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Pakistani astronaut to fly on China's Shenzhou-24 mission to space station

· ≈ Tiangong space station · single source so far

A Pakistani astronaut, not yet named, will join China's next crewed mission to its space station. Reported as the first foreign national to visit the station.

Location
≈ Tiangong space station
Coordinates
≈ 41.00°N 100.30°E
Reported
7 Nov 2026, 10:17 UTC
Category
Science & space · Space
Impact
1 of 5 · Watch
Situation
Space exploration
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■ Steady

NASA's Swift telescope re-enters atmosphere after 22 years in orbit

NASA's Swift space telescope plunged to Earth on Wednesday, ending a 22-year mission studying gamma-ray bursts and exploding stars. The re-entry was uncontrolled, after a failed rescue attempt left the observatory unable to steer or observe. NASA also picked three companies for Ka-band space relay concept work.

  • Swift, launched in 2004, could no longer steer or observe before its uncontrolled re-entry.
  • NASA selected three firms to develop Ka-band relay concepts compatible with current missions.
  • NASA says an Alta-X drone carrying its SPLICE payload completed simulated lunar landing manoeuvres on Aug. 27.
  • A Hubble study of 37 nearby dwarf galaxies found much of their expected oxygen is missing.
Updated 4 Nov 2026, 21:49 UTC · Written by Claude from the reports on this page and on the map. Check the linked sources for full details.

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