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 George Mancuso Boeing announced on April 6th it would fly a second uncrewed Orbital Flight Test (OFT) of its CST-100 Starliner. The flight goal...
By Dale Skran With most of us under some form of pandemic lockdown, and focused on the terrible events unfolding around us, it is easy...
By Dale Skran, Chair of the NSS Executive Committee NASA today announced that SpaceX has been chosen to provide a cargo vehicle, the Dragon XL...
Abstract The National Space Society (NSS) proposes a public/private partnership approach to develop and demonstrate space solar power at a sufficiently high level of technical...
By George Mancuso NASA and SpaceX successfully completed an in-flight abort demonstration of the Dragon 2 spacecraft from a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday January...
By Dale Skran Rocket Lab had a great 2019, concluding with its 10th launch overall, with six in 2019 alone. All six launched from Rocket...
By Dale Skran Chair of the Executive Committee, National Space Society This article will only focus on Boeing activities that relate to space development, not...
Having just written a recap of SpaceX activities in 2019, it seemed natural to follow with a preview of 2020. In no particular order, we...
By Dale Skran Just by the numbers SpaceX had a terrible year—only 13 launches, down from 21 in 2018, and 18 in 2017, although more...
By Dale Skran With the setback just suffered by Boeing, in which a Starliner launched and landed successfully (photo above) but proved unable to dock...
By George Mancuso Since the Space Shuttle retirement in 2011 after 30 years of service, NASA has relied on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft for crew...
By Dale L. Skran Copyright 2019 The deceptively simple term “space settlement” can become controversial among space advocates. The purpose of this essay is to...
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.
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.
The National Space Society (NSS) welcomes the U.S. Administration’s proposal to establish a United States Space Academy, a NASA-led institution meant to prepare the next...
By Burt Dicht NSS Space Coast Correspondent Today’s successful launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will help answer two key questions: How does...
By Robin Scott National Space Society of North Texas (NSS-NT) President Ken Ruffin, shown above holding the 2026 NSS Chapter of the Year Award, acknowledged...
The National Space Society (NSS) welcomes the release of the National Space Transportation Policy, a comprehensive directive establishing the United States’ strategic framework for launch,...
