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SpaceX Suddenly Seems Pretty Terrified to Launch Starship After Long String of Super Expensive Explosions

For years, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been stridently glib when his rockets explode during tests, quipping that the blasts were "just a scratch," a "minor setback," or a "rapid unscheduled disassembly." He's still deploying these jokey ripostes, but there's reason to believe the walls may be starting to close in for SpaceX's efforts on Starship, as more and more of the ultra-expensive spacecraft fail in spectacular public view. The issue is that he's bet the future of the company on the massive

Reimagining sound and space

“It would be very difficult to teach biology or engineering in a studio designed for dance or music,” Jay Scheib, section head for Music and Theater Arts, told MIT News shortly before the building officially opened. “The same goes for teaching music in a mathematics or chemistry classroom. In the past, we’ve done it, but it did limit us.” He said the new space would allow MIT musicians to hear their music as it was intended to be heard and “provide an opportunity to convene people to inhabit the

Chinese astronauts make rocket fuel and oxygen in space

Astronauts on board China's Tiangong space station have created rocket fuel and oxygen from water and carbon dioxide, similar to how plant's photosynthesize. Chinese astronauts have just created rocket fuel and oxygen in space using a new type of "artificial photosynthesis." The breakthrough technology, which used fairly basic equipment and minimal energy, could one day be put to use on China's proposed moon base, which is scheduled to be completed within a decade. The new experiments were car

SpaceX Just Sent the ISS a New Way to Stay in Orbit

The International Space Station (ISS) has been in orbit for over 26 years, housing astronauts at an altitude of 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. But even at that distance, the space station can’t escape the drag of Earth’s atmosphere as oxygen molecules and other gases collide with it, causing it to lose altitude over time. For the ISS to retain its status in orbit, NASA and its partners perform the occasional reboost maneuver. This is typically done using the space station’s own thruste

Watch Live as SpaceX Tries to Snap Starship’s Miserable Losing Streak

After back-to-back scrubs, SpaceX is aiming to launch its Starship rocket on Tuesday and hoping to finally break a streak of failed test flights. SpaceX’s Starship is set for liftoff during a launch window that opens at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 26. The rocket was originally scheduled to fly this past Sunday, but the launch was delayed twice, further building anticipation for Starship’s chance to redeem itself and achieve its mission objectives after three less-than-ideal flights this yea

With Starship, SpaceX encounters an obstacle that haunted NASA’s space shuttles

Eventually, SpaceX wants to catch ships coming back from space with big mechanical arms on the launch pad, similar to the way SpaceX has shown it can recover the rocket's huge Super Heavy booster. This would allow SpaceX to theoretically stack a freshly flown ship on top of a booster right on the launch pad, then quickly refuel it and launch it again. There are plenty of things SpaceX must prove before the company is able to do this. But SpaceX has already demonstrated it can handle some of the

4 apps you should use instead of Headspace

Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority Headspace is arguably the most popular meditation app around, with millions of users across 200 countries. I’ve used it extensively, and there’s a lot to like. It was one of the first super-successful apps in this category, paving the way for countless others that followed. However, Headspace isn’t perfect. For many, the cost is a major hurdle. It’s one of the pricier options available and offers limited free content beyond its initial trial period. I decide

SpaceX scrubbed Starship's 10th test flight this evening

SpaceX's massive Starship rocket was scheduled to lift off from the company's Texas launch site this evening for its 10th flight. After scrubbing the launch initially planned for Sunday, August 24, things were apparently back on track for Monday, August 25. The launch window opened at 7:30PM ET (6:30PM CT) and was even livestreamed on the SpaceX website and on X, with a webcast starting 30 minutes before the supposed launch. However, SpaceX ultimately stood down from the test flight due to weath

Scientist Says Mysterious Object Approaching Earth May Be Alien Artifact

Mundane wayward space snowball, or extraterrestrial visitor? Astronomers believe that our solar system's latest and only third ever confirmed interstellar visitor, 3I/ATLAS, is almost certainly a comet. But lingering questions about the object means it's not yet an open and shut case. Amid that uncertainty, famed Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is pushing the possibility that the interstellar interloper is an "extraterrestrial artifact" — perhaps even an "alien mothership" — here to menace or obse

SpaceX plans to launch Starship for its 10th test flight this evening

SpaceX's massive Starship rocket is scheduled to lift off from the company's Texas launch site as soon as this evening for its 10th flight. After scrubbing the launch initially planned for Sunday, August 24, things are apparently back on track for Monday, August 25. The launch window opens at 7:30PM ET (6:30PM CT). As always, the flight test will be livestreamed on the SpaceX website and on X, with a webcast starting 30 minutes before launch. Yesterday, the weather looked iffy for launch; Space

SpaceX’s latest Dragon mission will breathe more fire at the space station

SpaceX completed its 33rd cargo delivery to the International Space Station early Monday, when a Dragon supply ship glided to an automated docking with more than 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and provisions for the lab's seven-person crew. The resupply flight is part of the normal rotation of cargo and crew missions that keep the space station operating. The Dragon spacecraft's cargo haul comprised packages of fresh food, including some 1,500 tortillas, and equipment for numerous resea

Best Space Heaters in 2025

CNET staff -- not advertisers, partners or business interests -- determine how we review products and services. If you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. If you like your room warm and cozy, one of the best investments you can make is in a space heater. Spring, winter, or just a rainy day with a bit of nip in the air, a space heater is the perfect solution to boost the warmth in the room. Compact heaters are a great addition to any room, letting you stay warm without firing up the

SpaceX is about to launch Starship for its 10th test flight

SpaceX's massive Starship rocket is scheduled to lift off from the company's Texas launch site as soon as this evening for its 10th flight. The launch window opens at 7:30PM ET (6:30PM CT). As always, the flight test will be livestreamed on the SpaceX website and on X, with a webcast starting 30 minutes before launch. The weather is looking iffy for launch, though, so don't be surprised if this one gets postponed; SpaceX said on Saturday that conditions were looking only 45 percent favorable. Ac

NASA's Juno mission leaves legacy of science at Jupiter

The NASA spacecraft tasked with uncovering the secrets of Jupiter, king of the planets, is running out of time. The Juno probe has already survived far longer than anticipated—its path around the solar system’s largest planet has repeatedly flown it through a tempest of radiation that should have corroded away its instruments and electronics long ago. And yet here it is: one of the greatest planetary detectives ever built, still pirouetting around Jupiter, fully functional. But it may not be fo

Time is running out for SpaceX to make a splash with second-gen Starship

STARBASE, Texas—A beehive of aerospace technicians, construction workers, and spaceflight fans descended on South Texas this weekend in advance of the next test flight of SpaceX's gigantic Starship rocket, the largest vehicle of its kind ever built. Towering 404 feet (123.1 meters) tall, the rocket will lift off during a one-hour launch window beginning at 6:30 pm CDT (7:30 pm EDT; 23:30 UTC) Sunday. The main concern for Sunday's launch attempt will be weather conditions at Starbase, located a

How the U.S. space industry became dependent on SpaceX

SpaceX is valued at around $400 billion and is critical for U.S. space access, but it wasn't always the powerhouse that it is today. Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. Using money that he made from the sale of PayPal, Musk and his new company developed their first rocket, the Falcon 1, to challenge existing launch providers. "There were actually a lot of startup aerospace companies looking to take on this market. They recognized we had a monopoly provider called United Launch Alliance. They had

NASA's Juno Mission Leaves Legacy of Science at Jupiter

The NASA spacecraft tasked with uncovering the secrets of Jupiter, king of the planets, is running out of time. The Juno probe has already survived far longer than anticipated—its path around the solar system’s largest planet has repeatedly flown it through a tempest of radiation that should have corroded away its instruments and electronics long ago. And yet here it is: one of the greatest planetary detectives ever built, still pirouetting around Jupiter, fully functional. But it may not be fo

If You Missed This Spine-Chilling Sci-Fi Nightmare, It's Now Streaming Free on Tubi

Sci-fi horror movies have always had a niche in Hollywood, delivering scares in futuristic worlds, or in the bellies of larger-than-life spaceships hurtling through space. Event Horizon and Alien are two of the most easily recognizable films, but they aren't the only great sci-fi horror flicks. One of my favorites is Pandorum, with Dead Space vibes. Released in 2009, Pandorum is a claustrophobic trip into space in which a mechanic wakes up on a colony ship to see that things have gone very wron

SpaceX Is Losing a Staggering Amount of Money Every Time One of Its Starships Explodes

Time is ticking for SpaceX's Starship. Even after nearly ten launches, the behemoth spacecraft has yet to successfully visit space and then come safely back to Earth even a single time — but NASA is nonetheless relying on it to ferry astronauts from the Moon's orbit down to the surface just over two years from now. Given Starship's track record so far — nine full-scale test flights have ended in explosions shortly after launch, explosions in space, and crashes into the ocean — it's a steep goa

Scientists Propose a Smarter Way to Hunt for Alien Radio Signals

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) has yet to detect alien technosignatures like radio waves, but the cosmos is vast, and there are plenty of places left to look. New research suggests refining our search parameters by using our own broadcasts into deep space as a helpful guide. Research published earlier this week in Astrophysical Journal Letters suggests we search for alien signals by studying how we beam strong, directed transmissions during two-way communication with our de

Watch Live as SpaceX Tries to Prove Starship Isn’t a Total Flop With Flight 10

SpaceX is gearing up for the tenth test flight of its megarocket following a streak of failures that have cast doubt on Starship’s ability to fly to Mars in 2026. Starship is slated for lift-off on Sunday, August 24, during a launch window that opens at 7:30 p.m. ET. SpaceX recently wrapped up investigations into the rocket’s previous test flight, which took place on May 27 and ended with the vehicle breaking apart during reentry. This was the third Starship flight of 2025 and the latest in a s

When Starship Comes to Florida, Expect 2-Hour Flight Delays, FAA Warns

SpaceX aims to expand its Starship operations to Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a goal of launching 44 super heavy-lift rockets per year. If regulators approve this plan, the uptick in launch activity could result in more ground stops, reroutes, and flight delays at major airports throughout the Sunshine State, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. In a draft environmental impact statement released this month, the FAA states that airports such as Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Internation

US military’s X-37B spaceplane stays relevant with launch of another mission

The US military's reusable winged spaceship rocketed back into orbit Thursday night atop a SpaceX rocket, kicking off a mission that will, among other things, demonstrate how future spacecraft can navigate without relying on GPS signals. The core of the navigation experiment is what the Space Force calls the "world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space." This is one of many payloads mounted on the military's X-37B spaceplane when it lifted off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket

The next Starship flight will test much more than hardware

SpaceX is gearing up to launch its massive Starship rocket from South Texas, a test that gives the company a chance to reverse a brutal few months of mishaps on the ground and in the air. The last Starship test flight was nearly three months ago, and it notched a milestone: the first reuse of a Super Heavy booster. But that mission ended with the upper stage, also called Starship, or Ship, breaking apart on reentry and the booster exploding over the Gulf during the landing burn phase of flight.

SpaceX, Boeing team up for another flight of the military’s X-37B spaceplane

The US military's reusable winged spaceship rocketed back into orbit Thursday night atop a SpaceX rocket, kicking off a mission that will, among other things, demonstrate how future spacecraft can navigate without relying on GPS signals. The core of the navigation experiment is what the Space Force calls the "world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space." This is one of many payloads mounted on the military's X-37B spaceplane when it lifted off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket

Google makes it easier to edit Drive videos with a new Vids shortcut button

Google announced Friday that it’s enhancing the editing experience for Drive videos with a new shortcut button for Vids, the tech giant’s AI-powered video creation tool. The new feature allows Workspace users to initiate a video edit using Vids directly from the Google Drive interface. Now, while previewing a video in Drive, users will see an “Open” button in the top right corner that opens the video in the Vids app. Vids will automatically launch the video file, allowing further edits such as

The case against humans in space

“Going to space will not end war because war isn’t caused by anything that space travel is apt to change, even in the most optimistic scenarios,” they write. “Humanity going to space en masse probably won’t reduce the likelihood of war, but we should consider that it might increase the chance of war being horrific.” The pair imagine rival space nations exchanging asteroid fire or poisoning whole biospheres. Proponents of space settlements often point to the fate of the dinosaurs as motivational

Watch Live: SpaceX Launches Space Force’s X-37B Spaceplane on New Military Test Mission

The U.S. Space Force’s experimental spaceplane, X-37B, is ready for another go in orbit for an undisclosed duration, in which it will test new technologies aimed at bolstering military capabilities in space. The Boeing-built orbital test vehicle, designated as OTV-8, will attempt to launch on Thursday at 11:50 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spaceplane will ride on board a Falcon 9 rocket, marking the second time SpaceX launches the Space

Space Force Launching Secretive Experimental Spacecraft With Quantum Equipment on Board

It's serving an important purpose. Quantum of Orbit Less than six months after concluding a year-plus mission in orbit, the Space Force's top-secret X-37B space plane is gearing up for its eighth mission in just over 15 years. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, the enigmatic, Boeing-built spacecraft is set to launch from the Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Pad 39A later this evening, carrying some intriguing-sounding scientific equipment with it into orbit. The Space Force, in collabora

Boy Genius Quits SpaceX for Greener Pastures

After making waves for getting a job at SpaceX's Starlink at the precocious age of 14, Bay Area boy wonder Kairan Quazi is preparing to leave the nest, move to New York, and get a new job. Quazi, now 16, explained to Business Insider why he's leaving Starlink to work for Citadel Securities, one of the world's biggest stock trading firms that specializes in the rapid-fire algorithmic transactions of quantitative finance. "After two years at SpaceX," the precocious teen told BI, "I felt ready to