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 Trevor J. Mills OSIRIS-REx has just entered orbit around asteroid Bennu on New Year’s Eve, 2018. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer...
Shortly before Christmas I received an email from Madhu Thangavelu, chair of the Moon Development and Settlement programming track for the 2019 International Space Development...
Image: Starship Alpha construction at Boca Chica, December 23, 2018 (courtesy SpaceX). By Dale Skran NSS Executive Vice President Copyright 2018 I remember movies like...
National Space Society congratulates Virgin Galactic on achieving a historic milestone in space tourism Virgin Galactic achieved a historic milestone in space development as the...
Image: View from Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity December 13th, 2018 (courtesy of Virgin Galactic). By Bob Brodbeck A historic milestone in space development, and especially...
By George Mancuso On September 16, 2014, NASA awarded Boeing and SpaceX contracts to provide crewed launch services to the International Space Station (ISS). For...
New in the NSS Space Settlement Journal is the article Electrical Requirements for a Spectrum of Multi-Stage Space Farms by Bryce L. Meyer. Abstract Future...
Third Flight of the Same Falcon 9 Block 5 First Stage Makes History By Dale Skran NSS Executive Vice President In an earlier blog post...
STS-5 crew walkout, November 11, 1982. Front, from left: PLT Robert Overmyer and CDR Vance Brand. Back, from left: MS Bill Lenoir, George Abbey, and...
The National Space Society needs your support to further its mission to promote social, economic, technological, and political change in order to expand civilization beyond...
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...
