A number of emerging European commercial rocket companies are vying to reach orbit first, with debut launches expected in the second half of 2023. Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), headquartered in Bavaria, Germany, is targeting the end of 2023 for the first launch of its RFA One rocket, RFA spokesperson Jonas Kellner told Space.com at the International Astronautical Congress in Paris in September.

China is looking to build partnerships for its upcoming missions to the moon and deep ventures into the solar system, while omitting mention of main partner Russia. Chinese space officials presented a range of opportunities for international cooperation in the country’s plans during a session at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris, Sept. 21.

Nicole Mann is a member of the Wayluckie Tribes of the Round Valley Indians in Northern California. She will be the first Native American woman to be sent into space. The SpaceX Crew-5 mission is scheduled for Oct. 4. However, because of Hurricane Ian, the mission may be postponed, as several space rocket launches have already been postponed. The SpaceX Crew-5 mission serves an order from NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A NASA spacecraft has smashed into an asteroid as part of a mission to protect Earth. The asteroid called by the name “Dimorphos” was smashed by an unnamed rocket launched by NASA. The asteroid, Dimorphos was smashed just as an example of how the Planet Earth can be saved when real big asteroids come towards the earth. Dimorphos was 560ft wide. Dimorphos was no real threat to the earth but was a part of an experiment.

The updated “Moon to Mars” blueprint involves 63 high-level objectives that could finally bring the Red Planet within reach.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A NASA spacecraft rammed an asteroid at blistering speed Monday in an unprecedented dress rehearsal for the day a killer rock menaces Earth. The galactic grand slam occurred at a harmless asteroid 7 million miles (9.6 million kilometers) away, with the spacecraft named Dart plowing into the small space rock at 14,000 mph (22,500 kph).

Virgin Orbit will launch satellites from the country for the first time, bringing orbital flight capability to Europe.

The U.S. space agency will launch a spacecraft next month on a mission to slam into an asteroid in October, and scientists are hopeful the impact will create a small crater that could help them learn how to better defend against future threats.

"At this point, I can say that the team is ready. The ground systems are ready, and the spacecraft is healthy and on track for an impact on Monday."

Welcome to Edition 5.11 of the Rocket Report! Apologies for the lack of a report last week, but I was on assignment with the crew of the forthcoming Polaris Dawn mission. The upside is that this week's edition is extra-long—running to 2,500 words.

Once in Earth’s orbit, you’re about 95 percent of the way to anywhere else in the solar system. But as with anything, that last 5 percent is an enormous challenge. To fill the gap, in today’s “New Space” era, engineers are dusting off a decidedly old-space idea: Nuclear Rockets. Indeed, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion offers a compelling means of making travel to Mars and other far-flung destinations faster, cheaper, and safer.

When NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) slams into the tiny asteroid Dimorphos, it will be our first attempt to demonstrate our ability to deflect dangerous incoming asteroids.

The Mars lander’s seismometer picked up vibrations and sounds from four impacts in the past two years, a development detailed in a study co-authored by Brown planetary scientist Ingrid Daubar.

NASA's Perseverance rover is investigating signs of ancient life on Mars, and has now collected some of the most promising samples from the Red Planet yet.

This was the second spacewalk for the Shenzhou 14 crew to work on Tiangong's new Wentian laboratory module.

Scientists have debated its existence. Tiny traces provided clues. Now, researchers have confirmed the existence of a celestial diamond after finding it on Earth’s surface. The stone, called lonsdaleite, has a hardness and strength that exceeds that of a regular diamond. The rare mineral arrived here by way of a meteorite, new research has suggested.

The NASA associate administrator responsible for the agency’s science programs will resign by the end of the year after more than six years on the job. NASA announced Sept. 13 that Thomas Zurbuchen would step down as associate administrator for science at the end of the year. He had served in that role since October 2016.

Uranus always seems to be the butt of the joke, but this icy planet is actually one that scientists hope to dive deeper into in the future. In fact, many are already pushing for more missions to probe Uranus and learn more about the planet. That’s why some folks, like the people behind Twitter account @ExploreIGO, are trying to push for missions by coming up with a Uranus probe name.

The company's New Shepard rocket was short of its planned suborbital trajectory when the capsule was ejected.

After two failed attempts to launch its mega Moon rocket, NASA is planning for a third go at its inaugural Artemis mission. The space agency is now hoping to test the rocket on September 21 and finally launch it to space six days later, with a backup opportunity in early October. That is, if Space Force agrees.