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The Space Shuttle Atlantis takes off for its final flight, in spite of predictions that weather might have delayed this final shuttle mission. Click this image to make giant, or right-click and select "open link in new tab." More »
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Cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev recently arrived at the International Space Station, along with astronauts Cady Colemand from the US and Paolo Nespoli from the European Space Agency. And he posted some rare images from inside the Soyuz capsule on his blog. More »
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A rusty old cart sits in front of the Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, just a few days before its launch to the International Space Station. (The Soyuz craft, not the cart.) [Carla Cioffi/NASA via Space.com] More »
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Once, these rocket ships helped countless schoolchildren to conquer the vast reaches of space. Now, they look like a good way to get tetanus, with their rusty distressed metal. Photographer Lauren Orchowski's new book Rocket Science documents their beautiful decrepitude. More »
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That's not a happy rocket-launch picture. South Korea lost contact with its Naro-1 rocket right after launch, and the Koreans believe it exploded at 43 miles. The Koreans were attempting to launch a scientific satellite to cope with climate change. More »
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The co-founder of PayPal just launched a rocket, the Falcon 9, which hopes to put a space capsule, the Dragon, into orbit. We're all hoping Elon Musk's rocket works better than PayPal, because NASA wants to use it for missions. More »
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The Space Shuttle Atlantis has its final launch, in this breathtaking picture from Cape Canaveral. Atlantis will spend 12 days at the International Space Station, including three spacewalks. Photo by Matt Stroshane/Getty Images. More »
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Early this morning, NASA launched the Ares I-X rocket on a sub-orbital test flight - this is the first new rocket tested in 30 years. A cone of cloud formed around the nose as it blasted upward. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) More »
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Marvel at the beauty of NASA's Ares I-X test rocket, due to launch on Tuesday. If all goes well, NASA can move forward with development of its next-generation Orion spacecraft, which should carry us to the Moon... and Mars. More »
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Here's South Korea's first space rocket, the prosaically named Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1, whose scheduled launch was aborted today. If it ever launches, will the KSLV-1 establish South Korea as a space power, or create new tensions with North Korea? More »
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Check out this row of experimental astronaut suits — they look like something out of Tintin. With the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing coming up, the National Air and Space Museum is displaying precious Apollo mission artifacts. Gallery below. More »
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A specially designed rocket soars over Wallops Island, VA, on its way to test a new astronaut escape system for NASA's Orion spacecraft, due to start launching in 2015. Want to see the fancy new escape system? There are parachutes... More »
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This rocket sled is moving at 3300 mph, an astonishing land speed captured here with extreme flash photography. Rocket sleds are also the reason why we have Murphy's Law. More »
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This Russian Proton rocket, looking like something out of a 60s sci-fi novel, launched yesterday from Baikonur Cosmodrome carrying one of the largest satellites ever built. Arguably the best heavy boost rocket in the world, the Proton is a Cold War relic that's still a workhorse (despite some recent failures) more than forty years after the first one was launched. How did this rocket, one of the deadliest weapons ever created, end up helping North Americans watch European football matches via satellite? More »
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We finally got the Space Shuttle Atlantis off the ground, after two months of delays and accidents, and it looks totally rich and creamy, streaming into the sky on the back of its big booster rocket. How can we be planning to retire the space shuttle program when it's such an awesome source of porn? Not to mention the advancement of science: the shuttle's mission is to deliver that tiny Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. Click through for a gallery. More »
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Last nights' space shuttle Atlantis liftoff was delayed until Saturday due to engineering problems, but the shuttle herself looked all tarted up and ready to dance. This was Atlantis as she was on the launch pad last night, ready to carry a new laboratory to the International Space Station. Ah, the glamour. Image by Nicholas Kamm/Getty. More »
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