Image from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover captured in April 2024. | NASA Budget constraints have NASA looking for a faster and cheaper method to bring samples from Mars’ surface back to Earth. In a teleconference on Monday, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that an independent review concluded that the agency’s current plan to bring the first samples collected by the Mars rover Perseverance could cost up to $11 billion and would likely not be achievable until 2040. The fiscal 2025 budget for the space agency, as well as additional anticipated budget cuts, are behind how slowly the current pl ..read more

Image SpaceX’s Starshield unit has had a classified contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) since 2021 to build a network of “hundreds” of spy satellites for the agency, Reuters reports today, citing unnamed sources “familiar with the program.” A Wall Street Journal report in February listed a classified $1.8 billion SpaceX contract with a then-unnamed government agency. Now Reuters has attached a name, and that it’s to build a network of “hundreds of satellites bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbits.” The report didn’t say when the netwo ..read more

The third Starship test flight has fared far better than SpaceX’s previous two attempts. | Image: SpaceX SpaceX’s massive Starship took off from the company’s Starbase launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, at 9:25AM ET on Thursday morning. This test flight was far more successful than its two predecessors, as the vehicle became “the first Starship to complete its full-duration ascent burn” after the six Raptor engines powered it to its expected orbit. It completed the hot-staging separation from its Super Heavy booster and opened a payload door to demonstrate how it could be used for missions ..read more

Image: SpaceX The first two Starship flight tests ended in an explosive fashion. On its third attempt, the spacecraft lasted much longer. After a few delays, SpaceX’s Starship launched at 9:25AM ET for its third flight test. This time, it completed a hot-stage separation with the booster rocket and successfully reached orbital velocity, according to Elon Musk. This Starship prototype skipped a planned attempt to relight its Raptor engines in space and was scheduled to splash down in the Indian Ocean about an hour after takeoff. However, SpaceX commentators confirmed the vehicle was “lost” afte ..read more

SpaceX Starship on a Super Heavy rocket booster | Image: SpaceX Now that the Federal Aviation Administration has granted SpaceX a license (pdf), the third test flight of its Starship Super Heavy vehicle could take place as soon as Thursday morning. SpaceX’s 110-minute launch window opened at 7AM CT / 8AM ET / 5AM PT on March 14th. The launch attempt took place after it was rescheduled for 9:25AM ET, and the Starship successfully reached orbit velocity. The Starship team is go for prop load but keeping an eye on winds, now targeting 8:25 a.m. CT for liftoff → https://t.co/G1H8uoTxWD — SpaceX ..read more

SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, in 2021. | Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images A SpaceX employee says that she spent seven years working at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California enduring sexual abuse, unequal pay, discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation, in a new lawsuit against the company. But her story paints a much graver picture than those individual words can convey, describing widespread harassment and coordinated action to not only enable but also later give cover for sexual coercion, by a man she says was her direct supervisor. The ..read more

MethaneSAT is scheduled to launch on March 4th. | Image: MethaneSAT via EDF A mission to map and track global methane pollution, a powerful greenhouse gas, is scheduled to launch today after years of collaboration between some of the biggest names in tech. It’s called MethaneSAT, a satellite that’s garnered funding and support from Jeff Bezos, Google, and SpaceX, among others. MethaneSAT is expected to launch today from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:05PM PT. Liftoff will be livestreamed on the SpaceX website and on the company’s X profile. The n ..read more

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon claims the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is “unconstitutional” in a new legal document filed on Thursday, according to a report from The New York Times. The e-commerce giant joins the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX in making similar accusations after facing numerous labor complaints from employees. Amazon made the filing in connection with a 2023 NLRB case, which accuses Amazon of breaking labor rules by threatening and discriminating against unionizing workers at a Staten Island, NY warehouse, the NYT reports. In the filing, lawyers for Amazon ar ..read more

Following its successful deployment, the Nova-C spacecraft now faces a two-week journey to reach the Moon’s south pole. | Photo by GREGG NEWTON/AFP via Getty Images A robotic lunar lander built by private aerospace company Intuitive Machines was successfully launched by SpaceX on Thursday, with hopes of being the first American spacecraft to successfully touch down on the Moon’s surface since the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. The Nova-C lander named “Odysseus” was carried into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launched from Cape Canaveral at 1:05AM ET on February 15th. The launch was original ..read more

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