On August 30, 2026, NASA launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center, placing the observatory on a trajectory toward the second Sun‑Earth Lagrange point about one million miles from Earth. The launch was successful and the telescope entered a 90‑day commissioning phase; the first images are expected early next year.

The House reconvened on August 31 after a five‑week recess and considered the Senate’s fiscal year 2027 continuing resolution. The House had previously passed a separate continuing resolution on a partisan vote, while the Senate approved a bipartisan measure extending funding through December 11. The House planned to take up the Senate bill under an expedited suspension procedure that requires a two‑thirds vote; President Trump’s signature would be needed to avert a shutdown on September 30. The Senate bill includes a provision prohibiting the White House from implementing a rule on federal grant awards during the continuation period.

Lieutenant General Douglas Schiess was confirmed on August 6 to succeed General B. Chance Saltzman as Chief of Space Operations. The change‑of‑responsibility ceremony took place on September 3 at Joint Base Andrews and was livestreamed. This marked the second such event in U.S. Space Force history.

NASA conducted a fourth spacewalk on September 1, extending a planned three‑walk series. Astronauts Jessica Meir and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot performed a 6.5‑hour extravehicular activity to replace a navigational aid, prepare the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer radiator for upgrade, and install jumper cables to enhance data‑relay systems. Meir’s seventh spacewalk and Adenot’s third, together with two earlier all‑female spacewalks, made this the sixth all‑female EVA.

Crew‑12, composed of Meir, Adenot, NASA’s Jack Hathaway and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, received additional time aboard the International Space Station. Launch of their replacements on Crew‑13 was delayed due to an oxidizer leak in the SpaceX Crew Dragon propulsion system, and a new launch date was pending.

The NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel released its findings on August 30 via telephone conference, and the Aerospace Corporation held a Space Policy Forum at the National Press Club on September 2, featuring former NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Aaron Miles. Additional meetings included a Space Weather Roundtable and a Global Space Traffic Management Workshop in Edinburgh.

Türkiye became the 71st signatory to the Artemis Accords on September 1 at NASA headquarters, increasing the total number of signatories from 70 to 71. The nation also hosts the 2026 International Astronautical Congress in Antalya.

The week’s schedule also included a U.S. Space Force change‑of‑responsibility ceremony, a NASA/ESA spacewalk, policy briefings on the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, and various technical workshops and webinars throughout the period.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, beginning a million‑mile journey into deep space to study exoplanets and planet formation. NASA said the telescope survived two proposed White House budget cuts. The $4.3 billion observatory lifted off at 9:45 a.m. local time and will travel to the Sun‑Earth L2 Lagrange point to conduct surveys of distant planetary systems, assess planet formation, and characterize exoplanet atmospheres. The mission is expected to operate for at least five years, providing data that will inform models of planetary system development and the potential habitability of exoplanets.

In August 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) voted to demote Pluto from planet to dwarf planet, changing the solar system's official planet count from nine to eight, a decision that remains contested among scientists and the public.

The IAU's definition includes three criteria: orbiting the Sun, having sufficient mass for a round shape, and clearing its orbital neighborhood. Bodies beyond Neptune that met the first two criteria but not the third, including Pluto, were reclassified.

Philip Metzger, director of the Stephen W Hawking Centre for Microgravity Research and Education at the University of Central Florida, argued that the IAU definition makes the concept of a planet unusable in scientific work. He said the requirement to clear a neighborhood is ambiguous because the ability to do so depends on the surrounding objects.

Kevin Schindler, historian at Lowell Observatory, described Pluto's status as a symbol of underdog appeal, noting that many people view the former planet as an underdog figure.

Laurel Kornfeld, a writer and amateur astronomer, said the vote was wrong and has organized a “Pluto Resistance” campaign.

In April, Jared Isaacman, NASA administrator appointed under the Trump administration, told a congressional committee that he supports reconsidering Pluto’s status, saying he is “in the camp of Make Pluto a Planet Again.”

Planetary scientists who favor a geophysical definition point to Pluto’s mountains, evidence of recent geological activity, and possible subsurface oceans as indicators of planet-like characteristics. Paul Byrne, associate professor at Washington University, said a broader definition that includes many bodies would be acceptable, comparing the number of planets to the 1,025 officially recognized Pokémon species.

Opponents of reinstatement argue that a primarily geophysical definition would also classify large moons such as Earth's Moon as planets, which they consider inconsistent with existing practice. Astronomer Mike Brown, who led the discovery of Eris, said the Moon already meets the round‑shape criterion and therefore would be a planet if Pluto were, a point he calls “the Man Who Killed Pluto.”

Metzger suggested the 2006 IAU vote may not have followed required procedures, implying the decision could be invalid, while Brown denied any political motive, saying critics opposed the outcome.

Kornfeld said the demotion has led to curricula that teach only eight planets, which she argues limits scientific literacy. Metzger added that another vote would be less useful now and that the scientific method should guide future classification.

The debate over Pluto's classification continues, with scientists emphasizing the need for a definition grounded in evidence rather than procedural decisions.

NASA’s Deep Space Network’s new 34‑meter (114‑foot) beam‑waveguide antenna, designated DSS‑23, became operational on August 25, 2026 at the Goldstone complex near Barstow, California. The antenna is part of the Deep Space Network’s Aperture Enhancement Project, which began in 2009 to add six similar 34‑meter dishes and increase the network’s tracking and communications capacity for long‑duration missions. NASA leadership and personnel gathered for a ribbon‑cutting ceremony on the completed DSS‑23 antenna. The 34‑meter dish can operate across multiple radio frequencies, allowing spacecraft to send commands and receive scientific data from distant deep‑space locations. The Deep Space Network, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for the Space Communications and Navigation program, enables tracking, command transmission, and data reception for interplanetary missions. The addition brings the DSN’s total of 34‑meter antennas to seven and is expected to support deep‑space missions for decades, with the full impact to be seen as new missions utilize the upgraded network.