satellites

A large swirl of white light that temporarily outshone vibrant auroras in the Arctic last week was triggered by the death throes of a SpaceX rocket that deployed more than 50 satellites into space.

New radar images show surprise changes to the doomed ERS-2 spacecraft as it tumbled through Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 21.

The European Space Agency's ERS-2 Earth observation satellite was spotted in space as it prepares to make a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere on Feb. 21.

Private companies like SpaceX are crowding Earth's atmosphere with ever-increasing numbers of satellite 'megaconstellations'. For astronomers, the toll of these bright, ubiquitous objects is already painfully clear.

When a satellite runs out of fuel, it becomes little more than space junk. Now, space agencies and private companies want to change that. Here's how scientists plan to refuel satellites — in orbit.

A communications glitch is preventing NASA's Voyager 1 probe — the farthest spacecraft from Earth in history — from sending home data, and mission scientists are growing concerned.

The uncontrolled reentry of Europe's defunct ERS-2 satellite is expected in mid-February. It's highly likely that the 5,000-pound craft will land somewhere in the ocean.

NASA has successfully transmitted data between Earth and two spacecraft using lasers, completing a groundbreaking experiment that could aid in future missions to other worlds.

Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.

A research plane that flew through Earth's stratosphere identified more than 20 elements that are linked to the aerospace industry. Experts predict that the problem could become much worse in the future.