Editorial desk

Missions

Human spaceflight, planetary missions and the engineering campaigns that turn programme intent into flight hardware.

Cargo Dragon with its nose cone open approaches the station against black space

Human spaceflight

NASA publishes Anil Menon’s cargo Dragon hatch-opening record

The October 16 station log details pressure checks and sample transfers after the previous day’s docking. It records preparation for research, without experimental results.

17 October 20261 min read

A capsule-shaped crew-module test assembly suspended above a cylindrical service-module rig inside a steel frame

Human spaceflight

ISRO publishes Gaganyaan crew and service module separation results

The agency's October 16 account describes integrated ground testing and capsule shock checks, while keeping a 2026 target for the uncrewed G1 flight.

17 October 20262 min read

Station Resupply

SpaceX cargo Dragon docks with station carrying solar arrays

NASA recorded the October 15 arrival at 10:27 a.m. EDT. Solar-array installation remains planned for later this fall.

16 October 20262 min read

Anil Menon in a white spacesuit works among equipment and handrails outside the International Space Station

Human Spaceflight

NASA assigns Anil Menon to final station solar-array spacewalks

NASA schedules Menon and Canada’s Joshua Kutryk for October 29 and November 5 installations. The assignments set a plan for completing the station’s power augmentation.

15 October 20262 min read

Anil Menon, Sophie Adenot and Jessica Meir gathered in the space station’s Destiny laboratory, with Meir holding a commemorative patch

Station life

Anil Menon releases headstand video from space station

His October 11 post describes the focus needed for exercise in orbit and credits fellow astronaut Jack Hathaway as a coach.

13 October 20261 min read

Conceptual painted landscape with orange agricultural fields and a blue winding river beneath a thin orbital arc

Earth observation

TRISHNA targets launch within 12–16 months for thermal mapping

A satellite-centre director outlined the window on October 11. The India–France Earth-observation mission remains in development, with no fixed launch date in the cited report.

13 October 20262 min read

Satellite view of Washington, DC, with the Potomac River winding through the city and surrounding green suburbs

Earth observation

Copernicus sets Sentinel-2A campaign end date for December 2027

The October 9 notice extends the campaign that began in March 2025, keeping additional observations planned beyond the nominal two-satellite constellation.

11 October 20261 min read

Four Crew-12 astronauts in white pressure suits join their gloved hands for a group portrait

Human spaceflight

ESA releases Anil Menon’s footage of Dragon hatch closure

The 47-second clip, dated October 7, credits the Indian-origin NASA astronaut with filming the return preparations. His role in the record is behind the camera.

10 October 20261 min read

Dragon Freedom touches the ocean in a splash beneath four deployed parachutes

Human spaceflight

Crew-12 returns in Dragon after 237 days in space

NASA and ESA confirm the October 8 splashdown off Los Angeles. Dragon Freedom brought four crew members home after a return journey lasting 27 hours and 29 minutes.

10 October 20262 min read

ISRO chairman V. Narayanan on a video call beside a display announcing the HOPE space analog mission inauguration

Human spaceflight

ISRO tenders Bengaluru habitat for human-spaceflight analog studies

The 5 October procurement seeks habitat and environmental systems for the astronaut-training campus. It is a tender, with no construction award announced in the document.

08 October 20262 min read

ISRO SOLVE solid motor firing during a ground test at Sriharikota in July 2026

Human spaceflight

Gaganyaan targets mid-2028 crewed flight after three tests

An ISRO propulsion director put the crewed target beyond the chairman’s earlier 2027 aim; the reported 95% test estimate had been given before.

06 October 20262 min read

Crew-13 Dragon approaches the International Space Station with its nose cone open

Commercial Crew

Crew-13 docks at station after record US transit

NASA recorded a 7-hour, 55-minute trip on October 1 after a Dragon leak delayed the flight; research aboard the station remains ahead.

02 October 20262 min read