diff --git a/src/utils/astronomy-news.js b/src/utils/astronomy-news.js
index 156a29f1..58f4bce9 100644
--- a/src/utils/astronomy-news.js
+++ b/src/utils/astronomy-news.js
@@ -2,25 +2,91 @@
 // Returns an array of normalized news items: { id, title, summary, url, image }
 
 const API_URL = "https://api.spaceflightnewsapi.net/v4/articles/";
+const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
+const RETRY_DELAY = 1000; // 1 second
+
+// Custom error class for API-specific errors
+class AstronomyAPIError extends Error {
+  constructor(message, status, type) {
+    super(message);
+    this.name = 'AstronomyAPIError';
+    this.status = status;
+    this.type = type;
+  }
+}
+
+// Helper function to delay execution
+const delay = (ms) => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
+
+// Helper function to categorize errors
+const categorizeError = (error, status) => {
+  if (!navigator.onLine) return new AstronomyAPIError('No internet connection', status, 'NETWORK');
+  if (status === 429) return new AstronomyAPIError('Rate limit exceeded', status, 'RATE_LIMIT');
+  if (status >= 500) return new AstronomyAPIError('Server error', status, 'SERVER');
+  if (status === 404) return new AstronomyAPIError('Resource not found', status, 'NOT_FOUND');
+  if (status >= 400) return new AstronomyAPIError('Invalid request', status, 'CLIENT');
+  return new AstronomyAPIError('Unknown error occurred', status, 'UNKNOWN');
+};
 
 export async function fetchAstronomyNews({ limit = 12, offset = 0 } = {}) {
-  try {
-    const url = `${API_URL}?limit=${limit}&offset=${offset}&ordering=-published_at`;
-    const res = await fetch(url);
-    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`API error: ${res.status}`);
-    const data = await res.json();
-    // Normalize articles
-    const news = data.results.map((item) => ({
-      id: item.id,
-      title: item.title,
-      summary: item.summary,
-      url: item.url,
-      image: item.image_url || item.launches?.[0]?.image_url || "",
-      publishedAt: item.published_at,
-      source: item.news_site,
-    }));
-    return { news, total: data.count };
-  } catch (error) {
-    return { news: [], total: 0, error: error.message };
+  let lastError;
+  
+  for (let attempt = 0; attempt < MAX_RETRIES; attempt++) {
+    try {
+      if (attempt > 0) {
+        await delay(RETRY_DELAY * attempt); // Exponential backoff
+      }
+
+      const url = `${API_URL}?limit=${limit}&offset=${offset}&ordering=-published_at`;
+      const res = await fetch(url);
+      
+      if (!res.ok) {
+        throw categorizeError(null, res.status);
+      }
+
+      const data = await res.json();
+      
+      // Validate response data
+      if (!data.results || !Array.isArray(data.results)) {
+        throw new AstronomyAPIError('Invalid API response format', null, 'INVALID_RESPONSE');
+      }
+
+      // Normalize articles
+      const news = data.results.map((item) => ({
+        id: item.id,
+        title: item.title || 'Untitled',
+        summary: item.summary || 'No summary available',
+        url: item.url,
+        image: item.image_url || item.launches?.[0]?.image_url || "",
+        publishedAt: item.published_at,
+        source: item.news_site || 'Unknown Source',
+      }));
+
+      return { 
+        news, 
+        total: data.count,
+        status: 'success',
+        attempt: attempt + 1
+      };
+
+    } catch (error) {
+      lastError = error;
+      
+      // Don't retry if it's a client error (except rate limiting)
+      if (error.type && ['CLIENT', 'NOT_FOUND'].includes(error.type) && error.status !== 429) {
+        break;
+      }
+    }
   }
+
+  return { 
+    news: [], 
+    total: 0, 
+    error: {
+      message: lastError.message,
+      type: lastError.type || 'UNKNOWN',
+      status: lastError.status,
+      attempts: MAX_RETRIES
+    }
+  };
 }