SpaceX

Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX continues to make headlines, as the company launches rockets and craft into space, with the ultimate goal of bringing humans to other planets like Mars. Live Science keeps up with the most interesting SpaceX developments and achievements, including the Tesla Roadster that is hurtling through space and the Falcon Heavy rocket that carried it there.
Latest about spacex

Elon Musk threatens to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft after Trump feud. What does it mean for the US space industry?
By Pandora Dewan published
A war of words between SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump could lead to significant fallout for U.S.-led space exploration.

What goes up must come down: How megaconstellations like SpaceX's Starlink network pose a grave safety threat to us on Earth
By Samantha Lawler published
Opinion Thousands of satellites with incredibly short lifetimes are being sent up into low Earth orbit. When they fall back down they're fireballs of pollution — and what doesn't burn up hits the ground.

'No radio astronomy from the ground would be possible anymore': Satellite mega-swarms are blinding us to the cosmos — and a critical 'inflection point' is approaching
By Harry Baker published
Invisible radiation leaking out of private satellites, like SpaceX's Starlink spacecraft, is disrupting radio astronomers' ability to detect important signals from across the universe. If left unchecked, we could reach an "inflection point" beyond which we can no longer properly study the cosmos, researchers warn.

How many satellites could fit in Earth orbit? And how many do we really need?
By Harry Baker published
The number of satellites orbiting Earth is rising fast, thanks to private companies such as SpaceX. But just how big will these "megaconstellations" become? And what problems might they cause?

How many satellites orbit Earth?
By Harry Baker last updated
The number of satellites orbiting our planet is rising fast, thanks to private "megaconstellations" that pose various threats to space exploration and astronomy. But how big has the problem already become?

NASA signs new contract to use SpaceX's Starship — even though it keeps blowing up
By Harry Baker published
SpaceX's Starship has been awarded a NASA contract that will allow it to be considered for future missions. However, recent explosive tests have shown the supersized spacecraft is still far from mission-ready.

NASA's SPHEREx telescope 'opens its eyes on the universe', taking stunning debut image of 100,000 galaxies and stars
By Ben Turner published
SPHEREx's first images — containing roughly 100,000 points of light stars, galaxies and nebulae — have confirmed that the telescope is working according to its design.

'A notch above a gimmick': Experts question scientific merit of billionaire's Fram2 'space adventure' around Earth's poles
By Harry Baker published
The recently launched Fram2 mission, which is funded and led by cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang, will attempt to grow mushrooms, test out hormone diapers and X-ray civilian astronauts. However, experts say that these novel experiments are unlikely to yield meaningful results.

'Welcome home!': NASA astronauts who spent 9 months in orbit finally back on Earth
By Ben Turner published
After nine months in space, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have splash-landed off the coast of Florida.

When will the 'stranded' NASA astronauts return to Earth?
By Ben Turner published
After spending more than nine months in space, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally coming home. NASA is targeting a Tuesday evening (March 18) splashdown for the returning astronauts, if weather conditions remain favorable.
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