Deep Space Extra

Here is a list of news that were published in our Newsletter the week of June 23, 2025:

Human Space Exploration

• Northrop Grumman tests SLS Block 2 BOLE booster in Utah; nozzle issue seen
  Coalition Member in the News – Northrop Grumman;
• Axiom-4 astronauts on SpaceX Crew Dragon welcomed aboard International Space Station (video);
• Watch live: Axiom-4 astronauts aboard SpaceX Crew Dragon dock with International Space Station today
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
• Camera systems as scientific instruments in Artemis III EVAs;
• SpaceX launches Ax-4 commercial crew to space station led by Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
• Strategies for lunar development;
• SpaceX sets new date for private Axiom-4 astronaut launch to the International Space Station
  Coalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;
• SpaceX traces Starship test-stand explosion to failure of pressurized nitrogen tank;

Space Science

• NASA’s been pulling out of major astronomy meetings and scientists are feeling the effects;
• Chinese scientists push for cubesat swarm mission to fly by infamous asteroid Apophis;
• Space-grown muscle tissues reveal rapid aging-like decline in microgravity;
• The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered its 1st exoplanet and snapped its picture (image);
• Off-Earth footprint: Florida company will design shoe in space in 2026;
• Did our cosmos begin inside a black hole in another universe? New study questions Big Bang theory;
• Mercury – The tiny planet that’s been baffling scientists everywhere;
• The first pictures from Vera Rubin are here!
• Earth’s satellites at risk if asteroid smashes into Moon: Study;
• Japanese company blames laser tool for its 2nd crash landing on the Moon;
• ESA moves forward while NASA prepares to step back in S&T;
• The solar system’s greatest mystery may finally be solved;
• Vast filament of hidden matter seen for the first time;

Other News

• NASA’s acting leadership planning new agency structure;
• Following the loss of Ship 36, SpaceX now focuses on rebuilding Masseys;
• German space startup secures new funding;
• European startup’s space capsule ‘lost’ after reentry;
• ULA Launches Kuiper 2 Mission on Atlas 5 Rocket from Cape Canaveral;
• Ukraine and partner countries to raise funds for imagery satellites to lessen reliance on the U.S.;
• Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts announces campaign for Texas Senate seat;
• ESA signs agreement for potential use of Orbital ReefCoalition Member in the News – Axiom Space;

Major Events This Week:

• Two delayed human spaceflight missions await updates on launch plans as the week gets underway. NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX await a NASA assessment of recent repairs to air leaks in the ISS’s Russian segment Zvezda module’s PrK transfer tunnel before setting a new launch date for Axiom Space’s fourth private astronaut mission (Ax-4) to the seven-person orbital lab.
• Meanwhile, Blue Origin’s 33rd New Shepard suborbital private astronaut mission launch was delayed on Saturday and Sunday due to unfavorable weather conditions at the West Texas launch site. Blue Origin was assessing the next launch opportunity.
• On Monday at 11 a.m. EDT the National Science Foundation and U.S. Department of Energy are hosting a live webcast with the first images from the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. Space.com is offering access to the presentation.
• Meanwhile in Washington, the U.S. House and Senate continue to address federal budget issues that include civil, military and commercial space objectives.

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