Unfavorable weather at Kwajalein Atoll forced NASA to stand down the Pegasus XL on both June 30 and July 1; a third window opens at 9:09 p.m. local time July 2 (05:09 EDT), representing the Pegasus XL's 46th and final flight and the first attempt to autonomously boost a satellite not designed for docking

Botswana's minister of communications signed in Washington on June 25, bringing a sixth African nation into the US-led framework for civil space exploration amid growing competition between American and Chinese lunar programmes

With US funding cut in January, China could be first to return Martian samples, by 2031

The US-led crewed return to the Moon, pairing the SLS rocket and Orion capsule with commercial landers and a 68-nation governance framework.

The fourth planet from the Sun and primary destination for robotic exploration, Mars anchors an intensifying US-China race to return the first samples to Earth.

SpaceX's fully-reusable US launch vehicle, contracted as NASA's Artemis lunar lander, central to commercial satellite deployment and crewed Moon and Mars ambitions.

Record-setting crewed flyby flew in April; the moon landing now hinges on Starship and a grounded V3