Fifth moon spotted orbiting Pluto
Posted: Thu, Jul 12 5:40 AM ET (0940 GMT)
Astronomers announced Wednesday the discovery of a fifth, and very small, moon orbiting the dwarf planet Pluto. Scientists detected the moon, temporarily designated S/2012 (...

Virgin Galactic announces smallsat launcher
Posted: Wed, Jul 11 6:38 PM ET (2238 GMT)
Virgin Galactic, the company best known for developing the SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle for space tourism, announced Wednesday it is also developing an air-launched rocket...

Marshall director to leave NASA for industry
Posted: Wed, Jul 11 5:49 AM ET (0949 GMT)
The head of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) will leave the center to take a position with Aerojet, the agency announced this week....

Proton launches SES satellite
Posted: Tue, Jul 10 8:58 PM ET (0058 GMT)
A Proton rocket successfully placed a communications satellite for European operator SES into orbit on Tuesday. The Proton-M rocket lifted off from the Baikonur...

XCOR to establish R&D center, headquarters in Texas
Posted: Tue, Jul 10 7:02 AM ET (1102 GMT)
XCOR Aerospace, a suborbital vehicle developer based in Mojave, California, since its formation over a decade ago, announced plans Monday to move its headquarters and...

New studies refute earlier arsenic life claims
Posted: Tue, Jul 10 6:49 AM ET (1049 GMT)
Two studies released late Sunday refute earlier claims by NASA-funded researchers of the discovery of a bacterium that could thrive on arsenic instead of...

Ariane launches communications, weather satellites
Posted: Fri, Jul 6 9:36 AM ET (1336 GMT)
An Ariane 5 rocket launched a commercial communications satellite and a European weather satellite on Thursday evening. The Ariane 5 ECA lifted off from Kourou,...

Protoplanetary disk abruptly disappears
Posted: Thu, Jul 5 12:30 PM ET (1630 GMT)
A dust disk spotted around a young star just a few years ago has disappeared in the course of just a few years, puzzling astronomers....

First Orion capsule delivered to KSC
Posted: Tue, Jul 3 8:31 AM ET (1231 GMT)
The first flight version of NASA's Orion capsule arrived at the Kennedy Space Center Monday, where it will be prepared for a test launch...

Former NASA astronaut dies in accident
Posted: Tue, Jul 3 8:17 AM ET (1217 GMT)
A former NASA astronaut who flew on two Space Shuttle missions died Sunday in a jet ski accident. Alan "Dex" Poindexter died the jet ski...