THE LAUNCH PAD NEWS

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NASA Ends Lunar Trailblazer Mission; Spacecraft To Drift Into Deep Space After Loss of Contact

The mission officially ended on July 31, 2025, following five months of recovery efforts that began when communications were lost the day after launch.

3d
In Space
NASA
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ATMOS PHOENIX 1 Reaches Orbit; Conducts Critical Inflatable ReEntry Test

ATMOS Space Cargo has successfully completed the first orbital test flight of its PHOENIX 1 capsule, a next-generation re-entry system featuring the company’s proprietary Inflatable Heat Shield (IHS).

3mo
In Space
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Farewell Gaia: ESA Powers Down Legendary Star-Mapping Spacecraft After Over a Decade of Service

In a carefully choreographed final sequence, ESA has officially ended operations of its Gaia spacecraft; “We will never forget Gaia, and Gaia will never forget us,” - Uwe Lammers, Gaia Mission Manager.

4mo
In Space
ESA
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NASA Confirms GPS Signals Acquired on Lunar Surface For First Time

On March 3, NASA made history when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to successfully acquire and track Earth-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals on the Moon’s surface.

5mo
In Space
NASA
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SpaceX Confirms Falcon 9 Second Stage Reentry Over Europe Following Anomaly

A SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage from a recent Starlink mission has reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over Europe.

5mo
In Space
SpaceX
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US Space Force Releases Image from Highly Classified X-37B Spaceplane

Newly Released Image Captured by Onboard Camera Shows Earth from High-Energy Orbit as the X-37B Conducts Groundbreaking Aerobraking Maneuvers

5mo
In Space
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Firefly Aerospace’s Targets March 2nd For Blue Ghost Moon Landing

Firefly Aerospace is preparing for a historic lunar landing, with its Blue Ghost lander targeting touchdown no earlier than 3:45 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 2.

5mo
In Space
SpaceX
NASA
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ESA’s Solar Orbiter To Perform Closest Ever Flyby of Venus Today!

The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to navigate the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus to date; this historic gravity-assist maneuver will bring the spacecraft within just 379 kilometers (235 miles) of the planet’s surface—closer than the altitude of the International Space Station above Earth.

5mo
In Space
ESA
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“City Killer” Asteroid Discovered With Possible Earth Impact In 2032; Latest Tracking Increases Impact Risk

Asteroid 2024 YR4, a potential "city killer" asteroid has been discovered and early risk assessments have revealed a 1.9% chance that it could collide with Earth on December 22, 2032; raising concerns among scientists and planetary defense experts worldwide.

6mo
In Space
NASA
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ISRO Navigation Satellite Stranded in Transfer Orbit Following Propulsion System Failure

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has confirmed that its recently launched NVS-02 navigation satellite has encountered a major propulsion system failure, leaving it stranded in an elliptical transfer orbit and at risk of reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

6mo
In Space
ISRO