The U.S. civil space program’s lead agency, researching aeronautics and space.
Toxic haze from forest and peat fires across Kalimantan has intensified, forcing online schooling in parts of Sumatra and Borneo and prompting international firefighting assistance. Local women’s firefighting groups are monitoring hotspots and engaging communities to curb slash-and-burn practices, amid El Niño-driven drought and mounting cross-border air pollution.
Retail and review outlets have been publishing tests and sales on cooling sleep products — from adjustable cooling pillows and silver-infused sheets to whole-bed temperature systems. Publications including the New York Post, Independent and Business Insider UK have highlighted discounted bedding, adjustable foam and water- or air-based systems that promise to reduce night sweats and improve sleep.
The United States is accelerating its space and lunar defense posture as officials announce on-orbit space control weapons and a doubling of the Space Force. Leaders say operations will defend US interests from low Earth orbit to cislunar space, signaling a shift in the military balance in space ahead of potential actions around the Moon.
Rescuers have recovered four bodies from a flooded hydro tunnel in Chilime, with thousands still missing after floods triggered by a glacier collapse along the Trishuli River. Recovery work faces thick mud and damaged infrastructure as authorities push to speed up rescue and reconstruction efforts.
Britain has announced a new RAF unit, No. III Space Effects Squadron, to defend satellites and counter hostile actions in space. The move follows global talk of space weapons, with the US and allies expanding capabilities. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warns that space threats are rising as nations pursue deterrence and deeper space interoperability.
Alphabet-backed tests are validating Google’s orbital AI compute concept. A MVP satellite carries four TPUs and will run in-space workloads to evaluate space-ready AI hardware and links to future laser-connected satellites.
SpaceX has flown Starship into low‑Earth orbit for the first time during its 14th test flight from Starbase, Texas, and has deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites. The Super Heavy booster has returned to the Gulf of Mexico; the upper stage has completed multiple orbits before a planned reentry and splashdown west of Chile during a roughly 10‑hour mission on Monday.
NASA has allocated a further $359 million to Boeing to complete Starliner upgrades and certify it for a new rocket, aiming to ensure crewed access to low-Earth orbit while SpaceX winds down Crew Dragon operations. A cargo-only mission could occur by December, with crewed flights expected in mid-2028 after safety redesigns.
Hegseth has announced a 20% reduction in flag and general officer positions across the U.S. military by January 1, 2027, following last year’s 10% cut. The move is part of a broader effort to streamline leadership and reduce bureaucracy, with critics warning of consequences for readiness and leadership turnover.
Astronomers have measured a magnetosphere on exoplanet Beta Pictoris b using MeerKAT, finding a magnetic field about 1,250 gauss. This marks the first such measurement and suggests auroral activity drives radio bursts from the young gas giant about 64 light-years away. The team hopes to apply the method to other giants.
Factory AI and Cognition remain at odds over confidential information and board-level conflicts. Vinod Khosla has publicly criticized Factory while investors debate the implications for valuations and competitive dynamics in AI coding tools.
The Trump-Hegseth leadership has implemented a sweeping top-rank purge, claiming accountability and reducing general and flag officer slots by up to 20%. Critics warn of politicization and potential loyalty issues within the armed forces.
SpaceX has launched a four‑person Crew‑13 to the International Space Station and the team has reached orbit after an eight‑hour express transit, a US speed record. Commander Jessica Watkins has become the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. The flight includes Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, whose wife is due to give birth during the six‑month mission.
Drones have hit an industrial facility in the Perm region, killing a man. Officials say air monitoring shows no immediate threat to residents. Separate strikes have damaged the Belgorod border area and Rostov region, injuring eight and damaging oil facilities respectively. Ukraine and Russia report ongoing drone activity as both sides accuse each other of attacks.
SpaceX has achieved an orbital Starship flight, deploying 26 Starlink V3 satellites and signaling a new era of high-frequency, reusable launches. The mission faced an early engine issue but proceeded to orbit with a Pacific splashdown and a rapid return-to-flight plan taking shape for future missions.
SpaceX shares have surged as analysts flag upside from Starship flights and AI-driven compute deals. Elon Musk’s net worth has crossed the trillion-dollar mark again, driven by SpaceX and Tesla ownership, with momentum continuing into Q4.
Margaret Hamilton has died at 90. The MIT computer scientist has led development of the onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo program, coined the phrase "software engineering," and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Her daughter has confirmed she died on 30 September in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ukrainian drone strikes have targeted a Yandex data center in Sasovo, Ryazan, causing a fire and partial service disruptions. Yandex has suspended operations at the site; emergency services are on scene with no casualties reported. Several Yandex services may be unavailable as investigators assess the damage.
SpaceX has warned that a growing number of satellite operators are not sharing orbital data, increasing the risk of collisions in Earth's orbit. Starlink has observed hundreds of near-miss events this year, including incidents where Starlink satellites had to alter course to avoid others. SpaceX says gaps in data collaboration heighten the danger as constellations expand, even as the company expands Starlink with plans for tens of thousands of satellites.
Ukrainian drone strikes have damaged three of Yandex’s data centers in Sasovo, Kaluga and Vladimir, disrupting a wide range of services from search and maps to banking and cloud. Yandex reports ongoing restoration efforts, while authorities discuss decentralised backups and the broader resilience of Russia’s digital economy.
Australian and international leaders push for stronger AI safeguards as authorities weigh safety, worker rights and public control. New data-centre concerns fuel calls for transparency and independent reviews while industry players advocate a cautious pace amid rising doomsday rhetoric.
Ukrainian drone strikes have knocked out several major Russian data centers, disrupting services across Russia as Kyiv’s response to Russian attacks intensifies. Yandex experiences outages, with European-style AI centers and supercomputers affected; Moscow and regional authorities report ongoing disruption containment and retaliation efforts.
Elon Musk has given roughly $366m this cycle to Republican groups, including $158m to the Senate Leadership Fund and about $76m to his own America PAC, filings show. Much of the money is financing heavy advertising and turnout operations in Texas and other battlegrounds, reviving vulnerable campaigns and freeing national GOP resources for other contests.
Recent findings show white dwarfs can display vibrant colors beyond their expected white glow, with a green WD reflecting light altered by atmospheric elements. A second-generation planet around a dying star is also a possibility under investigation, prompting questions about planetary formation around white dwarfs.
SpaceX’s revenue and influence are expanding, with new lines like Grok and neocloud, while leadership donations and Ukraine-related restrictions highlight the company’s political and geopolitical footprint.
Prosecutors have charged Abdulrahman Alfozan, a former OpenAI engineer, with using a device to intercept oral communications. They say he sought to flee to Saudi Arabia; OpenAI has terminated him. The case hinges on new court filings and travel plans connected to Saudi ties.
A cluster of wildfires, including the Norte Fire in Orange County, is expanding under Santa Ana winds. Six homes have been damaged or destroyed. Firefighting teams are attacking the blazes from the ground and air, with evacuations continuing and power disruptions reported in parts of the region.
Japan-led MMX mission has launched to study Phobos and Deimos, with a lander and rover designed to fetch samples from Phobos and return them to Earth by 2031. The mission involves multiple international partners including NASA and ESA.
Five space agencies have launched the MMX mission to land a robotic prospector and a rover on Phobos, Mars’ moon. The spacecraft has separated, paving the way for the Idefix rover and a two-hour surface operation planned for 2028-29, with a 2031 Earth return.
The Orionids meteor shower has reached its peak tonight, with up to 20 meteors per hour expected under clear skies. The shower, caused by debris from Halley’s Comet, is visible across hemispheres through early November. Moonlight may wash out fainter meteors, but dark skies and patience will reward observers.
SpaceX and Tesla have formed independent-director committees to discuss a potential merger. Elon Musk says it would be a good idea, but shareholder approval is the bar, creating a potential record-scale deal in AI and aerospace.
The FAA has certified the Boeing 737 Max 10 for passenger service, marking a milestone in Boeing’s recovery from past safety, quality and production challenges. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2027 as airlines gauge how the larger single-aisle jet will affect capacity and fares.
Two peer‑reviewed studies in Nature Health show Europe’s 2026 heat waves have killed about 50,000 urban residents, with climate change driving roughly two‑thirds of the toll. The research covers 850 cities across 30 countries and finds the death rate highest in Malta, Italy and Hungary, while Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the UK have the largest absolute numbers.
Authorities say rebel forces are collapsing and urge fighters to enter a disarmament program, while government troops and allies conduct security operations. A drone strike near Mekelle has killed several civilians as fighting continues three weeks after rebels lost the regional capital.
NASA officials say Artemis III will dock with lunar landers in 2027 ahead of a 2028 moon landing, while Artemis IV remains targeted for late 2028. The agency aims to speed up development with lighter suits and faster launch cadence, as it weighs SpaceX vs. Blue Origin for the lunar lander.
Astronomers have released the Lumina model, a large-scale simulation of the universe’s formation in its first two billion years after the Big Bang. The effort uses Frontier supercomputing to map how dark matter and gas shaped the first galaxies, with Webb Observatory data serving as a cross-check. The work aims to test if the laws of physics have the same implications across cosmic time.
A localized six‑day ceasefire around Russian‑held Oleshky has allowed joint Russian‑Ukrainian teams to deliver food and medicine and to offer evacuations. About 2,000 people remained in Oleshky; convoys have moved hundreds toward Russian territory and southern Russia’s Anapa before planned flights to Belarus and onward to northern Ukraine. Fighting has continued elsewhere.
Cyclone Arnab has strengthened into a very severe cyclonic storm and is making landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast, triggering mass evacuations, transportation disruptions, and emergency responses across Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Authorities warn of heavy rains, winds, and potential flooding as the system moves inland.
Russian Cosmos-2612 has moved perilously close to Iceye-X36, a Finnish-American SAR satellite used by Ukraine, in a test that space analysts say signals pressure in orbit. The event has intensified concerns over commercial satellite resilience and Russia's willingness to test near-nerve systems in space.
A Bombardier Learjet 60 traveling from Austin to the Bahamas has crashed near West Palm Beach, Florida, killing all nine people aboard. Initial investigations point to a mid-air break-up amid severe weather. The wreckage and fireball blocked a roadway, prompting evacuations as authorities search for debris and determine the cause.
The Swift Observatory, a 3,200-pound space telescope, has ceased observations and is now re-entering Earth's atmosphere. NASA and the US Space Force estimate a low risk to people on the ground, with most debris burning up and a few heavier fragments possibly reaching the surface. Predictions place reentry in the early morning hours as the craft descends from low-Earth orbit.
Swift Observatory has reentered Earth’s atmosphere after a 22-year orbit, with most of the 3,200-pound spacecraft burning up. Denser debris could survive and fall into the oceans; NASA says the risk to people on land remains unlikely. The era of Swift as a first responder for other telescopes ends, while NASA weighs options to rescue Hubble by 2032.
Pakistan is set to join China’s Shenzhou-24 mission under their space-cooperation deal. The Pakistani astronaut has been training in China, with a launch expected by year-end. Pakistan and China have outlined a broader program including Jinnah-1 lunar rover and joint short flights.