NASA announced on September 28, 2026 that it is ramping up financial and technical support to repair and resume flights of Boeing's Starliner astronaut capsule following the problematic mission with astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. The agency aims to get the capsule operational again as soon as possible.
NASA announced the crew assignments for the SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for no earlier than spring 2027, involving four crew members from three space agencies. The mission will conduct research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the station.
NASA and Boeing scheduled a news conference for September 28, 2026, at 3 p.m. EDT to discuss Starliner's development and plans for regular crew flights to the International Space Station. The briefing represents an update on the crewed spacecraft program.
European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot is expected to return to Europe around October 7-8, 2026, after nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station. The agency planned a media event for her arrival.
NASA astronaut Anil Menon answered prerecorded science questions from New Hampshire students while aboard the International Space Station around 2026-09-22 to 2026-09-23. The event provided students direct engagement with space exploration.
NASA awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract modification on September 19, 2026 for three additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station: Crew-15, Crew-16, and Crew-17. The contract extends SpaceX's role in American crewed spaceflight.
NASA awarded SpaceX a $946 million contract extension on September 20 to conduct three additional astronaut missions to the International Space Station under an expanded $5.92 billion deal. The contract furthers the partnership for human spaceflight operations.
On September 18, 2026, NASA awarded SpaceX three additional crew transportation missions to the International Space Station through a contract modification valued at $946 million. The contract extends SpaceX's role in regularly rotating crew to and from the orbiting laboratory.
SpaceX secured a $950 million contract extension from NASA on 2026-09-18 to conduct three additional crewed Dragon missions to the International Space Station. The extension adds to SpaceX's existing ISS crew-transport contract.
NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station took September 7, 2026—Labor Day in the United States—as time off, while their Russian crew members were scheduled to work that day.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot completed the sixth all-female spacewalk in history on September 1, 2026, spending 6 hours 49 minutes on a mission involving equipment replacement outside the ISS.
On September 1, 2026, French ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot conducted her third spacewalk in two weeks as part of a rare all-female excursion outside the International Space Station. The mission's primary objective was to replace a retroreflector.
On August 27, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jonny Kim, a former SEAL, astronaut, and physician, departed NASA after nearly a decade to return to active duty in the U.S. Navy, where he will work with naval flight training. His career spans military special operations, astronaut training, and medicine.
On August 27, 2026, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim ended his tenure at the agency after nearly a decade, including an eight-month International Space Station expedition. He returned to active duty as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy.
French astronaut Sophie Adenot, aboard the International Space Station, described visible signs of climate change in exclusive interviews with RFI and France 24 on August 27, 2026. She highlighted how Earth's changing landscape is observable from space.
On August 27, 2026, coverage highlighted Astronaut Sophie Adenot's historic spacewalk as the first French woman in space, while French space enthusiasts pursued parallel interests in lunar photography and celestial navigation traditions. The reports celebrated France's renewed engagement with space exploration.
NASA scheduled a spacewalk for 1 September 2026 with astronauts Jessica Meir (NASA) and Sophie Adenot (ESA) to replace a navigational aid and perform station maintenance on the International Space Station.
Sophie Adenot became the first French woman to conduct a spacewalk on 2026-08-25, and completed a second spacewalk on 2026-08-26 to repair equipment on the International Space Station. In exclusive interviews from the ISS, she described her historic mission as accomplished.
On August 18, 2026, French astronaut Sophie Adenot became the first French female astronaut to perform a spacewalk, working alongside American astronaut Anil Menon to repair a communications system on the International Space Station in a 6-hour, 23-minute mission.