VIRGIN GALACTIC’S SPACESHIPTWO REACHES SPACE FROM NEW MEXICO

On May 22, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed its third crewed test flight from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The first-ever spaceflight from New Mexico for the company also represents the third state to date launching humans to space.
NASA ASSIGNS KAYLA BARRON TO CREW-3 DRAGON MISSION

While the Crew-2 mission has only just begun aboard the International Space Station, NASA is finalizing the astronaut selection for the next crew rotation mission to the outpost, Crew-3.
SLS ROCKET CORE FOR ARTEMIS 2 MISSION REACHES MAJOR MILESTONE

Teams at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have begun assembling the core stage for the second Space Launch System rocket, which aims to send people around the Moon in 2023.
FCC FILING OFFERS 1ST LOOK AT SPACEX’S ORBITAL STARSHIP FLIGHT PLAN

SpaceX has given an initial look at the flight plan for its first orbital Starship in a new filing posted to the Federal Communications Commission website.
STARSHIP SN15 ON PAD B FOR POSSIBLE ENCORE FLIGHT

SpaceX remains as committed as ever to its breakneck pace of testing at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch facilities. Starship SN15, which conducted the first fully successful 10-kilometer test flight of the program with a clean, intact landing, was moved back to the launch pad on May 11, 2021, just under a week after that successful May 5 flight.
15TH LAUNCH OF THE YEAR FOR SPACEX, AS B1058 FLIES AGAIN

Saturday evening, May 15 at 6:56 p.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from LC-39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
LOSS OF PAYLOAD FOLLOWS ROCKET LAB FLIGHT ANOMALY

Rocket Lab successfully launched its Electron rocket from the shores of New Zealand on May 15 at 11:11 UTC, but unfortunately suffered an unexpected anomaly during staging.
NASA’S CAPSTONE LUNAR MISSION TO FLY LATER THIS YEAR

Later this year, NASA plans to launch a CubeSat to test a special orbit around the Moon to verify its characteristics in advance of sending the Lunar Gateway there as early as 2024.
AXIOM, NASA AGREE TO 1ST PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSION TO ISS

NASA and Axiom Space announced May 10, 2021, an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
45TH SPACE WING RE-DESIGNATED AS SPACE LAUNCH DELTA 45

The United States Space Force has redesignated the 45th Space Wing, which oversees launches on Florida’s Space Coast, as Space Launch Delta 45.
EXOPLANETS AND THEIR CHARACTERIZATION THE FOCUS OF STSCL WORKSHOP

The various methods used over the last 25 years to discover exoplanets and the science of categorizing the many types of exoplanets that have been found was the focus of an April 19 workshop for science writers sponsored by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI).
INGENUITY MARS HELICOPTER TRANSITIONS TO “OPERATIONS DEMONSTRATION PHASE”

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter successfully took to the Martial skies for a fifth time, proving its capabilities as a fully-functioning aircraft