Tag: space

Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Counting the Costs of International Space Projects

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. As U.S. space pundits await signals over what direction NASA’s policy will take under the Trump Administration, this photo of the European Space Agency’s general meeting should serve as reminder of some of the downsides of increased international participation in large space projects. Exercising leadership and […]

Posted in: NASA, Trump
Virgin’s VSS Unity Makes First Free Flight

Virgin’s VSS Unity Makes First Free Flight

After completing four captive carry test flights, Virgin Galactic conducted the first-free flight drop test of its second SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity. The test took place on Saturday, December 3rd over California’s Mojave Desert.   “Today, VSS Unity was piloted by Mark Stucky and Dave Mackay, with pilots Mike Masucci and Todd Ericsson as well as […]

The Drudge Effect on Space Policy

The Drudge Effect on Space Policy

By any measure, the Drudge Report is one of the most influential media websites in the world. So what does it mean when Drudge develops a fascination with space? In the weeks since the U.S. presidential election vaulted Donald Trump to the on-deck position of the most powerful job in the world, Drudge has been […]

Posted in: NewSpace, Space Tourism
A View To a Kill: Congress Takes Aim at NASA’s ARM

A View To a Kill: Congress Takes Aim at NASA’s ARM

While NASA watchers are still guessing at what direction the incoming Trump administration will assign to America’s space agency, it is increasingly obvious that it won’t include the outgoing Obama administration’s badly beleaguered and generally unloved Asteroid Redirect Mission, or ARM. That mission would see a small boulder plucked off a Near Earth Asteroid by […]

Posted in: NASA
NASA’s Space Poop Challenge

NASA’s Space Poop Challenge

Two inextricably linked stories for the reader to digest: Space Food Bars Will Keep Orion Weight Off and Crew Weight On “Because flights to deep space will not rely on resupply spacecraft to deliver what astronauts need and dispose of trash, the Orion crew will have to take everything they need with them and bring […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
Pinning Down the Source of Astronaut’s Blurred Vision

Pinning Down the Source of Astronaut’s Blurred Vision

In recent years, NASA physicians have become increasingly alarmed regarding a tendency among astronauts to suffer from blurred vision upon their return to Earth. The immediate culprit appeared to a flattening of the back of the eyeball combined with aggravation of the optic nerve, but what precisely has been causing the changes has been a […]

Posted in: Space Science
With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election has raised a number of interesting questions regarding what substantive changes, if any, may be coming in the way of American space policy. Whereas Hillary Clinton’s transition team was reportedly prepared to show up at NASA headquarters when the doors opened the morning after her victory, […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
15,000 Near Earth Asteroids: Your Election Day Getaway

15,000 Near Earth Asteroids: Your Election Day Getaway

“I don’t know where I’m a gonna go when the Volcano blows” – Mr. James Buffet On a day on which some portion of the U.S. population may be prone to a contemplating a permanent change of address, perhaps it is time to consider the long term prospects of what may be the the ultimate […]

Posted in: Asteroids
China Enters the Big Leagues With Maiden Flight of Massive New Rocket

China Enters the Big Leagues With Maiden Flight of Massive New Rocket

China has taken a major step forward in advancing its space ambitions with the maiden flight of its Long March 5 heavy lift booster. Liftoff of the all liquid fueled rocket took place from China’s Wenchang Satellite Launch Center located on Hainan Island. As with most Chinese launches, and any that carry the potential of […]

Posted in: Chinese space
Fly Through the International Space Station in Ultra HD

Fly Through the International Space Station in Ultra HD

NASA has released this gloriously shot Ultra HD fly-through of the International Space Station, seen through the view of a fisheye lens. Reminiscent of scenes from science fiction, but very much a part of the here and now, the latest ISS video is haunting in a certain way, which is seasonally appropriate at least. It […]

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