NASA is aiming to fly its massive next-generation rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), for the first time in February 2022, a critical test flight on the US space agency’s journey to send people back to the Moon.

SpaceX has taken a major step towards sending the Starship to orbit. On Thursday night, the private space corporation has conducted the SN20 Starship prototype's first static fire test as part of its preparation for the spacecraft's launch. According to Space, the SN20 is currently outfitted with two Raptor engines: A standard "sea-level" Raptor and a vacuum version designed to operate in space.

SpaceX's SN20 Starship prototype just took its first fiery breath. SpaceX conducted a brief engine test at its South Texas facilities last night (Oct. 18) with SN20, which the company is prepping to make the Starship program's first-ever orbital test flight.

A Russian film crew are back on Earth after wrapping up scenes for the first movie shot in space. Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild left the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan - to be met by a crew filming touchdown scenes. The ISS shooting was not without drama - suitable for a film called Challenge.

While the astronauts were said to not be in any danger, it was the second such incident since July.

Attention asteroid aficionados: NASA is set to launch a series of spacecraft to visit and even bash some of the solar system's most enticing space rocks. The robotic trailblazer named Lucy is up first, blasting off this weekend on a 12-year cruise to swarms of asteroids out near Jupiter—unexplored time capsules from the dawn of the solar system. And yes, there will be diamonds in the sky with Lucy, on one of its science instruments, as well as lyrics from other Beatles' songs.

China urged relevant foreign space agencies and organizations to pay attention to the data on the Chinese spacecraft that are kept updated on the website of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) to avoid possible space collisions and ensure the safety of Chinese taikonauts, a spokesperson of the CMSA said on Thursday during a press briefing prior to Shenzhou-13's launch.

The Star Trek actor William Shatner declared himself “overwhelmed” at becoming the oldest human in space, at the age of 90, during a brief but successful second crewed flight on Wednesday of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket ship from the west Texas desert.

Russia plans to slash funding for spaceflight activities during the coming three-year period, from 2022 to 2024. The cuts will come to about 16 percent annually, several Russian publications, including Finanz.ru, report. (These Russian-language articles were translated for Ars by Rob Mitchell.)

Announced on April 5, Aurora Station will hold up to four guests at a time 200 miles above the Earth's surface come 2022 (if everything goes as planned).

William Shatner is preparing for a trip to space aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, according to reports. TMZ first reported that the actor who played Captain Kirk on "Star Trek" is expected to blast off on an upcoming October civilian flight in the New Shepard capsule. It has not yet been announced who will join him.

As humanity ventures farther and farther away from Earth, space agencies will need to ensure that astronauts can operate autonomously, because any transmissions to and from mission control will face longer and longer delays.

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Time is not a friend for the International Space Station. American efforts to extend its closing until 2030 possibly beyond are dependent upon evaluations of its continued safety and integrity. Materials in space age under the stresses of the space environment and deteriorate over time.

Tuesday, NASA administrator Bill Nelson announced that the space agency was creating a pair of new mission directorates to see it through the next two decades. The announcement separates NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into the new Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) and Space Operations Mission Directorate. According to Nelson, the changes are being made to accommodate increasing operations in low Earth orbit and the development of programs such as Artemis underway for deep space exploration.

NASA has announced that it will launch Psyche in August 2022 to reach the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But there is something unique about this spacecraft—it will travel across space using a "solar electric propulsion" system.

We now know where NASA's first-ever robotic moon rover will touch down. The ice-hunting Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will land just west of Nobile Crater, which sits near the moon's south pole, NASA officials announced today (Sept. 20). In late 2023, VIPER will fly to the moon aboard Griffin, a lander built by Pittsburgh-based company Astrobotic that will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

One of SpaceX's oldest rockets launched on a historic 10th flight, carrying the first stack of Starlink satellites into space in more than two months before sticking a landing at sea to cap the successful mission.

Four amateur astronauts have blasted off from Florida on their private mission to orbit. The Inspiration4 crew, comprising one billionaire and three "ordinary citizens", rode out of the Kennedy Space Center in a Dragon capsule provided by the SpaceX rocket company.

Space races are supposed to be won in engineering labs or up in orbit. Thanks to Jeff Bezos, the next one might be won in a courtroom or regulator’s office.