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 Jennifer Rothblatt NSS Director of Operations On February 24–25, 2026, the Beyond Earth Institute hosted the Beyond Earth Symposium at the Washington College of...
By John Jossy John Jossy runs a regular blog called Space Settlement Progress, from which this is taken. He is also a member of the...
Opinion by Dale Skran I’ve been writing columns on the prospects for the Space Launch System (SLS) for several years now, and one of the...
NSS has issued a new Position Paper on Maintaining U.S. Leadership in LEO Research and Commercialization after the ISS. ABSTRACT: NSS urges the U.S. to...
Speaking Proposals will be Accepted at the Conference Website Through April 15, 2025 Potential speakers are invited to submit abstracts for the National Space Society’s...
Above image courtesy SpaceX. The first orbital test flight of Starship/Superheavy is scheduled for 8 AM Eastern Monday April 17, with a launch window lasting...
By Dale Skran Image credit: Commercial LEO stations by Axiom, Blue Origin, and Lockheed Martin In a recent blog post I tackled the subject “What...
By Dale Skran A term you will hear in many modern space discussions is “space sustainability.” Few space-related terms are used to mean such a...
By Richard Howard On July 22, 2022, the Planetary Society held a Webinar event celebrating the three year anniversary of the solar sail deployment of...
By Dale Skran Most NSS members take it for granted that the term “space development” is widely understood. After all, we have been running the...
The National Space Society is pleased to announce the latest Dr. Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime Competition, which will award three cash prizes...
© by Dale Skran, NSS Chief Operating Officer Image: NASA Lucy mission will fly by eight asteroids (courtesy NASA) You can’t develop or settle that...
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,...
