NASA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force awarded BAE Systems a $1.2 billion contract for 10 missile-tracking satellites for a constellation in medium Earth orbit.The contract was awarded to BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems on May 29 through a firm fixed price Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement, the Space Systems Command said June 2 in a news release.The program is known as Resilient Missile Warning Tracking Epoch 2, which marks the second phase of the Space Force’s program to develop a missile-tracking network in medium Earth orbit (MEO). The constellation is intended to help defend against evolving missile threats, particularly hypersonic weapons that have become a key focus for U.S. defense planners.BAE Systems Space and Mission Systems, based in Broomfield, Colorado, was f...

10 High School Teams Compete to Create the Next Best Dish for Astronauts in Space HOUSTON, TEXAS (APRIL 7, 2025) – Each year, Space Center Houston hosts the HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Culinary Challenge Finals, where the top ten high school teams compete to create the next best dish for space to support astronauts. The challenge, which celebrates its 10th year, began with 64 teams worldwide, narrowing down to the top 10 performing teams to compete at the space and science museum. The dishes are judged by 24 experts, including food scientists from the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Food Lab, astronauts, guest chefs, NASA administrators, and scholarship partners. Joining as a guest judge is Emmanuel Chavez, Houston’s Michelin-starred chef ...

AMSTERDAM — SpaceX’s Starship suffered a loss of attitude control after reaching space on its latest test flight May 27, leading to an uncontrolled reentry and a third consecutive failure.Starship lifted off from SpaceX’s test site at Starbase, Texas, at 7:36 p.m. Eastern. The liftoff was delayed in the final seconds of the countdown because of an issue with a quick-disconnect fitting in ground equipment that required resetting the countdown to the T-40 second mark for several minutes to fix it.This mission, Flight 9, sought to avoid the engine problems on the previous two test flights in January and March that caused the loss of the Starship upper stage during its ascent. All eyes were on the performance of the Starship’s six Raptor engines during a burn lasting nearly six and a ha...

Announces the Top Three Winning Dishes Created by High School Students, One Dish to be Selected for Astronauts Aboard the ISS HOUSTON, TX (MAY 1, 2025) – After weeks of careful evaluation, one of three finalist student teams will have their winning pasta dish selected to be sent to astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to enjoy in orbit. On April 8, Space Center Houston hosted the 10th annual HUNCH Culinary Challenge Finals, where 10 student teams competed to have their pasta dishes judged by culinary experts. HUNCH (High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware) is a national program that engages high school students in developing real-world products for NASA. The Culinary Challenge is one of the many programs under HUNCH, inviting student teams ...

Telescopes located both on the ground and in space continue to dazzle us with incredible images of the universe. We owe these sharp vistas to a series of brilliant astronomers, including Andrea Ghez – an astrophysicist and professor at UCLA – and the “Mother of Hubble,” Nancy Grace Roman.Did you know that stars don’t actually twinkle? They only look like they do because their light has to travel through our turbulent atmosphere to reach our eyes. As the atmosphere shifts and swirls around, the light from distant stars is slightly refracted, or bent, in different directions. Sometimes it’s directed right at us, but sometimes it’s directed a bit to the side.It’s like someone’s shining a flashlight toward you but moving it around slightly. Sometimes the beam is pointed right at you and appear...