The inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States is a remarkable event in more ways than one, but for the American space program, it could prove to be hinge-pin in history. At this point, there is no way to know what policy directions the Trump White House may provide […]
As it prepares for possible changes to U.S. space policy with the election of a new president, NASA has quietly opened the door to what could be a major revision to its flagship Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The story, written at Ars Technica by veteran space reporter Eric Berger, concerns a Request for […]
Opinion As he neared the end of the Tuesday presentation in which he introduced the world to SpaceX’s Interplanetary Transport System, Elon Musk was asked the inevitable question regarding what his plans meant for NASA. The answer was both polite and encouraging, as Musk rightly pointed out that there is no one sure path to […]
In his latest newsletter, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos teases an upcoming in-flight escape test of the New Shepard capsule aboard the similarly named booster. While there is not an announced date, Bezos says it will take place in early October, and will be broadcast for your “viewing pleasure.” The test, which is described in […]
A long touted lunar circumnavigation for space tourists is back in the news with reports from Russia that RSC Energia now has 8 possible candidates for the mission, which would take place aboard a specially modified Soyuz. The story from Sputniknews, actually quotes an interview from another paper Izvestia, which somewhat paradoxically (or not) made […]
NASA has chosen six companies for further evaluation of potential deep space habitat modules as part of the agency’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships initiative. The selected companies are: Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas Boeing of Pasadena, Texas Lockheed Martin of Denver Orbital ATK of Dulles, Virginia Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems of Louisville, […]
NASA recently released a new video timed to coincide with the premier of Star Trek: Beyond. For dedicated fans of TOS, the title, “On the Edge of Forever” is a bit perplexing given the fact that it is about the Space Station, not a “City on the Edge of Forever,” and Joan Collins is nowhere […]
Press Release from NASA.Gov June 28, 2016 RELEASE 16-069 NASA’s Space Launch System Booster Passes Major Milestone on Journey to Mars A booster for the most powerful rocket in the world, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), successfully fired up Tuesday for its second qualification ground test at Orbital ATK’s test facilities in Promontory, Utah. This […]
Congress Give’s President ARM the Finger What may ultimately go down as one of the the strangest and most half-hearted space policy proposals in American history is finally just going down. As spacepolicyonline reports in its usual excruciating detail, a Congressional committee has essentially de-funded the Obama Administration’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, or ARM. Yesterday, the […]
And so it has come to this. From AL.com: NASA administrator says Space Launch System ‘protected’ against next president “The Space Launch System (SLS) being developed by NASA in Alabama is “a protected program” the next president won’t be able to cancel, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. said Friday in Huntsville. “It’s a protected program […]
Recent Comments