Space News Weekly

While headlines often focus on launch dates and flashy renders, the most fascinating stories in spaceflight often unfold invisibly — in the shape of orbits, in the structure of plumes, and in the gentle curves of trajectories planned months in advance. The last two weeks offered a quiet but compelling glimpse into the real engine of space exploration: physics. Let’s explore some of the lesser-highlighted but deeply interesting developments in orbital mechanics and propulsion. Ballistic Transfers: NASA’s CAPSTONE Pathfinder Paves the Way While all eyes are on iSpace’s Resilience lander approaching the Moon, another pathfinding mission — NASA’s CAPSTONE — continues to offer insights that go far beyond its original scope. Although launched back in 2022, its ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) trajectory is now proving highly influential in current and upcoming missions planning similar transfers. BLT is a variation of low-energy transfer that takes a spacecraft well beyond lunar or...

Kosmos 482: A Soviet Relic Returns This week, the long-dormant Soviet Venus probe, Kosmos 482, reentered Earth’s atmosphere after 53 years in orbit. Originally launched in 1972, the spacecraft failed to escape Earth’s gravity due to an engine malfunction. The titanium-encased Venus lander capsule, designed to withstand Venus’s harsh conditions, survived reentry and landed on Earth between May 9 and 10. Its exact landing location remains unconfirmed, but no damage or injuries have been reported. Observers noted a spectacular fireball as the capsule descended, a rare sight for such a durable piece of space hardware.  ESA Responds to Proposed NASA Budget Cuts The European Space Agency (ESA) is evaluating the implications of proposed U.S. budget cuts to NASA programs, including the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion crew vehicle, and the Gateway lunar-orbit platform. These cuts, outlined in a recent White House budget plan, describe SLS and Orion as overly expensive and propose halt...

  Hakuto‑R (iSpace Resilience) Low‑Energy Transfer to the Moon: Resilience lifted on a Falcon 9 on January 15 alongside Firefly's Blue Ghost. Instead of a direct Hohmann transfer, iSpace chose a low-energy (weak stability boundary) trajectory. This trajectory trades propellant mass for time by exploiting three-body dynamics (Earth-Moon-Sun) to gradually “fall” into lunar capture with minimal Δv. The downside is, that this process can take months instead of days. ______________ But firstly, what is the Hohmann transfer in the first place? It uses two burns and is the most commonly used maneuver when you want to move a spacecraft between two circular orbits using the least amount of fuel. If you are in Earth's orbit, for example, and you want to move to a bigger orbit, like the Moon. Instead of aiming directly for the Moon, you give yourself a little push (a prograde burn) that stretches your orbit into an ellipse that just touches the Moon's orbit. When you are at the farthe...

  China’s Shenzhou 20 Mission Launches to Tiangong Space Station On April 24, 2025, China successfully launched the Shenzhou 20 mission, sending three astronauts—Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui, and Wang Jie—to the Tiangong space station. The crew lifted off aboard a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 09:17 UTC and docked with the Tianhe core module later that day. This marks China's 15th crewed spaceflight and the 20th mission in the Shenzhou program. The astronauts are set for a six-month stay, conducting experiments in space medicine and technology, performing extravehicular activities, and continuing upgrades to the space station. ​ Soyuz MS-27 Delivers International Crew to the ISS Earlier this month, on April 8, 2025, Russia's Soyuz MS-27 mission launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, transporting cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, along with NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft do...

Launch Vehicle Milestones SpaceX Falcon 9 Reusability Record • On April 13, Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral on the Starlink 6‑73 mission, marking the first time an orbital‑class booster had flown 27 missions to date  . • The booster touched down on the droneship Just Read the Instructions less than 10 minutes after launch, affirming SpaceX’s continued leadership in cost‑effective access to space  . ULA’s Vulcan Centaur Certification • The U.S. Space Force formally certified ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket for National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions, replacing the retired Delta IV Heavy in this critical role  . • This certification paves the way for upcoming missions under the Department of Defense and intelligence community contracts, aiming to diversify U.S. launch options  . Blue Origin New Glenn Progress • Following its successful inaugural flight in January, Blue Origin has progressed a...