Cover image courtesy NASA.
Featured Articles:
14
SPACE SHUTTLE TRIBUTE SERIES
Illustrations from the KSC Launch Control Center
16
SHUTTLE RETIREMENT: THE END OF AN ERA?
Report from an interview with the crew of the final shuttle mission
by Pete Trabucco
18
MARTIAN DREAMS
A Tribute to the Possibilities of Our Future
By Hugh Downs
22
TAKING THE HIGH ROADS TO SPACE
CCDev2 Jupstarts Atlas, Falcon, and More
By John F. Kross
28
ISS: AFTER THE SPACE SHUTTLE
By Stefano Coledan
32
THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
Could Mars be the source of life on Earth?
By David Warmflash
36
LOCATING LUNAR SUBWAYS
Lava tubes could serve as key habitats, and fewer than 100 have been found so far
By Marianne Dyson
40
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
A Personal Reminiscence of the Shuttle Era
By Clifford R. McMurray
43
NSS-KALAM INITIATIVE REACHES OUT TO CHINA
By Dave Dunlop
Departments:
8
LETTER FROM HEADQUARTERS
Actions Speak Louder than Words
By Gary Barnhard
9
LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
By Pat Silver
11
NSS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Juno Launch Tweetup
By Tim Bailey
12
NSS CORRESPONDENCE
An Update for NSS Space Ambassadors
By Lee Jones
46
STATEMENT FROM THE NSS POLICY COMMITTEE
The National Space Society’s Call to Action for American Leadership in Civil Space
47
UPDATE
Space Settlement
By Howard Bloom and Jon LaBore
48
BOOKS
Truth, Lies, and O-Rings: Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, by Allan J. McDonald with James R. Hansen
Reviewed by Stephen Adamczyk
Burt Rutan’s Race to Space: The Magician of Mojave and His Flying Innovations, by Dan Linehan
Reviewed by Susan Raizer
50
CHAPTER LISTINGS
55
SIGNING OFF
Reflections: Atlantis poised for liftoff.