Posted: Sun, May 19 8:02 AM ET (1202 GMT)
NASA and ESA have finalized an agreement about NASA's contributions to ESA's ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. The agencies signed an agreement Thursday where NASA will provide thrusters, radioisotope heating units and launch services for the mission, scheduled for launch in late 2028. The NASA contributions replace components previously provided by Roscosmos before ESA halted cooperation when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. NASA's fiscal year 2025 budget proposal projected spending $339 million on the Rosalind Franklin mission through fiscal year 2029.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Space.com article
•  NASA press release

Posted: Sun, May 19 7:57 AM ET (1157 GMT)
Russia launched a classified payload Thursday. A Soyuz-2.1b rocket lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome at 5:21 pm EDT (2121 GMT) carrying multiple satellites. Russian officials did not disclose additional details about the payloads. The trajectory of the launch originally suggested that it carried a Bars-M military cartography satellite, but later information now indicates the launch carried a different, unspecified payload.

Related Links:

•  RussianSpaceWeb.com article

BEpiColombo Mercury mission suffers thruster problem
Posted: Sun, May 19 7:55 AM ET (1155 GMT)
Engineers are troubleshooting a problem with the electric propulsion system on the BepiColombo mission. That spacecraft, a joint mission of ESA and JAXA, will go...

Lithuania signs Artemis Accords
Posted: Sat, May 18 9:39 AM ET (1339 GMT)
Lithuania is the 40th nation to sign the Artemis Accords. The country's minister of economy and innovation signed the Accords Wednesday in a ceremony...

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from California
Posted: Sat, May 18 9:38 AM ET (1338 GMT)
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites Tuesday in the company's 50th orbital launch this year. A Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space...