Welcome to the NSS blog. Feel free to comment on any post (comments are moderated so won’t show up immediately). Contributors to the NSS Blog are unpaid volunteers. Unless specifically labeled an NSS position or press release, all blog posts represent the views of the author and not of NSS, even if written by an NSS officer.
The National Space Society (“NSS”) congratulates one of its own, Tim Pickens, on the sale of his successful pioneering NewSpace company, Orion Propulsion, Inc. (“OPI”),...
December 17th – 18th, 2009, Mojave, CA, USA and Yecheon-gun, ROK: The Yecheon Astro Space Center announced today that it has selected XCOR Aerospace as...
On December 7, 2009, in a star-studded ceremony at the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California, Virgin Galactic’s new commercial suborbital spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo (manufactured by Scaled...
The Coalition for Space Exploration (of which NSS is a member) has released a new PSA video on how space affects our everyday lives. Historically,...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: Bart Leahy Title: Out of this World: The New Field of Space Architecture Editors: A. Scott Howe and Brent Sherwood NSS...
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a space-based renewable energy contract for Pacific Gas and Electric Company in an effort to move the state...
The National Space Society is founding a new online, high-quality, peer-reviewed journal, the NSS Space Settlement Journal. Journal-quality papers are solicited on all aspects of...
In the recent post Push in Congress for Additional NASA Funding (Update), we detailed how Congresswoman Suzanne Kosmas and Congressman Ken Calvert created a letter...
According to Mark Hopkins, Senior Vice President of the National Space Society, “The discovery of water on the Moon dramatically improves the case for the...
Category: Children’s Book Reviewed by: Marianne Dyson From Ad Astra Summer 2009 Title: Look to the Stars Author: Buzz Aldrin Artwork: Wendell Minor Ages: 4-8...
Category: Children’s Book Reviewed by: Marianne Dyson Title: Galileo’s Universe Author: J. Patrick Lewis Illustrator: Tom Curry, with paper engineering by Bruce Foster Ages: 9-12...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: Stephen Adamczyk Title: Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experience Author: Andrew Chaikin with Victoria Kohl NSS Amazon...
This long essay defends the NSS Vision against those who, like the author of the book being reviewed, think “we shouldn’t colonize Mars or the Moon, or even vacation there.” Ben Bramble, an Australian philosopher who teaches at Australian National University, has penned a YAASS (Yet Another Anti-Space-Settlement) book. These books are multiplying like flies, so space settlement advocates must be gaining ground to generate such an abundant response.
In HOTOL & Skylon: The Story of Britain’s Spaceplanes, Rob Coppinger covers the story of both in great detail, with the reminiscences of many who played integral roles in these ambitious programs. The book shines when it captures the enthusiasm and excitement of those involved, and there are extensive quotes from many who devoted years of work on these projects.
Anyone seeking a short but comprehensive introduction to human spaceflight would do well to start with this book. It reviews its history, highlights the accomplishments and tragedies, and describes the equipment used. It also looks at living in space, what space travelers experience, and how they work.
Back in 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon. Apogee Books has provided an English-language NASA translation of a detailed report originally released by the USSR Academy of Sciences.
The National Space Society has just released a Position Paper on Selected Space Environmental Sustainability Issues. Below is the Conclusion section. The full paper can...
By Robin Scott NSS Chapter Middle Tennessee Space Society (MTSS) President Chuck Schlemm performs outreach, directly contacting about 560 attendees (STEM teachers, school faculty, students,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent Some weeks in spaceflight are just busy. This one was something more. Over a period of four days,...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent A large anvil cloud hanging over Florida’s Space Coast added some uncertainty to the final hours of the...
Applications open 1 Oct – 1 Dec, 2026 The National Space Society’s Global Space Debates is a unique, 100% virtual program that brings high school...
