News | Latest Breaking News Stories & Headlines

The crew was carried on a SpaceX launch vehicle consisting of a Crew Dragon capsule perched atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket

Astronauts from India, Poland, Hungary blast off to ISS

A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary lifted off to the International Space Station Wednesday, taking people from these countries to space for the first time in decades.

World • 25 Jun

Suni Williams waves as she emerges from the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft

NASA astronauts return to Earth after drawn-out mission

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams returned to Earth in a SpaceX capsule with a soft splashdown off Florida's coast, nine months after their faulty Boeing Starliner craft upended what was to be a week-long stay on the International Space Station.

World • 19 Mar

A spaceship carrying Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams splashed down off the coast of Florida

NASA astronauts return to Earth after 9 months in space

A pair of NASA astronauts unexpectedly stuck in space for more than nine months have splashed down off the Florida coast, closing out a mission that has captured the world's attention.

World • 19 Mar

NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test Commander Butch Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams seen before they launched into space in June

Return of NASA astronauts from space station delayed

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore's return to Earth will be further delayed until at least late March, the agency said, taking what should have been an eight-day stay on the International Space Station to more than nine months.

World • 18 Dec 24

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been on the ISS since June

No decision yet on whether to keep stranded crew in space

US space agency NASA has said it is still deciding whether to keep two astronauts at the International Space Station until early next year and to send their troubled Boeing capsule back to Earth empty.

Science and Technology • 14 Aug 24

SpaceX is to build a vehicle capable of pushing the ISS into Earth's atmosphere for its planned destruction

SpaceX tasked to help discard International Space Station

The US space agency NASA has contracted SpaceX to help discard the International Space Station around 2030, a task originally meant to be carried out by Russian equipment.

World • 27 Jun 24

The Soyuz MS-22 was launched in September 2022

Russia confirms its Soyuz MS-22 damaged by 'meteorite'

Russia has confirmed that its Soyuz MS-22 capsule was damaged by "meteorite" and it would launch another Soyuz rocket on 20 February to bring home two cosmonauts and a US astronaut from the ISS.

World • 11 Jan 23

The announcement comes as tensions rage between the Kremlin and the West

US surprised by Russian decision to quit ISS after 2024

The United States has voiced regret over Russia's announcement that it would exit the International Space Station after 2024 and said it was taken by surprise by the move.

World • 26 Jul 22

Four astronauts have left the ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule

Four astronauts depart ISS after 177 days in space

The third long-duration team of astronauts launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA departed the orbiting outpost early this morning to begin their descent back to Earth, capping a six-month science mission.

World • 05 May 22

Crew-4 mission astronauts (from L) Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, Jessica Watkins and Samantha Cristoforetti

SpaceX launches 'Crew 4' astronauts on flight to ISS

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has launched four more astronauts to orbit, en route to the International Space Station for NASA, including a medical doctor turned spacewalker and a geologist.

World • 27 Apr 22

The Axiom astronauts, in their helmeted white-and-black spacesuits, strapped in and ready to return home

First all-private astronaut team splashes down safely

The first all-private astronaut team ever to fly aboard the International Space Station has splashed down safely off the coast of Florida, capping a two-week science mission hailed as a milestone in commercial spaceflight.

News Lens • 25 Apr 22

Yusaku Maezawa sees the trip as a dry run for his planned trip around the moon with Elon Musk's SpaceX in 2023

Japanese billionaire blasts off into space

A Japanese billionaire has set out to became the first space tourist in more than a decade to travel to the International Space Station.

Science • 08 Dec 21

Astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron had been due to venture outside the space station (File)

NASA postpones spacewalk citing 'debris notification'

A spacewalk planned for today to repair a faulty antenna on the International Space Station has been postponed indefinitely, NASA said, citing a "debris notification" it received for the orbiting research laboratory.

World • 30 Nov 21

Five green peppers that were successfully grown and cultivated aboard the International Space Station.

Hot stuff: Peppers grown in space

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet shared a video showing five green peppers that were successfully grown and cultivated aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA's Plant Habitat-04 investigation.

News Lens • 04 Nov 21

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida

SpaceX blasts off for International Space Station

SpaceX has launched its third crew to the International Space Station this morning, reusing a rocket and crew capsule in a human mission for the first time.

World • 23 Apr 21

The Mars programme is part of the UAE's efforts to develop its scientific and technological capabilities

UAE's Hope Probe enters orbit in 1st Arab Mars mission

The United Arab Emirates' first mission to Mars has reached the red planet and entered orbit after a seven-month, 494 million-km journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate.

News Lens • 09 Feb 21

The radio link set up at Athlone Community College

Athlone students make contact with Space Station

Students from a secondary school in the midlands are hooking up with an astronaut on the International Space Station this afternoon to try and find out how space travel is affecting life on earth.

Regional • 07 Dec 20

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule approaching the International Space Station this morning (Pic: NASA)

SpaceX delivers four astronauts to ISS

A SpaceX Crew Dragon carrying four astronauts docked with the International Space Station overnight.

World • 17 Nov 20

The ISS usually orbits roughly 420km above the Earth

International Space Station moved to avoid space debris

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have carried out an "avoidance manouevre" to ensure they would not be hit by a piece of orbiting debris.

World • 23 Sep 20

Jessica Meir pictured ahead of her departure to the ISS

ISS crew returns to Earth amid Covid-19 pandemic

Two NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut have made a safe return from the International Space Station.

Science and Technology • 17 Apr 20

The three-man crew left Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan

Crew successfully docks at International Space Station

A three-man crew has docked successfully at the International Space Station, leaving behind a planet overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Science and Technology • 09 Apr 20

Three large parachutes helped the spacecraft to return safely to earth, landing in the New Mexico desert

Boeing Starliner lands after mission failure

Boeing's new Starliner unmanned spacecraft returned to Earth, landing in the New Mexico desert in the US six days early after a clock problem prevented a rendezvous with the International Space Station.

World • 22 Dec 19

The space craft is expected to reach the ISS tomorrow (NASA handouts)

Oven sent to ISS to test cookies in space

An oven has been sent to space, along with scientific instruments and crew supplies for those on board the International Space Station.

News Lens • 03 Nov 19

Fedor copies human movements, a key skill that allows it to remotely help astronauts

Russia sends its first humanoid robot into space

Russia has launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot that will spend ten days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station.

World • 22 Aug 19

Sunset from space: NASA releases spectacular footage

NASA has shared spectacular footage of the sun setting behind the Earth, captured from the International Space Station.

News Lens • 04 Jun 19