Icarus Robotics, a New York‑based startup, completed four parabolic‑flight tests of its free‑flying robot Joy in Canada, accumulating 22 minutes of microgravity operation. The trials validated Joy’s flight controller, sensor suite and dexterous manipulators, and allowed the company to rehearse crew coordination, scheduling and safety protocols ahead of a planned 2027 demonstration aboard the International Space Station. Icarus partnered with former astronaut Chris Hadfield because U.S. providers of parabolic flights are currently unavailable, highlighting a gap in domestic microgravity [...]

At the World Space Business Week conference in Paris, SpaceNews host Mike Gruss interviewed Josef Aschbacher, director‑general of the European Space Agency. Aschbacher outlined Europe’s push for greater sovereignty in space and other domains, highlighting the agency’s current strengths, gaps, and strategic priorities. He discussed new European investments aimed at boosting independence, fostering innovation, and maintaining competitiveness in the global space sector. The conversation underscored ESA’s role in shaping policy and technology for the continent’s future space ambitions. [...]

The inaugural Neil Armstrong Space Prize was awarded to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 landing team at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., on September 15. The prize, created by Purdue University, honors the engineers who made reusable first‑stage landings a reality, a breakthrough that has lowered launch costs and expanded spaceflight capabilities. Five key team members—Blackmore, Diez, Edwards, Kuwata, and Velázquez—were recognized for their role in achieving the first vertical touchdown in 2015 and subsequent widespread reuse of the booster. [...]

A team led by Professor Jim Wild re‑examined a 19th‑century train delay that had been cited as the first solar‑storm disruption of technology. By cross‑checking railway timetables, newspapers, and geomagnetic records, they found the Exeter train incident actually occurred on 18 October 1848, not 1841, and that the earliest recorded electrical disturbance was a 1847 Midland Railway event. The study underscores how early electrical infrastructure was vulnerable to space weather and demonstrates the value of archival research in reconstructing [...]

A recent study by ETH Zurich researchers has mapped the precise conditions under which a white dwarf can collapse into a neutron star through accretion‑induced collapse (AIC). The process requires a white dwarf composed of oxygen, neon, and magnesium, which are denser and more massive than typical carbon‑oxygen white dwarfs. The star must accrete material from a companion at a rate that brings it close to the Chandrasekhar limit without exceeding it, preventing a Type Ia supernova. AIC [...]

Russia will launch the Progress 96 cargo spacecraft on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur at 9:33 a.m. EDT (1333 GMT) to deliver approximately 3 tons of food, propellant, and supplies to the International Space Station. The freighter is expected to dock two days later and remain attached for about five months before returning as debris over the Pacific. Progress 94 had recently departed the ISS to make room. The ISS crew includes NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos astronauts.

SpaceX is set to launch its 14th Starship test flight on September 22, aiming to place the vehicle’s upper stage into Earth orbit for the first time. The 75‑minute launch window opens at 7:15 a.m. CT. The mission will deploy 26 third‑generation Starlink V3 satellites, marking the first Starship flight that could generate revenue for the company’s launch division. Successful orbit insertion would validate Starship’s reusability and support SpaceX’s plan to retire Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy [...]