Science

US government shutdown nothing to do with action as space veteran calls move 'an alarming time' for science

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is facing another round of layoffs, with 550 additional employees set to lose their jobs.…

Another flawless demonstration or unplanned explosion await

SpaceX is counting down to today's 11th flight test of its monster Starship rocket, with weather looking suitable for the opening of the launch window at 18:15 CT (or around 17:00 CT, if the company's billionaire boss is to be believed).…

Nuclear power is getting hot, but don't hold your breath for everlasting batteries

A venture capital fund is looking for ideas that are out of bounds for traditional investors, seeding technology that may only come to fruition decades down the line, but where researchers can show real results in the lab.…

Probes face 26% funding cut as NASA grapples with shutdown chaos

NASA's Voyager project could be facing a 26 percent budget cut while the plug is pulled on other programs, according to insiders familiar with the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.…

Houston, we have a custody battle

Exclusive  The war of words over the possible relocation of Space Shuttle Discovery has ratcheted up, with the office of Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) telling The Register that the orbiter belongs in Houston "whether the woke Smithsonian and its cronies in Congress like it or not."…

Keeping tabs on Martian dust devils with bonus data from ESA’s veteran orbiters

Mars is windier than thought, according to research into decades of data from European Space Agency (ESA) spacecraft, and that has implications for missions to the red planet.…

Can be shifted for a tenth of the price AND the wings don't have to come off – allegedly

Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz have hit back at a Smithsonian memo on relocating Space Shuttle Discovery, claiming the institute's cost estimates are "more than ten times higher" than quotes from private logistics firms.…

From homework helper to psychological hazard in 300 hours of sycophantic validation

Feature  When a close family member contacted Etienne Brisson to tell him that he'd created the world's first sentient AI, the Quebecois business coach was intrigued. But things quickly turned dark. The 50-year-old man, who had no prior mental health history, ended up spending time in a psychiatric ward.…

Studies at UC Berkeley in the 1980s paved the way for quantum computing and cryptography

Three researchers in sub-atomic physics have been awarded a Nobel prize for work which helped lay the foundations for quantum computing.…

Kessler syndrome is bad; atmospheric incineration may be worse, says astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell

If you had to guess how many Starlink satellites burn up in Earth's atmosphere on an average day, how many would you pick? This isn't a trick question - SpaceX is deorbiting about one or two satellites daily, and that number is only going to grow. …

Smithsonian warns that dismantling orbiter for relocation is history in the wrecking

How would you move Space Shuttle Discovery from Virginia to Texas? The White House Office of Management and Budget asked NASA and the Smithsonian Institution and the response was to dismantle it.…

Industry insiders whisper more about posturing than practical progress

Italian rocket company Avio has signed a €40 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a reusable upper stage, a project already drawing skepticism from industry watchers.…

Stray signals are a no-no when you’re trying to tune into the stars

IAC 2025  Work on the datacenter that serves the Square Kilometre Array’s (SKA’s) site in Western Australia is all but complete, including the installation of two Faraday cages to ensure the equipment inside does not leak radio waves that could harm the operation of the giant radio telescope.…

Once more with feeling...

SpaceX has named the date when it will try for another Starship launch without anything exploding. October 13, which is both the Columbus Day / Indigenous People's Day holiday and the last day of Windows 10 support, is the current target.…

Because sometimes you need a V2 rocket with your schnitzel

Geek's Guide  It's September and the German city of Munich is celebrating Oktoberfest. But away from the beer tents, schnitzel, and lederhosen lies a set of museums worth visiting for the price of a few beers.…

UMass Amherst research promises better bioelectronic communication

Scientists affiliated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed an artificial neuron that can communicate efficiently with biological neurons, a research advance expected to accelerate the development of bioelectronic devices and interfaces.…

Company faces a setback on the test stand

Firefly Aerospace's run of bad luck has continued after the first stage of its Alpha Flight 7 rocket was lost during testing.…

DSOC hit record speeds beaming data from Psyche before going dark

NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) demonstration has completed its final pass, although there is a chance the system might be reactivated in the second half of 2026.…

If at first you don't succeed, you might be SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX have successfully raised the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) with a 15-minute burn of the Draco thrusters located in the trunk of the Dragon freighter.…

The Register is at the world’s biggest space gabfest and just heard the world's top 6 space agency leaders speak

IAC 2025  If the USA’s space strategy succeeds, it will run a “village” on the moon in a decade, NASA administrator Sean Duffy told the International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) in Sydney today.…