Reid Wiseman is a NASA astronaut and spaceflight veteran who has helped lead Artemis missions and training initiatives for civilian and Space Force talent.
NASA has named Randy Bresnik, Luca Parmitano, Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas as the Artemis III crew for a mid‑2027, two‑week Earth‑orbit test flight to practice docking with prototype lunar landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX. The all‑male selection has drawn online criticism and questions about whether Blue Origin’s May New Glenn explosion will delay the program.
NASA and partners are pursuing a high‑risk salvage to boost the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory into a higher, stable orbit. A Katalyst Space Technologies robot will capture Swift and lift it from 224 miles to about 373 miles, extending its life as solar activity threatens its destruction in October.
NASA has hired Katalyst Space Technologies to send Link, a three-armed drone, to grab the Swift Observatory and lift it to a higher orbit. The mission, launched from the Marshall Islands, aims to prevent Swift from burning up in Earth’s atmosphere and keep it scanning gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars.
Northrop Grumman has launched the Link spacecraft, built by Katalyst Space Technologies, from the Marshall Islands, as part of a broader set of aerospace developments including NASA Artemis III, SpaceX IPO expectations, Prada-designed spacesuits, and a spacewalk to repair a robotic arm.
A total solar eclipse has swept from the Arctic through Greenland and Iceland to parts of Spain and a sliver of Portugal, while much of western Europe, Canada and the northern US has seen a dramatic partial eclipse. Crowds have flocked to Spain and Iceland for minutes of totality; scientists and space agencies have run live coverage and field experiments.
Trump has announced the creation of the US Space Academy, a new national institution intended to train astronauts, engineers and civil operators for NASA, the Space Force and the civilian spaceflight industry. The program, described as a “top line” project, is to be guided by a presidential commission and may seek a campus near NASA facilities. The initiative follows Artemis II’s moon mission and includes plans for a 2028 lunar landing and a nuclear-powered Mars mission in 2028.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor has been awarded to the Artemis II crew for their record-breaking lunar trajectory. NASA and the White House emphasize a new U.S. Space Academy and a persistent lunar presence, with Artemis III and IV planning progress toward a moon base at the south pole.