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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Space. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

The Martian meteorite NWA 16788 is displayed during a Sotheby’s auction preview in New York City on July 8. Photo: Reuters

US$5.3 million Mars meteorite caught up in row over who owns it

Sotheby’s insists the rock was exported legally but Niger, where the meteorite was found, is investigating the sale.

4 hours ago

Rocketing to riches: China’s cash-hungry aerospace firms aim for IPOs

10 Aug 2025 - 2:00PM

Apollo 13 commander James Lovell dies at 97

9 Aug 2025 - 4:46AM

China shipbuilding

Why China’s first rocket recovery ship is a milestone for its space programme

The launch of the drone ship marks a step forward for China’s push to develop reusable rockets, a technology currently monopolised by the US.

8 Aug 2025 - 5:12PM

A SpaceX drone ship carrying a Falcon 9 booster berths at Port Canaveral. China has now launched a similar system as it strives to pivot to using reusable rockets. Photo: SpaceX

China completes key Lanyue lander test for crewed moon mission by 2030

Test marks ‘a major milestone’ in lunar landing effort, space agency says.

8 Aug 2025 - 4:29PM

Scorch marks at Deep Blue’s test site in China point to reusable rocket failure

The company has not commented on satellite imagery showing launch pad burn marks or the outcome of VTVL tests in Inner Mongolia.

7 Aug 2025 - 6:00PMvideocam

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China rocket shortage means it may have to pick a favoured Starlink challenger

Roll-out of Guo Wang constellation appears to have been fast-tracked, but other systems, including Shanghai’s Qianfan, may be missing out.

6 Aug 2025 - 12:08PMvideocam

Space observers say a lack of reusable rockets makes it difficult for China to meet its satellite ambitions. Photo: Handout

China's space programme

US speeds up moon reactor plans amid space competition with China

Nasa’s new acting head accelerates construction of a nuclear fission reactor for lunar power by 2030.

5 Aug 2025 - 1:07PM

Astronauts launch for space station after being sidelined by Starliner woes

Catching a ride in a SpaceX capsule, a US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre.

2 Aug 2025 - 7:32AMvideocam

Letters | How Hong Kong can tap into mainland China’s space solar power project

Readers discuss how the city can contribute to and benefit from the OMEGA project, climate-driven market failure, and sea-land adventure packages.

1 Aug 2025 - 11:30AM

The Tianzhou-9 cargo craft and a Long March-7 carrier rocket are vertically transferred to the launch site in Wenchang, Hainan on July 12. Experts believe that space-based solar power is now technically feasible, given advancements in reusable heavy-lift rockets. Photo: EPA/Xinhua

China’s Shenzhou-19 astronauts reveal record spacewalk featured surprise repair

Commander Cai Xuzhe recounts an unrehearsed effort to fix problem with space station hardware.

31 Jul 2025 - 4:05PMvideocam

Spacewalks are considered some of the most dangerous activities in space exploration, and extravehicular tasks are typically planned and rehearsed. Photo: Xinhua

US Earth imaging satellite fleet is creating ‘low-cost orbital landmines’: China

Chinese Academy of Sciences software scientists say Planet Labs’ Dove constellation risks uncontrolled re-entry and potential collisions.

30 Jul 2025 - 8:00PMvideocam

China-Japan relations

China says Japan’s space defence guidelines ‘threaten security and stability’

Tokyo’s new strategy cites Chinese and Russian development of military capabilities in space as a reason for boosting defence.

30 Jul 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

US-Russia relations

Acting Nasa chief to hold talks with Russian counterpart on space issues

US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy will meet Roscosmos’ Dmitry Bakanov for the first in-person meeting at the agencies’ top level since 2018.

30 Jul 2025 - 5:54AM

US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy, who is the acting head of Nasa, speaks to the media in Nashville, Tennessee on Monday. Photo: AP

Nasa to slash workforce by one-fifth amid Trump-era efficiency drive

The US space agency said nearly 4,000 of its staff were expected to leave as part of the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts.

26 Jul 2025 - 1:51PM

US President Donald Trump at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in 2020. The voluntary resignation programme is part of a broad push from the Trump administration to reduce the US federal workforce. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Houston to Taipei in 2½ hours? Possible, if US-Taiwan spaceport plans take off

Potential cooperation on suborbital flights may first involve ‘unmanned cargo missions’, de facto embassy American Institute in Taiwan says.

22 Jul 2025 - 8:36PMvideocam

Pope visits observatory, calls Buzz Aldrin to mark 1969 US moon landing

The American pontiff spoke with the famed Apollo 11 astronaut, reflecting on human ingenuity and the ‘mystery and greatness of Creation’.

21 Jul 2025 - 3:18PM

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Aviation accidents

Felix Baumgartner, famed for skydive from edge of space, dies in crash in Italy

Austrian extreme sportsman lost control of his paraglider and crashed into a swimming pool.

18 Jul 2025 - 2:41PM

Austrian extreme sports pioneer Felix Baumgartner. File photo: Joerg Mitter/Red Bull Content Pool via Reuters

How does space affect the mind? China sends ‘mini-brain’ to Tiangong to find out

Experiment appears to be the first in space involving a highly integrated chip containing human brain cells and blood vessels.

17 Jul 2025 - 10:22PMvideocam

Astronomers observe birth of a solar system for the first time

Unprecedented observation of planets beginning to form 1,300 light-years away offers vital clues about how Earth and other planets originated.

17 Jul 2025 - 1:25PM

China’s Tianlong-3 rocket passes critical test a year after explosive mishap

Space Pioneer unveils plan to allow ordinary people to ‘take a rocket like they take a plane, making global one-hour travel possible’.

15 Jul 2025 - 12:00PMvideocam

Beijing-based startup Space Pioneer says it has completed a major structural stress test following more than 100 technical upgrades to its redesigned vehicle after Tianlong-3 rocket crashed in June last year. Photo: Handout

Aerospace: Companies

Opinion | A few small steps for Hong Kong, a giant leap for China’s space sector

The city is well suited to advance China’s commercial ambitions in the cosmos and play a leading role in reforming outdated legal frameworks.

13 Jul 2025 - 9:30AMvideocam

The Zhuque-2 Y-3 carrier rocket blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on December 9, 2023. Photo: Handout

What are China’s plans for deep space exploration … and beyond?

The United States has long held the lead in the space race, but the Chinese programme is catching up fast.

12 Jul 2025 - 10:00PMvideocam

Chang’e-6 study shows asteroid strike may have altered moon’s far-side mantle

Meanwhile, researchers across Nasa and American government departments may be locked out from Chinese findings due to US budget cuts.

10 Jul 2025 - 12:08AMvideocam

Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans share sale that would lift value to US$400 billion

That would mark the largest-ever valuation for a privately held US company, surpassing SpaceX’s previous record of US$350 billion.

9 Jul 2025 - 4:13PM

SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, is among the industry’s pre-eminent rocket launch providers. Photo: Shutterstock

China's space programme

Explainer | China is making rapid space tech gains. Here’s how the military could use them

From satellite navigation to spy probes, anti-sat weapons and reusable space planes, Chinese technology is advancing at a fast pace.

8 Jul 2025 - 2:00AMvideocam

Satellites destined for the Qianfan, or Thousand Sails, constellation blast off on a Long March 6 rocket from a launch site in central China in January. Photo: Xinhua

Giant object from deep space spotted blazing through our solar system

Interstellar object headed towards Mars, but poses no threat to Earth, says head of planetary defence at the ESA.

3 Jul 2025 - 2:42PM

China's space programme

China could be about to attempt a landmark satellite refuelling test

Tracking images show Shijian-21 and Shijian-25 within extremely close range, suggesting docking then refuelling and servicing could be next.

2 Jul 2025 - 8:00PMvideocam

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