Latest · Jun 20, 2026
Who Will be the First Woman on the Moon?
We now know a woman won’t fly with ArtemisArtemis — NASA's program to return humans to the Moon and build a sustained lunar presence. III, but what of the big one: Artemis IV?
Read the column →The J Mission Index · Flagship
How far are we to a self-sustaining cislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. economy?
11/ 1008/38 milestones · data 2025
Earth-to-Orbit Access 16.7%28
LEO Commercialization & Habitation 16.7%4
In-Space Logistics & Refueling 11.1%7
CislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. Transport 16.7%15
Lunar Surface Infrastructure 11.1%0
ISRU & Resource Use 11.1%0
Economic Self-Sufficiency 16.7%13
0–100 distance to a self-sustaining cislunarCislunar — The region of space between Earth and the Moon, including lunar orbit — the arena J Mission tracks. economy · 7 pillars, weighted · continuous indicators (GCATGCAT — The General Catalog of Artificial Space Objects — an authoritative launch and payload catalog kept by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.) normalized distance-to-target + cited milestone checklists (OECD/JRCOECD / EC-JRC handbook — The standard recipe for building a composite indicator: a stated framework, explicit normalization, and transparent weights.) · methodology →
The Indexes
All indexes + methodology →Launch Cadence Index
192orbital YTD 2026
~321 projected · record 2025: 324Method · Launch Library 2 (live) + SpaceNews (excl. suborbital Starship)SpaceX Dominance
49% of launches
2025: 50.9%Method · Launch Library 2 (live) + SpaceNewsSpace-Economy Growth
38/100 · activity 2025
+8 vs 2024 · +25.3% YoYMethod · GCAT (McDowell) + Space-Track · computed in code; YoY min-max normalized, equal-weight (OECD/JRC)Space News Heat
99/ 100 vs 21-day high
▼ coolingMethod · GDELT DOC 2.0 (article volume)The Feed
Live · 16:35 UTCNews Wire SNAPI · RSS · multi-source
AUG 616:35NASAI Am Artemis Tom PercyAUG 616:00Space.com'Strange New Worlds' latest 'Hangover'-inspired episode is a reminder that 'Star Trek' vacations are never a good ideaAUG 615:31SpaceNewsHow should Europe’s militaries respond to space threatsAUG 615:24Space.comSpaceX rocket's impact crater on the moon spied by Korean lunar orbiter (photos)AUG 615:15NASATaking Flight to Prepare for SpaceAUG 615:00SpaceNewsLessons for the future of NASA Mars exploration from a 1970s missionAUG 615:00Space.comBlue Origin traces origin of huge New Glenn rocket explosion to oxygen valve, CEO saysAUG 614:39NASAJOB OPPORTUNITIES: NASA OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSELAUG 614:30United Launch AllianceVulcan: Wet Dress Rehearsal plannedAUG 614:18SpaceNewsRedwire to fly dedicated Starfall mission for microgravity researchAUG 614:00Space.comOn this day in space! Aug. 6, 2012: NASA lands huge Curiosity rover on Mars with a rocket-powered sky craneAUG 613:57Spaceflight NowNASA, Northrop Grumman repurpose Gateway elements for Moon Base demo missionsAUG 613:00ESAA match made in cleanroomsAUG 612:39NASASpacewalk Begins for Solar Array ModificationsAUG 612:31PayloadEndeavor Optical Networks Emerges from StealthAUG 612:00SpaceNewsThree companies building the tech to grow crops on the moonAUG 611:32PayloadRocket Lab Wins $397M Contract to Build and Launch Threat-Tracking ‘Flatellites’AUG 609:00ESAExoMars stretches out its legsAUG 608:00ESAWebb opens a Treasure Chest filled with starsAUG 519:19ArstechnicaThis Atlantic hurricane season is looking like a dud, but there will be a price to payAUG 518:49European SpaceflightCNES Sets 2028 Target for Hot-Fire Test of New High-Thrust Rocket EngineAUG 512:45PayloadSpaceX Reports Q2 EarningsAUG 512:24PayloadNeuraspace Raises €15.6M to Scale its SDA ServiceAUG 506:55Spaceflight NowSpaceX launches 3 AST SpaceMobile BlueBird satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape CanaveralSignal Bluesky · AT Proto
NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comAUG 6 · 16:35Join us 🔴LIVE🔴 Today, August 8th, from 2:00 p.m. CDT / 19:00 UTC on NASASpaceflight’s Starbase Live stream for another Raptorside Chat.
We’ll discuss all the latest developments at Starbase and beyond, and try to answer any questions yo…SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialAUG 6 · 15:31How should Europe’s militaries respond to space threats
https://youtu.be/OxOaMOpNU70 In this episode, SpaceNews’ Emma Gatti leads a panel of experts to discuss Europe’s defense posture and the reaction to space…
https://spacenews.com/ho…SpaceNews @spacenewsinc.bsky.socialAUG 6 · 15:00Lessons for the future of NASA Mars exploration from a 1970s mission
July 20 marked the 50th anniversary of one of the biggest robotic spaceflight achievements in NASA’s history: the landing of the Viking 1 spacecraft on Mars....ESA Operations@operations.esa.intAUG 6 · 13:15🚨🚨🚨ESA is opening our Hera asteroid mission to the global software community!
Your code 💾. Our spacecraft 🛰️. Deep space🌌.
#OpenSource #SpaceTech
www.esa.int/Enabling_Sup...Jeff Foust@jfoust.bsky.socialAUG 6 · 13:14Redwire announced on its earnings call this morning that its SpaceMD subsidiary purchased a dedicated SpaceX Starfall mission in 2028 for microgravity research.Robert Wall@r-wall.bsky.socialAUG 6 · 12:52Australia To Buy AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile aviationweek.com/defense/miss...Spaceflight Now@spaceflightnow.comAUG 6 · 12:45NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Anil Menon are stepping outside the International Space Station for a spacewalk to work on the orbiting outpost's power system and prepare for the installation of new solar arrays. Watch live: youtube.com/…ESA Space Science@science.esa.intAUG 6 · 12:02We've gathered everything #SolarEclipse related at www.esa.int/solareclipse
Visit for:
📺 our eclipse plans, online and in person
👩🏫 educational and outreach resources
🔭 the science behind eclipses
🔭 🧪 ☀️ #EduSky #EuropeanSolarEcl…NASASpaceflight.com@nasaspaceflight.comAUG 6 · 11:18Rocket Lab has launched the “The Grain Goddess Provides” mission, aboard its Electron/Curie rocket, today at 9:18pm NZST (09:18 UTC) from its LC-1A in New Zealand, sending the QPS-SAR-13 satellite to LEO.
This is RL and Electron’s 13th …Rocket Lab@rocketlabcorp.comAUG 6 · 09:45Electron on its way to space for its 92nd launch 🚀Rocket Lab@rocketlabcorp.comAUG 6 · 08:50Liquid oxygen propellant loading is underway on Electron for our 92nd launch and latest mission from LC-1 for iQPS.
The T-0 has been set:
🚀 9:18 pm/09:18 NZST/UTC
🚀 6:18 pm JST
🚀 5:18 am EDT
🚀 2:18 am PDTESA Operations@operations.esa.intAUG 6 · 08:29The Incredible Adventures of the Hera Mission - episode 4 - tales of terrific technology, detailing the instruments Hera & its CubeSats will be using to survey its target asteroids! 🪨🔬To be continued... www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...ESA Space Science@science.esa.intAUG 6 · 08:12Today Webb opens a Treasure Chest filled with sparkling stars in this new view from the Carina Nebula.
Read more 👉 https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/08/Webb_opens_a_Treasure_Chest_filled_with_stars
🔭
#milkywayKevin M. Gill@kevinmgill.bsky.socialAUG 5 · 23:16Some really interesting light-toned rocks spotted by the Mars Perseverance Rover over the last few days. Images taken between Sols 1937 - 1939 using WATSON, MastCam-Z, and SuperCam.
flic.kr/p/2stqrH8
flic.kr/p/2ssUxgQ
flic.kr/p/2st25UR
f…Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialAUG 5 · 22:42Roskosmos confirms the fire at TsNIIMash, next to the Energiya factory.Jonathan McDowell@planet4589.bsky.socialAUG 5 · 22:25Fire reported at the RKK Energiya campus near Moscow, the factory where Sputnik and Vostok were built. I don't have independent confirmation of this (these are definitely the buildings, I've been there, but with AI fakery these days who …