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© 2026 Developments Today. All rights reserved.

SpaceX Sets May 19 Target for First Flight of Starship Version 3 and New Launch Pad 2

SpaceX Sets May 19 Target for First Flight of Starship Version 3 and New Launch Pad 2

SpaceX is targeting May 19 for the first launch of Starship Version 3 and the first use of Pad 2.
Flight 12 will test redesigned hardware including Raptor 3 engines and updated stage architecture.
Neither stage will be caught; both are planned for controlled splashdowns as SpaceX prioritizes first-flight data.

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DT Editorial Team·May 14, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

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SLS to launch without upper stage for Artemis 3

NASA Recasts Artemis 3 as Low-Earth-Orbit Test Flight Without SLS Upper Stage

NASA says Artemis 3 will launch without the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
The 2027 mission is now planned for low Earth orbit rather than a crewed lunar landing attempt.
Orion is expected to rendezvous with lunar lander prototypes from Blue Origin and SpaceX.
Using a spacer on Artemis 3 appears to preserve the final ICPS for Artemis 4.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 14, 2026·via spacenews.com

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Varda to collaborate with United Therapeutics on microgravity drug research

Varda Lands First Major Pharma Partnership for Microgravity Drug Work

Varda signed its first major pharmaceutical agreement with United Therapeutics.
The collaboration will study novel drug formulations in microgravity, starting with rare pulmonary disease treatments.
Varda will use its W-series spacecraft and reentry capsules to carry out and return the research.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via spacenews.com

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SpaceX sets date for first Starship version 3 launch

SpaceX Targets May 19 for the First Flight of Starship Version 3

SpaceX says the first Starship version 3 launch could occur as soon as May 19 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.
The flight will test upgraded hardware on both stages and use a new launch pad at Starbase.
Starship will deploy 22 mass simulators and conduct heat-shield and reentry stress tests.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via spacenews.com

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This artist's illustration shows a massive galaxy with an active quasar in its center. Quasars are known for their astrophysical jets, but they also have outflows that are more like stellar winds. New research shows that quasars in the ancient Universe were more powerful than modern ones, and they can explain some of the JWST's puzzling observations. Image Credit: NASA, ESA and J. Olmsted (STScI)

Early super-quasars may explain why some young galaxies shut down so fast

A Nature study says luminous early quasars frequently drove extreme galaxy-scale outflows.
The outflows may have expelled the cool gas needed for star formation.
That mechanism could explain why JWST has found many early quiescent galaxies.
The findings strengthen the case that black holes actively shaped galaxy evolution very early on.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via universetoday.com

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A crescent Mars, as seen from Psyche on approach on May 11th. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU.

NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft Lines Up a Close Mars Flyby Before Heading to 16 Psyche

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft will make a close Mars flyby on May 15 at about 4,500 kilometers.
The encounter will provide a gravity assist and let the mission team calibrate onboard instruments.
Psyche is ultimately bound for 16 Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid linked to early planetary formation.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Cloud structure of the Venusian atmosphere, made visible through ultraviolet imaging (Credit : Kevin M Gill)

A kitchen-sink physics effect may explain Venus’s giant atmospheric wave

A University of Tokyo-led team linked a recurring Venus cloud disturbance to a hydraulic jump.
The mechanism begins with an unstable Kelvin wave in the lower cloud layer.
The finding may help explain how large atmospheric structures form on other planets too.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via universetoday.com

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FCC approves SpaceX spectrum deal with $2.4 billion escrow condition

FCC Clears SpaceX-EchoStar Spectrum Deal, but Ties Approval to a $2.4 Billion Escrow

The FCC approved EchoStar’s planned spectrum sales to SpaceX and AT&T.
EchoStar must establish a $2.4 billion escrow account tied to partner claims.
The deal supports SpaceX’s push to improve direct-to-device services in the U.S.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via spacenews.com

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Artist's illustration of Mars approximately four billion years ago. (Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser)

Mars likely had water, but not tides strong enough to sculpt much of its shoreline record

Researchers modeled tidal behavior in ancient Martian waters at two rover-linked sites.
Maximum tide speeds were estimated at roughly 0.01 meters per second.
The study suggests tides were usually a secondary, not primary, factor in sediment formation.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via universetoday.com

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In 2025 landslide caused by the retreating South Sawyer Glacier in Alaska's Tracy Arm triggered the second highest tsuanami ever recorded. The tsunami swept down the fjord, causing more landslides on its way to the ocean. Satellite images show the aftermath, with noticeable run-up areas were trees were swept away. Image Credit: NASA

Alaska’s 2025 Megatsunami Is Emerging as a Climate and Hazard Warning

A landslide triggered by retreat of Alaska’s South Sawyer Glacier generated a 2025 tsunami with a 481-meter maximum runup.
Researchers used satellite images, aerial images, and ground-based data to reconstruct the event in a Science paper.
The case highlights how glacier retreat can contribute to cascading landscape hazards in steep fjords.

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DT Editorial Team·May 13, 2026·via universetoday.com

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The trail left by the Chelyabinsk fireball from 2013 (Credit : Alex Alishevskikh)

ESA’s MeerKAT Asteroid Guard Has Now Warned of Every Imminent Impactor It Saw Coming

ESA’s MeerKAT Asteroid Guard runs continuously to assess whether newly discovered near-Earth objects pose an impact threat.
The system computes many possible orbits from limited early observations and sends automated alerts when impact probability is significant.
A five-year review says MeerKAT successfully warned of all seven imminent impactors that were discovered before impact during that period.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 12, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Space is having its internet moment. Investors should act accordingly.

Space Industry’s Shift to Recurring Services Is Changing the Investment Case

The space sector is shifting from one-off mission economics toward recurring service revenue.
More than 14,000 active satellites and near-daily launches point to a networked industry structure.
Connectivity, Earth observation, navigation and secure communications are becoming the core commercial use cases.

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DT Editorial Team·May 12, 2026·via spacenews.com

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Mars Curiosity Rover (Credit : NASA)

NASA’s Curiosity rover freed its drill after a Martian rock jammed the arm

Curiosity’s drill became jammed when a rock stayed attached after drilling.
NASA engineers tried multiple approaches before freeing it on May 1.
The incident highlights the complexity of operating a rover remotely on Mars.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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The Very Large Array (VLA), a collection of 27 radio antennas located at the NRAO site in Socorro, New Mexico. Credit: Alex Savello/NRAO

How Project Ozma and the Drake Equation Helped Define SETI

Universe Today describes Project Ozma as arguably the first SETI survey.
The supplied source says it was the first dedicated search for extraterrestrial intelligence beyond the Solar System.
The article also traces the influence of the 1959 Cocconi-Morrison paper and Frank Drake’s equation.

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DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Artist's illustration of how Saturn's rings might have formed from an ancient moon being ripped apart when it orbited too close. (Credit: B. Militzer and NASA)

Researchers Revisit Saturn’s Ring Mystery With a New Case for the Lost Moon ‘Chrysalis’

A new modeling study supports the idea that Saturn’s rings formed from a destroyed moon called Chrysalis.
The modeled moon approached Saturn’s Roche limit, where tidal forces can rip apart icy bodies.
Researchers used moon sizes and ice fractions comparable to known Saturnian moons to test the scenario.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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An image of planetary nebula Tc 1 as observed by the James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI). Credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Western University, J. Cami

JWST Data Points to Where Cosmic Buckyballs Form

Astronomers used JWST’s MIRI instrument to revisit Tc 1, the nebula where cosmic buckyballs were first identified in 2010.
The new data provides a more detailed view of the environment around the dying star and points to where the molecules form.
The result advances a broader effort to understand how complex carbon chemistry develops in space.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Artist's depiction of a centrifugal space station built form Apollo program stages. Credit - NASA

Fruit Flies Adapt to Hypergravity, Offering Clues for Artificial Gravity Research

UCR researchers tested fruit flies at 4G to 13G using centrifuges.
The study tracked both short-term and 10-generation exposure.
Results suggest adaptation under hypergravity is real but uneven across behaviors.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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An artist's concept of the X-ray bright little red dot (XRD) dubbed 3DHST-AEGIS-12014. Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO/M. Weiss; adapted by K. Arcand &amp; J. Major

X-Ray Signal May Help Explain the Early Universe’s ‘Little Red Dots’

Astronomers identified an X-ray-emitting little red dot about 11.8 billion light-years away.
The detection strengthens the case that some little red dots are linked to black hole growth.
Researchers think the object may represent a transitional form between obscured systems and more obvious active black holes.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 11, 2026·via universetoday.com

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Tracy Arm’s Post-Tsunami Landscape

NASA Imagery Shows How a Glacier-Driven Landslide Rewrote an Alaskan Fjord in Minutes

NASA released before-and-after Landsat imagery of the Tracy Arm disaster zone.
A landslide of at least 64 million cubic meters triggered a tsunami on August 10, 2025.
Vegetation was stripped up to 1,578 feet above sea level on the opposite fjord wall.
The event highlights how rapid glacier retreat can reshape hazard conditions.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 9, 2026·via science.nasa.gov

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NASA’s Swift Rescue Mission Clears Testing as Orbital Servicing Faces a Live Deadline

NASA’s Swift Rescue Mission Clears Testing as Orbital Servicing Faces a Live Deadline

Katalyst’s Link spacecraft completed environmental testing at NASA Goddard.
The mission aims to dock with and boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit.
Swift could reenter in late 2026 without intervention due to accelerated orbital decay.
The effort is an important real-world test of commercial orbital servicing.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 9, 2026·via spaceflightnow.com

More in Space→

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