China’s private space sector reaches a major milestone as LandSpace lands the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket on land after launching the Honghu-3 internet satellite. The booster returns vertically and touches down on landing legs, marking a significant step toward reusable launch systems and lower-cost access to orbit.

Europe’s seas hit record summer temperatures, and scientists say human-caused climate change is the main driver. The marine heat threatens ecosystems and coastal communities by disrupting marine life and food supplies, while also increasing conditions that can feed more frequent and damaging extreme weather.

NASA abandons an effort to save its Swift space telescope after the private spacecraft meant to raise Swift’s orbit runs into problems. With the rescue attempt over, the aging observatory is now expected to fall back through Earth’s atmosphere later this year and break up during reentry.

Astronomers identify the fastest known star in the Milky Way orbiting Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center. The star, called S301, moves at extraordinary speed—reported at roughly 25,000 kilometers per second—offering another extreme test case for studying gravity near a black hole.