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.
by John K. Strickland, Jr. The announcement of the Falcon Heavy in early April, 2011 was a potential game-changer in the space launch industry. The...
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk spoke at the National Press Club September 29 about SpaceX plans to develop a “fully and rapidly reusable rocket.” Musk stated...
by Howard Bloom and Jon LaBore When a Russian Soyuz rocket carrying three tons of equipment crashed over Siberia on August 24th, Americans got a...
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) has announced two competitions. The first, the 2011 High-Powered Rocketry Competition is under way. The goal...
NASA ground track shows UARS leaving Africa and reentering over the Pacific Ocean at approximately 12:01 a.m. EDT September 24. Map courtesy of NASA. Here’s...
John Young, 1965. He was approximately my age (34) in this Life magazine photo. Happy birthday to Floridian badass and originator of the Blue...
The National Space Society calls for the United States to make civil space a high national priority in order to ensure American leadership in scientific...
UARS is scheduled to reenter sometime between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. September 24. It may reenter over parts of Canada, Africa and Australia. Here’s...
This is what the satellite which is falling from orbit – the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite – looks like. So if you see this in...
A time-lapse created by science educator James Drake, who compiled 600 publicly available images taken from the front of the International Space Station as it...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: David Brandt-Erichsen Title: Turning Dust to Gold: Building a Future on the Moon and Mars Author: Haym Benaroya NSS Amazon link...
The Coalition for Space Exploration wants to hear from the American public about what they envision for the future of space exploration. The Coalition is...
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...
