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Use this page to stay up-to-date with the latest news about NASA's Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD).

Two NASA Commercial Satellite Communication Demonstrations Launch 
2 min read

Two NASA-funded demonstrations have successfully launched into low Earth orbit aboard the SpaceX Bandwagon-5 rideshare. Over the coming weeks, both…

Blog
Diving into Maintenance with NASA’s X-59
4 min read

In the California desert, as NASA’s quiet supersonic X-59 paused between its 11th and 12th flights, mechanic Jonathan Reynaga climbed…

Blog
NASA Develops Batteries to Power Humanity’s Return to Moon
5 min read

If you’ve ever had your car start sluggishly, or not at all, on a particularly frigid winter morning, you know…

October 14, 2026
Article
NASA X-59 Pilot Receives Top Test Pilot Award
1 min read

NASA test pilot Nils Larson recently received a top honor from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for making the first…

Blog
NASA’s SSPICY Mission to Demonstrate In-Space Inspection Technologies
2 min read

A new NASA-supported spacecraft will get up close to satellites that are no longer in service, demonstrating technologies that could…

October 8, 2026
Article
NASA’s X-59 Completes Record Six Flights in One Week
2 min read

NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft had its busiest week yet, setting its record for flights completed in a single week while continuing to…

Blog
NASA SmallSats Launch to Advance Science, Technology, Orbital Operations
4 min read

Three NASA-supported small spacecraft launched at 11:32 a.m. PDT Thursday to demonstrate new propulsion technologies, study how galactic dust and…

Blog
NASA Opens 2027 Human Lander Challenge for Lunar Communications
3 min read

NASA’s 2027 Human Lander Challenge is seeking ideas from college and university students to help address one of the most…

September 29, 2026
Article
NASA Opens Applications for Second Season of ORBIT Student Challenge
2 min read

Following a successful inaugural year of ingenuity and career building, NASA ORBIT (Opportunities in Research, Business, Innovation, and Technology) has…

September 29, 2026
Article
NASA Armstrong Celebrates 80 Years of Flight Innovation
2 min read

On Sept. 30, 1946, five National Advisory Committee of Aeronautics (NACA) engineers arrived at Muroc Army Airfield in California’s high…

News Release
NASA Tests Dual Mode Propulsion CubeSat Ahead of Launch
4 min read

Spacecraft propulsion traditionally relies on volatile fuels and separate, bulky systems for different types of maneuvering in space. NASA is…

September 25, 2026
Article
NASA Unveils Winning Designs for Mars Space Food Systems Challenge 
5 min read

NASA announced the winners of the Deep Space Food Challenge: Mars to Table Thursday, with the top $300,000 prize being…

September 24, 2026
Article
NASA Modernizes Commercial Airline Systems
4 min read

NASA’s researchers know that when you settle into your seat on a commercial flight, you expect a smooth takeoff, views…

September 23, 2026
Article
NASA Celebrates Restoration of Guam Station Damaged by Typhoon Mawar 
3 min read

NASA celebrated the full restoration of its Guam Remote Station with a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 10, closing out more than…

September 16, 2026
Article
NASA’s New X-59 Test Pilot Gets Behind Controls for Ground Test
3 min read

This summer, NASA test pilot Mike Lippert powered up the X‑59 cockpit for the first time, running the aircraft’s engines on the…

Blog
NASA’s Life-Saving Technology Where Cell Signals Can’t Go
3 min read

Search and rescue technology developed in part by NASA saved five lives

September 10, 2026
Article
NASA Calls for Proposals to Accelerate Lunar Surface Technologies 
2 min read

Editor’s Note: This release was updated on Sept. 28, 2026, to reflect the extended Broad Agency Announcement due date for…

News Release
NASA’s X-59 Aircraft Builds Momentum Through 25th Flight
5 min read

After 25 test flights, NASA’s X-59 quiet supersonic experimental aircraft steadily continues to pass performance marks set by its team.…

Blog
New Next-Gen Dish Adds Muscle to NASA’s Deep Space Network
4 min read

NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in California is marking the addition of a brand new 34-meter-wide (114-foot-wide) radio frequency antenna…

August 25, 2026
Article
NASA Selects University Teams to Help Advance Aviation Research
4 min read

NASA has selected four university teams to help the agency transform the future of aviation through projects ranging from high-supersonic…

August 20, 2026
Article
NASA Student Aviation Challenge Focuses on Nation’s Infrastructure
3 min read

NASA’s next Gateways to Blue Skies competition invites collegiate teams to imagine innovative new ways aircraft could inspect land-based infrastructure,…

August 18, 2026
Article
NASA Competition Invites Students to Help Imagine a Future Enabled by Lunar Technologies 
3 min read

NASA is asking U.S.-based collegiate teams to submit bold, original concepts to the 2027 edition of a student challenge focused on aerospace…

August 14, 2026
Article
NASA X-59 Explainer: Science of Sonic Booms 
3 min read

The most common misconception about sonic booms is that they’re just the sound created at the moment when an aircraft “breaks the sound barrier.”…

Blog
NASA Delivers Navigation System for Commercial Lunar Relay
4 min read

NASA delivered the NavCube3-mini payload on July 13 to Intuitive Machines for integration into Altus-1, the company’s first lunar relay satellite, marking an important milestone in the development…

August 3, 2026
Article
NASA Opens New Flight Dynamics Research Facility in Virginia
5 min read

NASA opened its newest wind tunnel, the Flight Dynamics Research Facility, Friday, providing a critical resource for the agency and…

News Release
NASA Awards 2026 Innovative Technology Concepts
5 min read

The NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program has created 18 new awards to support visionary ideas to improve aerospace technologies…

News Release
Meet NASA’s New X-59 Test Pilot 
2 min read

NASA added a new X-59 test pilot to support the agency’s Quesst mission: Mike Lippert, a research test pilot based…

Blog
NASA Announces New Spacecraft Technology Demonstration Mission at Moon    
4 min read

NASA is working with industry to advance the next phase of cislunar infrastructure for the agency’s Artemis program and Moon…

July 24, 2026
Article
NIAC 2026 Selections
2 min read

Phase I Saptarshi BandyopadhyayDimming the Sun (DimSun) Using Controllable Dust Cloud to Reduce Solar InsolationNASA Jet Propulsion LaboratoryPasadena, CA 91109-80012026…

July 21, 2026
Article
Precision Astrometry Using Optically Independent Spacecraft for Graviational Wave Detection
1 min read

Paul StankusBrookhaven Science Associates  The scientific goal is to enable a new method for observing gravitational waves at low frequencies,…

July 21, 2026
Article
Elements of NASA's Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD) are seen in this artist concept featuring a large satellite dish, two airplanes, a satellite in space, and a scene of a future lunar base.
Elements of NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate (RTMD) are seen in this artist concept featuring a Deep Space Network satellite dish, X-59 quiet supersonic technology demonstrator, the Space Reactor-1 Freedom, and a scene from a future base at the Moon’s south pole.
NASA / Lillian Gipson