Launch
Space Zone India targets October launch of twin rockets
A company-distributed release gives 10 October 2026 as the target; launch approvals and a detailed payload manifest were not disclosed in the reviewed material.
The archive
News archive
Every dispatch, feature and dossier published by the Space Exploration .IN newsroom.
India space industry
Brahmion details PCB micro-thruster ground test for satellites
The Kanpur company's September post includes no measurements; qualification and an orbital demonstration remain ahead.
India space industry
Grahaa plans optical payload test for customer missions
Its chief executive told BusinessLine that two customers had signed on; their identities, contract terms and launch dates remain undisclosed.
Science
XRISM spectra trace stellar wind falling toward a pulsar
A September 18 study identifies iron-line shifts in a 2025 observation of BP Crucis; the changing shape of the inflow remains an interpretation.
Launch Services
SpaceX wins NASA's StarBurst rideshare launch-services award
The planned Falcon 9 Bandwagon rideshare from Cape Canaveral is no earlier than 2028; NASA did not disclose the task-order price or a launch date.
International cooperation
ESA notice extends ISRO cooperation framework to 2032
ESA’s September 21 notice says an exchange of letters extends the agencies’ framework for five years and adds space weather plus human and robotic exploration.
Commercial Crew
NASA awards SpaceX three crew flights under $946m modification
The fixed-price change covers Crew-15 through Crew-17, with mission readiness dates in 2027 and 2028; the planned flights have not occurred.
Starship Flight 14
Starship Flight 14 targets September 28 for first planned orbit
SpaceX moved the earliest Flight 14 date six days from September 22 and says the attempt remains subject to regulatory approval. It has not given a reason for the change.
Science
Science Advances papers document rare 2024 lunar impact
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter later identified the 222-metre McGetchin crater in before-and-after images; the papers concern that finding, not a newly observed impact.
Earth observation
FLEX and Sentinel-3C launch together on Vega-C
The two Earth-observation satellites established ground contact after their September 15 launch; Sentinel-3C must complete commissioning before adding to Copernicus's worldwide data service.
Space observatories
Roman’s Wide Field Instrument activates during commissioning
NASA’s September 15 update says Roman’s primary infrared camera has begun checkout and its Coronagraph Instrument has passed an initial systems test; neither step starts science operations.
Space industry
French summit announcement lists Safran-Dhruva contracts for SBS-III
The French presidency’s official compendium describes contracts above €5 million for Safran Space systems. Neither contractor has published a separate account of the deal.