The Launchpad
X-37B launch day!

Happy Thursday space fans! We've got an exciting day in spaceflight as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is slated to launch the U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane tonight. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. EDT (0330 GMT, Aug. 22).

Aside from the launch, we've got a roundup of stories today including how NASA plans to move away from its decades-long history of Earth and climate sciences, a brilliant fireball seen over Japan, everything you need to know about a partial eclipse just one month away, and an exciting-looking new video game about preserving lunar history.

On a more personal note, longtime Space.com contributor and veteran space journalist Leonard David was just awarded the National Space Club Florida Committee's 2025 Harry Kolcum News and Communications Award. Congratulations Leonard!

Ad astra,

Brett Tingley, Managing Editor

NASA will 'move aside' from climate sciences, Duffy says
a man in a suit
(NASA/Bill Ingalls)
NASA's acting Administrator Sean Duffy says the agency will step back from climate science to focus on space exploration, highlighting a growing shift in the agency's overall mission.
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Watch SpaceX launch Space Force's X-37B space plane today
a black and white aircraft on a runway
(US Space Force)
In the dark of night, SpaceX will launch the mysterious X-37B space plane for the U.S. Space Force (USSF).
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Skywatching
A partial solar eclipse is coming in 1 month
a crescent-shaped sun in the sky
(John Fader via Getty Images))
A deep partial solar eclipse will grace the Southern Hemisphere on Sept. 21, 2025, with the best views from remote seas and New Zealand's dawn skies.
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Watch a bright fireball explode above Japan (video)
the sky turns bright green above a harbor with a mountain in the background
(Disaster News via X)
The fireball lit up the skies over southern Japan on Aug. 19.
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Spaceflight
Artemis 2 astronauts suit up for moon launch rehearsal
four astronauts in orange suits walk out of a building onto a ramp
(NASA/Kim Shiflett)
If there's one thing astronauts know, it's "practice, practice, practice."
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Russia launches mice and microbes on monthlong mission
four mice in a mesh basket
(Roscosmos)
Russia just sent a mini menagerie to orbit.
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Science & Astronomy
Watch sun unleash back-to-back plasma blasts (video)
a fiery orange orb
(NOAA GOES SUVI via helioviewer.com, graphic made in Canva Pro by Daisy Dobrijevic)
Two colossal plasma fountains tore away from the sun in a breathtaking double blast, one of the most impressive eruptions this solar cycle.
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SpaceX
SpaceX partners with astronomers to protect radio astronomy
large antennae dishes under a starry night sky
(NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/B. Foott)
Satellites in low Earth orbit currently disrupt radioastronomical observations hundreds of times a day.
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Entertainment
Preserve humanity's legacy on the moon in 'Lunar Strike'
an illustration of two astronauts in white spacesuits on the moon
(Cognition)
Save the world and our lunar history in Lunar Strike, the 2026 sci-fi narrative adventure game that was just announced at the Future Games Show.
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