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.
SpaceX announced that it will slip the launch of the Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 from the original 7 February 2012 date. The specific...
The National Space Society (NSS) hails the announcement of Stratolaunch Systems, a Paul G. Allen Project, as a pioneering investment in space transportation. The company...
SEATTLE, WA, Dec 13, 2011 – Entrepreneur and philanthropist Paul G. Allen announced today that he and aerospace pioneer Burt Rutan have reunited to develop...
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...
NASA has agreed in principle to allow the SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule to dock with the International Space Station. Launch of the Dragon on a...
NASA has selected seven companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space and...
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made numerous public statements about SpaceX plans to send humans to Mars in the next 10 to 20 years (e.g....
Presentations from the 2011 NSS International Space Development Conference in Huntsville, Alabama. Jeff Greason, President of XCOR Aerospace. Keynote Address at the Awards Banquet: A...
ISDC conference report by Dave Fischer If those who think Mars is sufficiently hard to get to and remain to settle are correct, or those...
SpaceShip Two “Feathered” Image Credit: Clay Center Observatory Om 4 May 2011, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two completed its third test flight in twelve days, and...
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.
Meyer’s academic textbook is loaded with numerous photographs, diagrams, charts, and graphs. There are chapters on subjects such as farm machines, animal and fungi production, plant and algae production, and space menus. The farming techniques outlined in the book can be applied to lunar, Martian, or rotating space settlements.
Apogee Books has reissued its volume on Surveyor for the program’s 60th anniversary. The book is a wonder, containing a veritable treasure trove of documents on every conceivable facet of the Surveyor program.
The National Space Society (NSS) enthusiastically welcomes NASA’s proposed PROMISE lunar lander, a bold step forward in expanding scientific access, mobility, and capability across the...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent Image: Starship 13 after “landing” in the Indian Ocean. Last week I had the opportunity to speak to...
