Aerotime reports, “Rocket Lab Corporation announced that, in partnership with Raytheon, it has been selected to demonstrate advanced capabilities for the United States Space Force’s Space Based Interceptor program, a central building block of the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile defense architecture.”
Full Story (Aerotime)
Tag: Astronautics
ASCEND 2026 Program to Launch with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
FROM THE INSTITUTE
ASCEND 2026 will open on Tuesday, 19 May, with keynote remarks from Jared Isaacman, the 15th Administrator of NASA. It’s not his first time appearing at ASCEND. Isaacman spoke at ASCEND in 2021, just after returning from commanding Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight. Now he’ll share perspectives from his new role leading America’s space program.
Technical Rigor, Professionalism, and Enthusiasm on Display at AIAA Region II Student Conference
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The 2026 AIAA Region II Student Conference, brought together more than 330 attendees and featured 105 student presentations. The event provided a valuable forum for students to showcase their work in a professional setting, receive real-time feedback from experienced practitioners serving as judges, and build connections with peers and professionals across academia, industry, and government. AIAA Region II Director Emeritus Kurt Polzin noted that “the conference creates an environment where students can refine their ideas, strengthen their communication skills, and gain confidence presenting complex work to a broader audience.”
ESA’s Space Rider Passes Critical Hurdles on Path to Spaceflight
SPACE reports, “Space Rider, a novel spacecraft concept from the European Space Agency (ESA), is advancing toward its first flight, with new milestones tackling two of the vehicle’s biggest challenges: surviving the heat of reentry and executing a precise landing back on Earth.”
Full Story (SPACE)
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to Open ASCEND 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2026 – Reston, Va. – AIAA is pleased to welcome NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman back to the ASCEND stage to open ASCEND 2026 at 8 a.m., Tuesday, 19 May, Washington Hilton, Washington, DC. Isaacman first appeared at ASCEND in 2021, just after returning from commanding Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
Registration for ASCEND 2026 is available online. Journalists should request a Press Pass.
Powered by AIAA, ASCEND is the world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space event designed to accelerate building our off-world future. Lockheed Martin is the Founding Sponsor of ASCEND. For ASCEND 2026, Commercial Space Federation (CSF) is the Premier Event Partner. Event partners include: BryceTech, ISS National Laboratory, Novaspace, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Space Force Association (SFA), Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), and The Aerospace Corporation.
Since 2020, ASCEND has promoted the collaborative, interdisciplinary, outcomes-driven community of professionals, students, and enthusiasts around the world who are accelerating humanity’s progress toward our off-world future.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
AIAA is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With more than 33,000 individual members from 91 countries, and over 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. Visit www.aiaa.org or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
Voyager Optimistic About Starlab as NASA Reconsiders Commercial Station Plans
Space News reports, “Voyager Technologies says it is ready should NASA change plans for supporting development of commercial space stations. In March, NASA outlined a proposed new direction for its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Destinations, or CLD, program. The agency, outlining its concerns that a commercial market for space stations had not emerged, said it was considering instead procuring a new “core module” for the International Space Station that commercial modules could attach to as a precursor to standalone stations.”
Full Story (Space News)
The Space Station’s Past and Future Converge at ASCEND 2026
FROM THE INSTITUTE
The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory will bring a full day of programming to ASCEND 2026 on Tuesday, 19 May, plus nearly 60 technical papers on ISS utilization and space-based research expected to be presented on Wednesday and Thursday, 20–21 May. From microgravity-enabled medical breakthroughs to startup innovation in low Earth orbit (LEO), the ISS National Lab sessions are designed to show how researchers and commercial players alike are using the orbiting laboratory as an engine for science, technology, and a sustainable space economy.
Webb Telescope Captures First Direct Look at Distant Exoplanet’s Surface
SPACE reports astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have directly analyzed the surface of a distant super-Earth, revealing a dark, airless, Mercury-like world.
Full Story (SPACE)
SpaceX Sends South Korean Imaging Satellite, 44 More Payloads to Orbit on Falcon 9
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched 45 payloads on an overnight rideshare mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Station early Sunday morning. The mission, dubbed CAS500-2, is named for the primary payload called Compact Advanced Satellite 500-2 from the Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI). It’s the second of two satellites that KAI calls Phase 1 of its CAS500 program, which is designed for ‘precision ground-based observation.'”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Video
Spaceflight Now; YouTube
Russia Debuts Next-Generation Soyuz 5 Rocket with First Successful Flight
SPACE reports, “Russia’s new Soyuz 5 rocket has taken to the skies at long last. The Soyuz 5 lifted off for the first time ever on Thursday (April 30), rising off a pad at the Russia-run Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 2:00 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT; 11:00 p.m. local time in Baikonur).”
Full Story (SPACE)
Video
Launch of the new Soyuz-5 rocket (Launch occurs at the 21:14 mark)
Мир авиации; YouTube