https://www.scmp.com/rss/519487/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press Associated Press The astronaut who prompted Nasa’s first medical evacuation earlier this year said on Friday that doctors still do not know why he suddenly fell sick at the International Space Station. Four-time space flier Mike Fincke said he was eating dinner on January 7 after prepping for a spacewalk the next day when it happened. He could not talk and remembers no pain, but his anxious crewmates jumped into action after seeing him in distress and requested help from flight surgeons on the ground. “It was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348216/us-astronaut-says-illness-cut-short-space-mission-made-him-unable-talk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3348216/us-astronaut-says-illness-cut-short-space-mission-made-him-unable-talk?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 18:51:36 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Nasa on Thursday blamed what it called engineering vulnerabilities in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft along with internal agency mistakes in a sharply critical report assessing a botched mission that left two astronauts stranded in space. The US space agency labelled the 2024 test flight of the Starliner capsule a “Type A” mishap - the same classification of the deadly Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters - a category that reflects the “potential for a significant mishap,” it said. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3344068/nasa-ranks-2024-spacecraft-mishap-among-its-worst-disasters?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Feb 2026 03:50:26 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral. Last month’s medical evacuation was Nasa’s first in 65 years of human space flight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343602/4-astronauts-arrive-international-space-station-replace-nasas-evacuated-crew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3343602/4-astronauts-arrive-international-space-station-replace-nasas-evacuated-crew?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Feb 2026 23:35:10 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Four International Space Station (ISS) crew members splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Nasa footage showed, after the first ever medical evacuation in the orbital lab’s history. A video feed from Nasa showed the capsule carrying American astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui land off the coast of San Diego at 12.41am local time. A health issue prompted their mission to be cut short, after spending five months in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339938/nasa-sends-4-astronauts-back-earth-first-medical-evacuation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339938/nasa-sends-4-astronauts-back-earth-first-medical-evacuation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 23:31:08 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Nasa will conduct a medical evacuation in the coming days of an astronaut suffering an undisclosed ailment aboard the International Space Station, agency officials said. The early return would mark the first time in Nasa’s history that the agency has cut short a crewed mission already in space for medical reasons. “The astronaut is absolutely stable,” James Polk, Nasa’s chief health and medical officer, told reporters on Thursday. “We’re not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339268/nasa-carry-out-first-ever-space-medical-evacuation-astronaut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3339268/nasa-carry-out-first-ever-space-medical-evacuation-astronaut?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 03:43:21 +0000 SCMP Editorial SCMP Editorial Three Chinese astronauts have returned home safely from the Tiangong space station after a delay of more than a week. Their scheduled return journey was disrupted when tiny cracks appeared in the porthole of their homeward-bound capsule. The damage was likely to have been caused by space debris. The astronauts were lucky in that there was a replacement backup spacecraft; otherwise, they might have been stranded for much longer. Two American astronauts recently had to put up with an extra nine... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333350/us-and-china-should-cooperate-make-space-safe-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/comment/article/3333350/us-and-china-should-cooperate-make-space-safe-all?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 23:15:14 +0000 Yang Xiaotong Yang Xiaotong The Silk Road once connected China and the Arab world, stretching from Cordoba to Canton. The network not only fostered trade, but also cultural and intellectual exchange. Today, as humanity stands on the brink of a new age of exploration, this time of the cosmos, the stage is set to revive this historic partnership. For Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, space exploration represents a way to diversify their economy and reinvent their image. They are investing billions in space... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3322274/china-and-middle-east-space-silk-road-written-stars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3322274/china-and-middle-east-space-silk-road-written-stars?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Astronauts sidelined for the past year by Boeing’s Starliner trouble blasted off to the International Space Station on Friday, getting a lift from SpaceX. The US-Japanese-Russian crew of four rocketed from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre. They will replace colleagues who launched to the space station in March as fill-ins for Nasa’s two stuck astronauts. Their SpaceX capsule should reach the orbiting lab this weekend and stay for at least six months. Zena Cardman, a biologist and polar explorer who... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320511/astronauts-launch-space-station-after-being-sidelined-boeings-troubled-starliner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3320511/astronauts-launch-space-station-after-being-sidelined-boeings-troubled-starliner?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Aug 2025 18:29:57 +0000 Biman Mukherji Biman Mukherji The successful arrival of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla at the International Space Station (ISS) marks a pivotal moment in the country’s evolving space strategy and signals its desire to join the ranks of global space powers, analysts have said. The move was also a stepping stone towards India’s first independent crewed mission by 2027 under the Gaganyaan programme, they added. The initiative is India’s effort to become the fourth country – after Russia, the United States and China – to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316169/india-space-power-delhi-eyes-lift-sector-after-astronaut-iss-milestone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3316169/india-space-power-delhi-eyes-lift-sector-after-astronaut-iss-milestone?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:21:12 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A US commercial mission carrying astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary blasted off to the International Space Station on Wednesday, marking the first time in decades that these nations have sent crew members to space. Axiom Mission 4, or Ax-4, launched from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 2.31am, with a brand-new SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The vehicle is scheduled to dock with the orbital lab on Thursday at around 1100 GMT and remain there for up to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3315844/india-poland-and-hungary-make-space-flight-comeback-axiom-mission-iss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3315844/india-poland-and-hungary-make-space-flight-comeback-axiom-mission-iss?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jun 2025 21:07:39 +0000 Cake, gifts and a low-key family celebration may be how many senior citizens picture their 70th birthday. But Nasa’s oldest serving astronaut Don Pettit became a septuagenarian while hurtling towards the Earth in a spacecraft to wrap up a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). A Soyuz capsule carrying the American and two Russian cosmonauts landed in Kazakhstan on Sunday, the day of Pettit’s milestone birthday. “Today at 0420 Moscow time, the Soyuz MS-26 landing craft... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3307295/oldest-active-nasa-astronaut-turns-70-after-220-days-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3307295/oldest-active-nasa-astronaut-turns-70-after-220-days-space?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Apr 2025 07:38:19 +0000 Nasa’s celebrity astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams said Monday that they hold themselves partly responsible for what went wrong on their space sprint-turned-marathon and would fly on Boeing’s Starliner again. SpaceX recently ferried the duo home after more than nine months at the International Space Station, filling in for Boeing that returned to Earth without them last year. In their first news conference since coming home, the pair said they were taken aback by all the interest and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3304646/nasas-newly-returned-astronauts-say-they-would-fly-boeings-starliner-capsule-again?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3304646/nasas-newly-returned-astronauts-say-they-would-fly-boeings-starliner-capsule-again?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Mar 2025 21:19:02 +0000 The replacements for Nasa’s two stuck astronauts launched to the International Space Station on Friday night, paving the way for the pair’s return after nine long months. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out. Arrival is set for late Saturday night. Nasa wants overlap between the two crews so Wilmore and Williams can fill in the newcomers on happenings aboard the orbiting lab. That would put them on course for an... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302493/spacex-launches-new-crew-space-station-replace-nasas-stuck-astronauts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3302493/spacex-launches-new-crew-space-station-replace-nasas-stuck-astronauts?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Mar 2025 23:32:42 +0000 The first foreign astronaut to visit China’s Tiangong space station will be from Pakistan, the two countries’ space authorities have said. China would assist Pakistan in selecting and training astronauts and the chosen candidates would then travel to China for further training, the China Manned Space Agency said on Friday after the signing of a cooperation agreement in Islamabad. Later, one or more of them will join a Chinese crew for a short-term mission aboard the Tiangong. “Since the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3300718/chinas-tiangong-space-station-will-host-pakistani-astronaut-first-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3300718/chinas-tiangong-space-station-will-host-pakistani-astronaut-first-foreign-visitor?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Mar 2025 06:01:48 +0000 Stephen Chen Stephen Chen In an ironic twist of cosmic problem-solving, Chinese researchers have transformed a lingering Nasa headache into a revolutionary propulsion breakthrough that could redefine modern warfare and space travel. The two Nasa astronauts have been marooned at the International Space Station since June last year after multiple helium leaks incapacitated the thruster systems of their spacecraft – Boeing’s troubled Starliner capsule. As a result, helium, the ultralight gas used to pressurise liquid rocket... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3299454/chinese-scientists-turn-boeings-helium-leak-crisis-stealth-missile-tech-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3299454/chinese-scientists-turn-boeings-helium-leak-crisis-stealth-missile-tech-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Feb 2025 04:00:12 +0000 China aims to break space technology choke points with thousands of experiments on the Tiangong space station over the next decade or so as it expands its crewed exploration programme. The China Manned Space Agency outlined the target on Monday in its first performance review of the Tiangong, adding that 181 experiments and application projects had been conducted, and nearly 2 tonnes of scientific materials delivered, as of December 1. “We aim to achieve major breakthroughs in important areas... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292844/chinas-tiangong-space-station-research-aims-break-technology-choke-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3292844/chinas-tiangong-space-station-research-aims-break-technology-choke-points?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2024 06:00:13 +0000 A Japanese sake brewery will attempt to make the world’s first outer space sake, creating just one bottle and donating the 100 million yen (US$640,000) proceeds from its sale to domestic space development companies. Asahi Shuzo Co. in Yamaguchi prefecture recently said it plans to ferment rice and other raw materials used in sake making on the International Space Station. It aims to send the ingredients into orbit in late 2025. The idea is to create sake on the premise that there will be demand... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3291827/japan-brewery-aims-make-worlds-first-space-sake-sell-it-us640000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3291827/japan-brewery-aims-make-worlds-first-space-sake-sell-it-us640000?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Dec 2024 07:52:28 +0000 The world’s first wooden satellite has blasted off on a SpaceX rocket, its Japanese developers said, as part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station. Scientists at Japan’s Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere – potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth. These metal particles may negatively affect both the environment and telecommunications, the developers... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3285349/japan-blasts-worlds-first-wooden-satellite-space-spacexs-help?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3285349/japan-blasts-worlds-first-wooden-satellite-space-spacexs-help?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2024 02:28:11 +0000 China has successfully launched a three-person crew, carrying the country’s third female astronaut, to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission. The Shenzhou-19 spacecraft lifted off atop a Long March 2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China at 4.27am Beijing time on Wednesday, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). Wang Haoze, 34, is an expert in nuclear-powered rocket technology and was joined by two male colleagues about the spacecraft,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3284386/china-launches-shenzhou-19-spacecraft-carrying-countrys-third-female-astronaut?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3284386/china-launches-shenzhou-19-spacecraft-carrying-countrys-third-female-astronaut?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Oct 2024 22:04:09 +0000 Boeing’s problem-plagued Starliner landed uncrewed at White Sands Space Harbour in New Mexico late on Friday, capping a three-month test mission hobbled by technical issues that forced the astronauts it had flown to the International Space Station (ISS) to remain there until next year. The spacecraft left the ISS earlier on Friday, bound for Earth without astronauts after Nasa deemed the risk too great. The century-old aerospace giant’s reputation has taken a hammering over thruster malfunctions... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3277577/boeings-troubled-starliner-spaceship-heads-back-earth-without-crew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3277577/boeings-troubled-starliner-spaceship-heads-back-earth-without-crew?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 23:11:11 +0000 There’s nothing to see here, or hear here, actually. That is the message Nasa gave after reports of a strange noise heard by astronaut Butch Wilmore emanating from Boeing’s Starliner docked to the International Space Station (ISS) at the weekend. “A pulsing sound from a speaker in Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft heard by Nasa astronaut Butch Wilmore aboard the International Space Station has stopped,” Nasa posted to its social media accounts on Monday. It explained the mystery noise as feedback... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3276925/nasa-explains-strange-noise-heard-astronaut-boeings-starliner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3276925/nasa-explains-strange-noise-heard-astronaut-boeings-starliner?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Sep 2024 20:43:57 +0000 Recent global events have raised fears that international cooperation is an impossible dream. Earlier this year, even UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres lamented the dysfunction of a “deadlocked” Security Council as the world enters “an age of chaos”. So it was encouraging to learn that experts representing governments around the world have agreed on steps to keep the peace and avoid an arms race in space. Members of GGE-PAROS, a United Nations body focused on further practical measures for... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3276717/deal-boosts-hopes-peace-outer-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3276717/deal-boosts-hopes-peace-outer-space?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 00:00:11 +0000 On June 5, astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore embarked on the Crew Flight Test mission to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Boeing Starliner spacecraft. However, problems with the Starliner meant what was supposed to be an eight-day stint in space could now turn into a months-long saga, with projected return dates potentially running into 2025, per the BBC. Officials at Nasa are still considering options for the astronauts’ return trip and the media is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3274608/meet-nasa-astronauts-stuck-space-boeing-starliner-sunita-suni-williams-and-barry-butch-wilmore-may?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/entertainment/article/3274608/meet-nasa-astronauts-stuck-space-boeing-starliner-sunita-suni-williams-and-barry-butch-wilmore-may?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2024 21:00:09 +0000 What was meant to be a week-long trip to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first Nasa astronauts to fly with Boeing could extend to eight months, with the agency considering bringing them home on a SpaceX spaceship. A final decision on whether to persist with Boeing’s troubled Starliner – which experienced worrying propulsion issues as it flew up to the orbital platform in June – is expected later this month, officials said on Wednesday in a call with reporters. Detailed planning is... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3273638/nasa-weighs-spacex-rescue-stranded-boeing-starliner-crew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3273638/nasa-weighs-spacex-rescue-stranded-boeing-starliner-crew?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2024 23:08:02 +0000 Former US president Donald Trump’s complicated relationship with Elon Musk, America’s most mercurial billionaire and chief executive of the commercial rocket launch company SpaceX, could wield a profound influence on US space policy in the years ahead. The more entrepreneurial and deregulated approach both men advocate for space comes as China builds on significant successes in its astronautics programme, which some analysts say could further escalate the space race if Trump is re-elected... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3272100/elon-musk-all-donald-trump-what-might-mean-us-space-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3272100/elon-musk-all-donald-trump-what-might-mean-us-space-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 26 Jul 2024 20:00:37 +0000 At 9.20am on February 15, 2013, a meteorite exploded above the city of Chelyabinsk, in Western Russia. Burning a streak of light across the morning sky, the superbolide, or fireball, about 18 metres in diameter, weighing roughly 12,000 tonnes and travelling at 19km per second, produced on impact a seismic wave recorded at magnitude 2.7, making it an estimated 30 times stronger than that of the first atomic bomb. Though buildings were damaged by the blast and more than 1,600 people injured, no... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3270884/christian-pilards-little-museum-world-hong-kong-pet-prehistoric-mammoth-or-marvel-meteorite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3270884/christian-pilards-little-museum-world-hong-kong-pet-prehistoric-mammoth-or-marvel-meteorite?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jul 2024 09:00:09 +0000 A pair of US astronauts stuck waiting to leave the International Space Station said they were confident that the problem-plagued Boeing Starliner they rode up on would soon bring them home, even as significant uncertainties remain. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams blasted off on June 5 aboard the brand new spaceship that Nasa is hoping to certify to ferry crews to-and-from the orbital outpost. They docked the following day for what was meant to be roughly a week-long stay, but their return was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3270003/nasa-astronauts-stuck-iss-confident-boeing-space-capsule-will-bring-them-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3270003/nasa-astronauts-stuck-iss-confident-boeing-space-capsule-will-bring-them-home?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2024 02:56:01 +0000 Two Shenzhou-18 astronauts completed a spacewalk on Wednesday night to fortify China’s space station with extra armour following the explosion of a Russian satellite that generated a burst of space debris last week. “The spacewalk primarily focused on installing protective devices on external cables and pipelines to mitigate risks posed by potential space debris collisions, enhancing the long-term safety and stability of the space station,” said Liu Ming, of the China Aerospace Science and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269186/china-fortifies-tiangong-space-station-after-russian-satellite-explosion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3269186/china-fortifies-tiangong-space-station-after-russian-satellite-explosion?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2024 11:00:19 +0000 A Barbie that has been into space will go on display for the first time as part of an exhibition at London’s Design Museum to mark the 65th anniversary of the world-famous doll brand. The doll is a likeness of Samantha Cristoforetti, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Europe’s first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS). It spent six months orbiting the Earth on the ISS with her in 2022. “I think it’s a great achievement for the overall team to have this Barbie on... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3268662/barbie-has-been-space-exhibition-london-marks-65-years-famous-doll?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3268662/barbie-has-been-space-exhibition-london-marks-65-years-famous-doll?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:15:09 +0000 Nasa awarded SpaceX US$843 million to build a vehicle capable of pushing the International Space Station into Earth’s atmosphere for its planned destruction around 2030, it said on Wednesday, a task originally meant for Russia’s thrusters. Under its new Nasa contract, SpaceX will build what the space agency called the US Deorbit Vehicle to deorbit the space station and avoid risks to populated areas, with Nasa taking ownership of the craft and handling the deorbiting operation. The football... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3268193/spacex-wins-us843-million-help-nasa-destroy-international-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3268193/spacex-wins-us843-million-help-nasa-destroy-international-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2024 23:40:33 +0000 China said it would never compete with the US on the moon. Now it has changed its mind. In a new strategic lunar plan, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) has defined the United States as a competitor for the first time, signifying a big shift from the nation’s long-held discreet space policy to a position of rapidly growing strength. Human exploration of the moon has always been competitive. It began with the tug of war between America and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. “In... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267371/china-calls-us-competitor-moon-race-first-time-position-strength?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3267371/china-calls-us-competitor-moon-race-first-time-position-strength?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2024 10:00:19 +0000 A Boeing Starliner capsule carrying its first ever astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Thursday after overcoming unexpected challenges arising from thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. The spaceship dubbed “Calypso” rendezvoused with the orbital lab at 1.34pm ET (1.34am Hong Kong time) over the southern Indian Ocean, allowing cremates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to enter a while later. “We’re ready to get to work,” declared Wilmore, while Williams performed a little... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265698/boeing-starliners-first-astronaut-crew-welcomed-aboard-international-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265698/boeing-starliners-first-astronaut-crew-welcomed-aboard-international-space-station?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Jun 2024 21:56:33 +0000 Boeing launched astronauts for the first time on Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for Nasa. A pair of Nasa test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the International Space Station, the first to fly the new spacecraft. The trip by Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams was expected to take 25 hours, with an arrival on Thursday. They will spend just over a week at the orbiting lab before climbing back into Starliner for a remote desert touchdown in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265534/boeing-launches-nasa-astronauts-first-time-after-years-delays?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265534/boeing-launches-nasa-astronauts-first-time-after-years-delays?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:15:05 +0000 Boeing’s second attempt at launching a crew aboard its troubled Starliner spaceship was dramatically aborted Saturday with just minutes left on the countdown clock, yet another setback for a programme that has faced years of delays. With the astronauts strapped in and ready for lift-off, the test mission to the International Space Station was unexpectedly halted due to reasons that are not yet clear. United Launch Alliance, responsible for the Atlas V rocket that Starliner sits atop, is now... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265036/boeing-starliners-1st-crewed-launch-halted-minutes-lift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265036/boeing-starliners-1st-crewed-launch-halted-minutes-lift?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 21:10:49 +0000 Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa cancelled his “dearMoon” mission, which the project said was to have been the first private flight around the moon, the mission announced on Saturday. The team had originally aimed to make the circumlunar flight, with celebrities on board, by the end of last year but that became “unfeasible”, the mission said in a statement on its website. “Without clear schedule certainty in the near-term, it is with a heavy heart that Maezawa made the unavoidable decision to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3265000/japanese-billionaire-yusaku-maezawa-cancels-star-studded-moon-trip?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3265000/japanese-billionaire-yusaku-maezawa-cancels-star-studded-moon-trip?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 06:18:58 +0000 Two Shenzhou-18 astronauts on board China’s Tiangong space station set a new spacewalking record for the country on Tuesday. During their 8½-hour extravehicular activity (EVA), mission commander Ye Guangfu and crew member Li Guangsu finished installing space debris protection devices and inspected equipment and facilities outside Tiangong, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The spacewalk broke previous records of about eight hours set by Shenzhou-16 and Shenzhou-17 astronauts,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3264510/chinese-astronauts-complete-record-breaking-spacewalk-protect-tiangong-space-station-debris?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3264510/chinese-astronauts-complete-record-breaking-spacewalk-protect-tiangong-space-station-debris?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2024 06:00:19 +0000 The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular celestial light shows in skies from Tasmania to Britain – and threatening possible disruptions to satellites and power grids as it persists into the weekend. The first of several coronal mass ejections (CMEs) – expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun – came just after 1600 GMT, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Space Weather Prediction... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3262296/auroras-sparkle-massive-solar-storm-strikes-earth-threatening-disrupt-satellites-power-grids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3262296/auroras-sparkle-massive-solar-storm-strikes-earth-threatening-disrupt-satellites-power-grids?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2024 03:21:24 +0000 The first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spaceship was dramatically called off just two hours before launch after a new safety issue was identified, officials said on Monday, pushing back a high-stakes test mission to the International Space Station. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were strapped into their seats preparing for liftoff when the call for a “scrub” came, because engineers noticed audible buzzing from a liquid oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket meant to propel... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3261666/historic-boeing-starliner-space-mission-postponed-shortly-launch-over-rocket-issue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3261666/historic-boeing-starliner-space-mission-postponed-shortly-launch-over-rocket-issue?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 May 2024 02:49:52 +0000 China has revealed the names of the three astronauts who will travel to the country’s space station as part of its 13th crewed mission on Thursday. The Shenzhou-18 mission will launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China. During the mission, the crew will carry out experiments on fish as an initial step towards raising other vertebrates in space. Commander Ye Guangfu, who was part of the 2021 Shenzhou-13 mission, will lead his teammates Li Cong and Li Guangsu, both... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3260183/china-reveals-shenzhou-18-crew-next-space-station-mission?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3260183/china-reveals-shenzhou-18-crew-next-space-station-mission?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:14:09 +0000 It is the world’s largest LED screen, offering nearly 580,000 square feet of artistic freedom. Each of Las Vegas entertainment venue Sphere’s diodes can display 256 million colours, and there are 48 of those diodes in each of the approximately 1.2 million LED pucks that blanket its exterior. Yet for all of its bells and whistles, every state-of-the-art this and never-been-done-before that, the most popular piece of content to have graced Sphere’s Exosphere resembles something that could have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3258340/how-las-vegas-sphere-brings-art-masses-worlds-biggest-canvas-and-creates-fun-giant-emoji?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3258340/how-las-vegas-sphere-brings-art-masses-worlds-biggest-canvas-and-creates-fun-giant-emoji?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2024 10:15:12 +0000 Turkey could play an influential role in the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) as it seeks to join the project led by China and Russia, bringing with it high space ambitions and a shifting political agenda, according to a space analyst. The Middle Eastern nation had applied to be a member of the ILRS, an initiative to build a base at the moon’s south pole by 2035, Turkish and Russian media outlets reported on Monday. It is the first Nato member to apply. The move “represents a new... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3258624/nato-member-turkey-seeks-join-china-russia-moon-project-instead-us-led-artemis-programme-reports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3258624/nato-member-turkey-seeks-join-china-russia-moon-project-instead-us-led-artemis-programme-reports?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2024 06:58:24 +0000 The launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft was aborted just seconds before scheduled lift-off to the International Space Station on Thursday and the crew of a Russian, a Belarusian and an American were safety evacuated. “Launch!” mission control said in Russian as the rocket was shown at its launch site at the Baikonur cosmodrome in the steppe of Kazakhstan with its main umbilical shown moving away. Then the words “automatic cancellation of the launch” came over the live stream just 20 seconds... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3256282/launch-russian-soyuz-spacecraft-aborted-seconds-blast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3256282/launch-russian-soyuz-spacecraft-aborted-seconds-blast?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Mar 2024 18:22:12 +0000 I’ve just returned from a mission to Beijing to seek partners for not only scientific space research but also commercial “NewSpace” endeavours. Attending six meetings in 2½ days was exhausting yet exhilarating. Why? Because the mood music from every group we met, whether in the halls of academia or the boardrooms of private companies, is effectively the same. We found ourselves in a “can-do” atmosphere humming with excitement about what the future may hold, an impatience to act, a keenness to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3255966/its-not-rocket-science-hong-kong-needs-jump-chinese-space-bandwagon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3255966/its-not-rocket-science-hong-kong-needs-jump-chinese-space-bandwagon?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Mar 2024 07:30:12 +0000 Starship, the world’s most powerful rocket, flew further and faster than ever before during its third test launch, although it was eventually lost as it re-entered the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, SpaceX said. Lift-off from the company’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas came at 8.25am local time on Thursday and was carried live on a webcast watched by millions on social media platform X. The sleek mega rocket is vital to Nasa’s plans for landing astronauts on the moon later this decade – and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3255426/musks-spacex-mega-rocket-blasts-third-test-flight-texas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3255426/musks-spacex-mega-rocket-blasts-third-test-flight-texas?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Mar 2024 14:09:23 +0000 For the Paris Olympics, it could almost be a new sport: score points by hunting down mosaics that a mystery artist who calls himself “Invader” has cemented to walls across France’s capital, the world – including Hong Kong – and even had carried aloft to the International Space Station. Vincent Giraud, one of the artist’s Parisian fans, is already an avid player. He downloaded Invader’s addictive FlashInvaders mobile-phone game that awards points to users who find and photograph the colourful and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3254325/how-2024-paris-olympics-visitors-invader-frances-banksy-will-offer-another-way-discovering-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3254325/how-2024-paris-olympics-visitors-invader-frances-banksy-will-offer-another-way-discovering-city?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Mar 2024 03:10:01 +0000 Hong Kong needs to wake up to the opportunities of the “NewSpace” economy and the wealth-creating industries that are springing up around the commercial exploitation of the orbital environment. Sadly, these industries are largely bypassing us (but not Macau) despite their huge potential for our city. This is especially as Hong Kong strives for greater technological relevance in the Greater Bay Area. It’s also because Hong Kong not only has the capacity, within our great universities and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252893/how-hong-kong-can-play-critical-role-space-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252893/how-hong-kong-can-play-critical-role-space-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2024 12:00:19 +0000 For the first time since 1972, the US is back on the moon. At 6.23pm New York time Thursday (7.23am Hong Kong time Friday), Intuitive Machines landed a robotic spacecraft on the moon, becoming the first private firm to place a vehicle intact on the lunar surface. Nasa, which paid nearly US$118 million for this mission, posted congratulations on the X social media platform: “Your order was delivered … to the Moon!” Intuitive Machines will eventually send two additional landers to the moon in... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252956/odysseus-mission-why-it-took-us-51-years-get-back-moon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252956/odysseus-mission-why-it-took-us-51-years-get-back-moon?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Feb 2024 05:58:38 +0000 The White House publicly confirmed that Russia has obtained a “troubling” emerging anti-satellite weapon but said it cannot directly cause “physical destruction” on Earth. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said US intelligence officials have information that Russia has obtained the capability but that such a weapon is not currently operational. US officials are analysing the information they have on the emerging technology and have consulted with allies and partners on the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252120/russia-developing-troubling-anti-satellite-weapon-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3252120/russia-developing-troubling-anti-satellite-weapon-white-house-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Feb 2024 20:26:00 +0000 Seiji Ozawa, the iconic Japanese conductor known for his work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and other world-famous ensembles, died on Tuesday due to heart failure at his home in Tokyo, his management office said on Friday. He was 88. A trailblazer of Japanese conductors active on the world stage, Ozawa in recent years had suffered a series of health problems that forced him to cancel some of his concert and music festival appearances. In his teens, the future maestro seemed destined for a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3251588/japans-trailblazing-conductor-seiji-ozawa-dies-heart-failure-88?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3251588/japans-trailblazing-conductor-seiji-ozawa-dies-heart-failure-88?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Feb 2024 13:09:38 +0000 The chip war between China and the United States now extends beyond the Earth and into space. According to scientists directly involved in China’s extraterrestrial chip programme, China’s Tiangong space station can now test more than 100 computer processors simultaneously. More than 20 new high-performance chips spanning the 28 to 16-nanometre process range have already passed testing. They are considerably more advanced than chips used by other countries in space. Nasa has said the chips it... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249569/china-takes-its-chip-war-space-it-uses-tiangong-space-station-test-processors-and-gain-tech-edge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3249569/china-takes-its-chip-war-space-it-uses-tiangong-space-station-test-processors-and-gain-tech-edge?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Jan 2024 05:00:13 +0000