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.
I feel kind of like this right now. Frank Borman, mad, 1968. I usually never post about non-spaceflight related things, but I felt a need...
From NASA Television on YouTube – MSL launch from this morning. Right now, MSL’s Centaur stage is performing a burn which will take it...
MSL and its Atlas V on the launchpad this morning. Picture from Kennedy Space Center on Facebook. 8:41 a.m.: Okay, I am here. We...
From Kennedy Space Center’s Facebook page – en route to the Vehicle Assembly Building, 11/25/2011. Watch this space…in the morning I will be here...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: Susan Raizer From Ad Astra Winter 2011 Title: Burt Rutan’s Race to Space: The Magician of Mojave and His Flying Innovations...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: Stephen Adamczyk From Ad Astra Winter 2011 Title: Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Author: Allen J....
Category: Children’s Book Reviewed by: Marianne Dyson Title: The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot Author: Margaret McNamara Illustrator: Mark Fearing Ages: preschool...
Category: Non-Fiction Reviewed by: Bart Leahy Title: Crossing the Threshold: Advancing into Space to Benefit the Earth Author: Paul O. Wieland, P.E. NSS Amazon link...
This blog post was inspired by this blog post on Rookiemag.com, so enjoy. There are three basic facial expressions used by former NASA astronaut/general serious...
According to Kennedy Space Center on Facebook: “The launch of the Atlas V carrying NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL), has been delayed one day to...
The National Space Society (NSS) and SPACE Canada held a press conference on November 14, 2011 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C to...
Made with NASA photos taken 240 miles above Earth and edited together by German artist Michael Konig, this 4-1/2 minute film captures some of the...
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...
