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"A robotic spacecraft built in nine months by Arizona-based startup Katalyst Space Technologies is set to launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands on a first-of-its-kind mission to grab NASA's sinking Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and push it back to a safe orbit — the first time any commercial vehicle has attempted to capture an operational government satellite that was never designed to be serviced. "

In this week's Avid Space industry update, Blue Origin continues the cleanup effort at LC-36, NASA's Office of the Inspector General releases a scathing report on NASA's handling of the Starliner contract with Boeing, and Northrop Grumman's last Pegasus XL rocket is launched to on a mission to rescue the Swift Space Observatory. Starliner Delays Costly - NASA Watchdog Demands Accountability Weekly Spaceflight News | 9:04 Avid Space | 29,051 views | July 8, 2026

Explanation: Sometimes we can all use a little help from a friend. NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory needs a boost to stay in orbit after almost 22 years of service. This video shows an artist's visualization of the Swift Boost Mission: The Katalyst's LINK spacecraft was launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket on July 3 and it is now en route to rendezvous with Swift and boost it to a higher orbit over the course of the next several months. This type of maneuver has never been attempted before. If successful, it will be the technology demonstration of...

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donated $26 million to a group of charities across the U.S. this week, including multiple in New York organizations, ahead of their alleged ceremony, Swift's rep confirmed to NBC News. The Store, which helps with food insecurity in Middle Tennessee and was founded by country singer Brad Paisley…posted on Instagram: "Thank you, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce,"… "Your generosity is providing food and hope to families in need." Nonprofit Education Through Music revealed in a press release that they received a $2 million gift from the bride and groom. "This gift will help us reach...

The colossal Stratolaunch carrier plane rolled out of its hangar at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California, today (May 31) to undergo fueling tests. It's the first public look at the full craft —which is designed to launch rockets into orbit from the sky — since construction began. "We're excited to announce that Stratolaunch aircraft has reached a major milestone in its journey toward providing convenient, reliable, and routine access to low-Earth orbit," Stratolaunch Systems Corp. CEO Jean Floyd said in a statement. "This marks the completion of the initial aircraft-construction phase and the beginning of the...

"It's the only launch vehicle that can meet the orbit, the schedule and the cost to achieve something unprecedented with emerging technology."A history-making robotic rescue mission scheduled to launch next year will fly on a rocket dropped from a plane.In September, NASA announced that it has chosen Arizona company Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the altitude of its Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, a space telescope whose orbit has gotten dangerously low since its November 2004 launch...The $500 million Swift observatory was built by Orbital Sciences, a company that in 2014 became Orbital ATK, which was then acquired by Northrop Grumman...

NASA is racing to save an aging telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission. The $30 million salvage operation gets underway as soon as this week with the planned launch of a robotic lifesaver. NASA hired startup Katalyst Space Technologies to boost the Swift Observatory to a higher orbit where it can continue hunting for some of the universe’s biggest explosions. A three-armed spacecraft built by Katalyst will chase after Swift once it takes off from an atoll in the Pacific’s Marshall Islands aboard an airplane-launched Pegasus rocket. Liftoff could occur as early as Tuesday. Scanning...

Steven Spielberg praised Taylor Swift while inducting her into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday: “I am honored to be here tonight to introduce the youngest female ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame...A woman who has no peer when it comes to shattering records as a writer, singer, and storyteller. A singular artist and a genuine phenomenon whose place in our culture rivals that of the composers of the American Songbook, Lennon and McCartney of the ’60s, and the singer-songwriters of the 1970s like Carole King and Stevie ‘Let’s Go’ Nicks.” He continued by lauding...

Less than two years after the "Champagne Problems" singer's estimated net worth was revealed to be $1.6 billion, Taylor's net worth jumped once again to a whopping $2 billion, according to Forbes. Per the business magazine's "Iconoclast 50" list, published June 3, the Grammy winner's net worth doubled since she first became a billionaire in 2023, due to her record-breaking Eras Tour...and the sales of multiple re-recorded albums. In addition, Taylor, 36, has also released two new albums...And not only that: she bought back the rights to her first six albums last year. The "Opalite" singer's financial value is made...

New York lawmakers are debating whether to offer a sweet taxpayer-funded wedding gift to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, The Post has learned. State Assembly Democrats on Tuesday discussed adding a $250,000 item in New York’s overdue budget to provide security for the Swift-Kelce nuptials, which will take place in the Big Apple on July 3. But an Assembly insider said the funding — sure to be politically controversial — was then pulled from the agenda. Discussions centered on whether to use state troopers to provide security for the wealthy, celebrity power couple, who can afford to pay for their...

Colin Jost and Travis Kelce bonded over their high-profile relationships with Scarlett Johansson and Taylor Swift, respectively. The SNL star shared he is more "approachable" than his wife, who people fan over constantly. "I'm probably approached more because she's less approachable... Because I'm on TV ... I'm in their living room, so they're just like, 'Hey what's up man, how's it going?'" "She's actually almost so famous that they don't believe it a lot of times," he said of passersby. "We've been traveling and we've been standing at the passport check and the person's looking at her passport and he'll...

Hackers on Friday delayed the start of President Vladimir Putin's speech to Russia's flagship economic forum, shorn of strong Western participation as Russia adjusts to the "new reality" of life under Western sanctions. -snip- But the Western investors and investment bankers who had turned up in previous years were conspicuously absent. -snip- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a denial of service attack, which works by flooding servers with bogus traffic, had struck the forum's accreditation and admission systems. -snip- Internet connectivity and speeds suffered at the forum, and Putin's speech, in which he accused the West of trying to crush...

As she accepted the award for Artist of the Year at the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards tonight, Taylor Swift chose not to further spotlight her hit album The Life of a Showgirl but, instead, offered some revealing advice to emerging artists. Perhaps her most poetic quote of the night soon followed: “I’m a firm believer that anything you feed your mind, it will internalize,” she told the crowd. “Anything you feed the internet, it will attempt to kill. And I don’t want that for your dreams.” Swift arrived at the ceremony this evening with nine nominations, and by the time...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden hit back Thursday against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany and declaring that America would stand up to Russia's Vladimir Putin. He also acknowledged that the invasion -- and efforts to thwart Putin -- will have a cost for Americans. But he sought to reassure that the economic pain that may come with rising energy prices will be short lived in the U.S. As for the Russian president, Biden said, “He’s going to test the resolve of the West to...

"Coming to you from the pilot here in Nitro, West Virginia..." Yep they are foreigners when they are praying in the isle of the truck stop while they leave their truck at the pump.

The superstar, 36, made history after grossing a record $2billion in ticket sales for her career-spanning, 21-month Eras Tour - which consisted of 149 shows in 21 countries. As a reward to her team, Taylor is said to have handed out more than $197million in bonuses to everyone working on the tour. The Lover singer is notably a benevolent boss, and the moment she gives the mammoth bonuses to the performers and crew, complete with personal notes, is shown in her new Disney+ docuseries, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour/The End of an Era. Those who received a bonus included truck...

Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce is set to marry Taylor Swift in the Watch Hill neighborhood of Westerly, Rhode Island on Saturday, June 13, 2026, according to multiple reports Saturday. The venue, Ocean House, is a glamorous, Victorian-style luxury hotel where the couple has spent plenty of time, per Harper's Bazaar. The date, of course, is a nod to the superstar’s lucky number, 13. There were rumors that Swift's desired date of June 13 was already held for another bride and groom and that she and Kelce dropped a pretty penny to buy the date from them....

Billie Eilish’s acceptance speech at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards stayed with the attendees and resonated with the global audience. “I love you all, but there are a few people here with a lot more money than me,” she said. “If you’re a billionaire—why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties,” Billie said. Social media got flooded with one looming question: How Much Has Taylor Swift Donated? Swift reportedly donated about $6.5 million to charity in 2025. The total amount, however, is expected to be much higher as many charities didn’t reveal the exact...

Not content with dominating the music scene, Taylor Swift is apparently now taking on the art world, with hundreds of her fans making the pilgrimage to a German museum to catch a glimpse of a certain painting. Earlier this month, the Grammy winner released the music video for her latest single The Fate Of Ophelia, the opening shot of which seems to have been inspired by artist Friedrich Heyser’s painting depicting the iconic Shakespearean character. Heyser’s painting now lives in Museum Wiesbaden in Germany, and dedicated Swifties have been paying it a visit in their droves much to the surprise...

How does a mere mortal—in this case, an average American girl in a stars-and-stripes dress with a red cardigan—transform into a Beatles-esque global phenom? Taylor Swift was performing from a young age and showed potential for success, surely, but few could have anticipated the unprecedented level of stardom she’d reach. By pairing her talent and artistry with incredible entrepreneurial instincts, Swift is not only building a musical legacy; she has built a reputation for bold, effective fanbase development. Swift’s early success as a teenage country music star was straight out of the entrepreneur’s playbook. She seized an opportunity that other...