October 9th, 2017
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Two new space reports have been issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), one on nuclear power and future spacecraft missions. The other focuses on moving the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation. DOE Could Improve Planning and Communication Related to Plutonium-238 and Radioisotope Power Systems Production Challenges looks at NASA’s dependency […]
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On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched the Sputnik-1 earth satellite into space—an achievement that stunned the American public and press, but not the U.S. policy and intelligence communities. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported the advancements that led to this landmark launch to President Eisenhower, providing him with the strategic advantage to […]
Book Review: International Space Station: Architecture Beyond Earth by David Nixon, CIRCA Press, 2017, 400-pages +, $75.00 hardcover. This is an incredible gift of a book that tells the history of the International Space Station, through the lens of its architectural design. Written by David Nixon, an architect with a particular interest in designing for […]
Deep into Sol 1836, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover ran into uplink issues due to a Deep Space Network technical problem. Reports Abigail Fraeman, a planetary geologist at NASA/JPL in Pasadena, California, Mars researchers worked hard to generate what they affectionately dubbed a “Frankenplan.” That plan is defined as a schedule in which one mashes […]
Vice President Pence ✔@VP At @POTUS’ direction, the Nat’l Space Council will hold first meeting with all aspects of space enterprise for 1st time in a quarter century. The meeting, titled “Leading the Next Frontier: An Event with the National Space Council,” will be held today. This first meeting is to take place at the […]
The roots of space exploration stem back to the launch of the first artificial satellite of Earth – the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1. Today, sixty years ago on October 4, 1957, the 184-pound polished sphere rocketed into Earth orbit. Its beep-beep-beeping sent scientific, technological, and political shockwaves around the world. […]
The United Arab Emirates have launched the Mars Science City project. The initiative was unveiled at the annual meetings for the UAE government in Abu Dhabi last week. This city, at 1.9 million square feet, would make it the largest space stimulation city ever built and will provide a viable and realistic model to […]
NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has just entered Sol 1831. In a report by Michael Battalio, an atmospheric scientist from Texas A&M University in College Station, the robot has performed touch-and-go science on a dark-toned target named “Collingham” in the hopes that the darker color indicated either a different chemistry or reduced surface dust. Curiosity’s Alpha […]
This week at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX CEO and Lead Designer Elon Musk provided an update to his 2016 presentation regarding the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars. Moon, Mars, Earth-to-Earth Musk spotlighted his […]
This week at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, SpaceX CEO and Lead Designer Elon Musk will provide an update to his 2016 presentation regarding the long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars. You can watch the […]
