — which looks like a miniature space shuttle — back for a long-duration mission to orbit during a late-night launch Thursday.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/08/21/secretive-mini-space-shuttle-set-for-space-coast-launch-late-night-sonic-boom-possible/?