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.
[Mumbai, June 26] Indian news agency PTI quotes a National Space Society Director on a plan to provide electricity in case of a Fukushima-type or...
Bob Crippen did not discover self-tanner, but he certainly must have discovered something to “extend and prolong that St. Tropez tan.” Bob and John Young...
Because Jack was once on Apollo 7’s support crew. Poor guy. 1968 Life magazine photo. Jack was a CAPCOM during Apollo 7, and was the...
The latest addition to the NSS Space Solar Power Library is a paper by Al Globus which he presented at the 2011 International Space Development...
Here’s a clip of Neil Armstrong, semi-reclusive Gemini 8 and Apollo 11 astronaut, doing a TV spot for Chrysler vehicles in 1979. Neil did a...
John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, and Friendship 7 from “An Evening with Two Mercury Astronauts,” from the National Air and Space Museum, June 23, 2011....
Part of a package I received from NASA in the 1980s. Pictured: a synopsis of the early shuttle missions, and a space shuttle schematic poster....
“Who wears short shorts? We wear short shorts.” Sally Ride, sans short shorts, on the space shuttle Challenger’s flight deck. NASA photo. It’s hard for...
Collins, like, raps, cats. 1969 Life magazine photo. Most manned spaceflight enthusiasts have been wholly familiarized with the stories of the two moon-walkers of Apollo...
On May 7th, 2011, the National Space Society’s Space Ambassador program began its year-long mission. The top ambassador will be assigned a research trip to...
ISDC conference report by Dave Fischer Professor Jun’ichiro Kawaguchi presented the history and results of the Hayabusa program, formally known as MUSES-C. Professor Kawaguchi is...
VERSUS NASA photos, 1968. Because this is an important blog about science. U.S. Air Force Colonel James McDivitt (Gemini 4 and Apollo 9) is pictured...
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,...
