July 27th, 2018
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Maintaining U.S. leadership in the face of global competition warrants a reevaluation of the U.S. political and legal landscape governing space. On July 24, the Hudson Institute was joined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, and House Science, Space, & Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith to discuss the Department of Commerce’s evolving role […]
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The U.S. administration is planning to significantly enlarge the space portfolio of the U.S. Department of Commerce to help expand the nation’s commercial space sector and accelerate its evolution. Remaking U.S. Regulation of Space Commerce is a newly released issue brief prepared by Dr. James Vedda of The Aerospace Corporation senior policy analyst in […]
A new interactive guide re-imagines the nine planets in our solar system as holiday resorts. Now your imagination can run wild with Galactic Getaways, an off-Earth holiday guide. From diamond rain and toasty temperatures of 464 degrees, to photo opportunities including the tallest mountain in the solar system and bright blue clouds, there’s a lot […]
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 has provided new imagery of asteroid Ryugu from an altitude of 4 miles (6 kilometers) distance. Hayabusa2 arrived at asteroid Ryugu on June 27. The innovative spacecraft remained at a distance of about 12 miles (20 kilometers), dubbed the “Home Position” to continue to observe the asteroid. During […]
The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee finished a two-part hearing today on delays and cost increases for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), affectingly also known in some circles as the Just Wait Space Telescope. Launch goal “It is truly staggering to behold how this space telescope’s cost and schedule projections went from costing […]
From Virgin Galactic today: Virgin Galactic test pilots broke Mach 2 this morning, as VSS Unity performed its third rocket-powered supersonic outing in less than four months. After a clean release from carrier aircraft VMS Eve at 46,500 ft, pilots Dave Mackay and Mike “Sooch” Masucci lit the spaceship’s rocket motor, before pulling up into […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2122 tasks. Reports Rachel Kronyak, planetary geologist at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, the science team has selected a new drill target, “Ailsa Craig,” and spent time triaging the target with the rover’s contact science instruments: the Dust Removal Tool, the Mars Hand Lens […]
Destination Mars – Putting American Boots on the Surface of the Red Planet! This July 25 hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness focused on NASA’s exploration priorities and is the first in a series of hearings in anticipation of a future NASA authorization legislation. Floating to the top of […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 2121 tasks. Reports Michelle Minitti, a planetary geologist at Framework in Silver Spring, Maryland, Mars dealt scientists a winning hand, yielding a sufficiently flat parking space after a recent short bump that allows Curiosity to proceed with a plan to drill in an area of the […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 2120 tasks. Reports Abigail Fraeman, a planetary geologist for NASA/JPL in Pasadena, California: “A weekend drive completed successfully and we have our next intended drill target attempt in the rover workspace.” Pitch and roll However, Fraeman adds, a problem has cropped up. The combination of the […]
