Nine astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to take shelter late Wednesday when a satellite broke up in low Earth orbit. This "debris-generating event" created "over 100 pieces of trackable [space junk]," according to U.S. space-tracking firm LeoLabs. Space.com reports: The Expedition 71 crew on the International Space Station (ISS) went to their three spacecraft, including Boeing Starliner, shortly after 9 p.m. EDT (0200 GMT), according to a brief NASA update on X, formerly known as Twitter. As the ISS follows a time zone identical to GMT, according to the European Space Agency, the astronauts were likely in their sleep period when the incident occurred. The procedure was a "precautionary measure", NASA officials added, stating that the crew only stayed in their spacecraft for about an hour before they were "cleared to exit their spacecraft, and the station resumed normal operations." NASA did not specify which satellite was associated with the incident, but satellite monitoring and collision detection firm LeoLabs identified a "debris-generating event" that same evening. "Early indications are that a non-operational Russian spacecraft, Resurs-P1 [or] SATNO 39186, released a number of fragments," the company wrote on X. U.S. Space Command also reported the Resurs-P1 event, saying on X that over 100 pieces of trackable debris were generated. The military said it "observed no immediate threats and is continuing to conduct routine conjunction assessments." (A conjunction refers to a close approach of two objects in orbit to one another.)

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In a contract worth as much as $843 million, NASA announced today SpaceX has been selected to develop a vehicle that will de-orbit the International Space Station in 2030. "As the agency transitions to commercially owned space destinations closer to home, it is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030," the U.S. space agency said in a statement. TechCrunch reports: Few details about the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle, as NASA calls the craft, have been released so far. However, NASA clarified that the vehicle will be different from SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which delivers cargo and crew to the station, and other vehicles that perform services for the agency. Unlike these vehicles, which are built and operated by SpaceX, NASA will take ownership of the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle post-development and operate it throughout its mission. Both the vehicle and the ISS will destructively break up as they reenter the atmosphere, and one of the big tasks ahead for SpaceX is to ensure that the station reenters in a way that endangers no populated areas. The launch contract for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle will be announced separately. NASA and its partners had been evaluating using a Russian Roscosmos Progress spacecraft to conduct the de-orbit mission, but studies indicated that a new spacecraft was needed for the de-orbit maneuver. The station's safe demise is a responsibility shared by the five space agencies that operate on the ISS -- NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and State Space Corporation Roscosmos -- but it is unclear whether this contract amount is being paid out by all countries.

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Around the sun, into orbit, towards the asteroids, to the moon and back again It's been too long since an update on humanity's space exploration. Let's catch up. There's a lot going on:

Sun NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory imaged Sol firing off two strong solar flares. The European Space Agency (ESA) published close-up footage of the Sun taken by the Solar Orbiter. Venus Researchers used Magellan spacecraft data from the early 1990s to determine that Venus probably has some ongoing volcanic activity. On Earth's surface Construction on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is nearly finished. In Texas SpaceX wants to produce one Starship rocket per day in their impending StarFactory. From Earth to orbit Successes: after months of delays, Boeing's Starliner finally launched and carried two astronauts to dock with the International Space Station (ISS), albeit with persistent helium leaks and thruster problems (previously). SpaceX launched and for the first time successfully splashed down a Starship. SpaceX reports it now carries 87% of orbital tonnage. A Long March 2C rocket carried a Franco-Chinese satellite, the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), into orbit to study gamma ray bursts. NASA's first Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment (PREFIRE) cubesat rode a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Māhia, New Zealand into orbit, followed by another. Rocket Lab also orbited a South Korean Earth observing satellite as well as a solar sail experiment. GOES-U, the fourth and final satellite in the Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) – R Series, rode a Falcon Heavy into orbit. South Korea confirmed a North Korean launch failed to reach orbit. In Earth orbit "For the first time in history, three different crewed vehicles, Starliner, SpaceX's Dragon, and Russia's Soyuz, were all simultaneously docked" at the ISS. Zebrafish on the Tiangong space station are "showing directional behavior anomalies, such as inverted swimming and rotary movement." (video) NASA has delayed Starliner's return indefinitely. Leaks on the ISS are a persistent problem. The Hubble space telescope lost another gyroscope. An astronaut wants to help. Back down to Earth The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on making its space missions free of debris. A video clip shows a Chinese rocket falling near a village. NASA confirmed that SpaceX debris fell on North Carolina. Earth's moon Chang'e-6 (嫦娥六号) blasted off from Earth, traveled to the moon, then landed in the South Pole–Aitken basin, taking a selfie, and planting a flag made of stone. Two days later its ascender lifted off, carrying two kilograms of lunar material, which it delivered to its orbiter, which then transported the stuff successfully to the Earth's surface. (mix of official video footage and animation) Lunar plans: Roscosmos and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced their intention to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2035. A Japanese billionaire canceled his planned lunar trip. Mars The ESA and NASA agreed on a shared Martian rover project. NASA awarded nine companies grants to develop feasibility studies for Martian missions. To the asteroids Beyond the orbit of Mars, heading to its first asteroid, NASA's Psyche spacecraft fired up its electric thrusters. A research team applied AI to Hubble data and found more than 1,000 new asteroids. Saturn NASA approved funding for the Dragonfly mission to Titan. In the Kuiper belt Voyager 1 restarted sending data all the way back to Earth. (previously) Way, way beyond the solar system The James Webb space telescope imaged the farthest known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0.

While NASA engineers review propulsion system data, Boeing's Starliner will remain docked at the ISS longer than planned, with a new departure date yet to be specified due to upcoming spacewalks and ongoing engineering reviews. "After repeated delays, the spacecraft was set to leave the outpost on June 25 and land at White Sands, New Mexico," notes The Register. NASA has stated that the crew is not in a hurry to leave, with sufficient supplies available, and the delay will allow more time to address helium leaks and thruster issues observed during docking. From the report: The Starliner will need to depart the ISS before August without some additional engineering analysis. During the post-docking news conference, Steve Stich, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, gave a figure of 45 days for the docked duration, meaning a docking would have to occur during the latter half of July at the very latest. The delay will remove any potential conflict with the upcoming spacewalks and give engineers more time to review data from the Starliner's propulsion system. The vehicle has been bedeviled by helium leaks and thruster problems. Once the Starliner commences its return to Earth, the service module where the problematic hardware is located will be discarded, depriving engineers of an avenue of investigation. Stich said, "We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process. We are letting the data drive our decision-making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking. Additionally, given the duration of the mission, it is appropriate for us to complete an agency-level review, similar to what was done ahead of NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 return after two months on orbit, to document the agency's formal acceptance on proceeding as planned." The Starliner has been cleared for use as a return vehicle in the event of an emergency. In the highly unlikely event that NASA opts not to use the Starliner as a crew return vehicle, the agency has a few options open to it. One could be to remove two crew members from the next Crew Dragon launch -- currently set for the latter half of August -- or use an upcoming Soyuz, although the latter requires custom seat liners for the crew. During the June 18 teleconference Stich confirmed that the team had already cleared the vehicle for a contingency or emergency return, and added "I think we will work through each of these issues and we will get to a point where we can bring Butch and Suni back in Starliner."

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On Wednesday, Boeing was finally able to launch the Starliner, their much delayed spacecraft, and dock it to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, Space X did the fourth launch of its Starship rocket, finally managing to complete its first successful return from space.

The actor will star in “Maybe Happy Ending,” an original musical set in a future Seoul. It will begin previews in September.

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