“When you launch in a rocket, you’re not really flying that rocket. You’re just sort of hanging on.” - Michael P. Anderson

K dwarf survey maps stellar neighborhood for habitable worlds

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 A Georgia State University astronomy graduate student has led a new survey of nearby K-type stars to identify targets where Earth-like planets could provide conditions suitable for life. Sebastian Carrazco-Gaxiola presented the results at the January 2026 meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Phoenix, Arizona. The project delivers the first comprehensive spectroscopic census of t

Aegis Aerospace and United Semiconductors plan in orbit semiconductor materials plant

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 Aegis Aerospace Inc. has entered into a partnership with United Semiconductors LLC to develop semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in low Earth orbit as part of a new advanced materials production platform. The collaboration follows a recent grant agreement between Aegis Aerospace and the Texas Space Commission to design and operate an in-space manufacturing system for advanced materials in

Milky Way black hole flare leaves X ray echoes in nearby gas cloud

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 07, 2026 Our galaxy's supermassive black hole is among the faintest known, yet new observations indicate it was far more active in the recent past on cosmic timescales. Sagittarius A*, at the Milky Way's center, appears to have produced a powerful X ray flare within the last few hundred to 1,000 years, leaving an observable imprint in surrounding gas. Michigan State University researcher Stephen Di