Future Implications of Commercial Crew
By George Mancuso “Although space travel is today failing ludicrously to fulfill the promises of promoters, it still might one day become cheap enough to be accessible to ordinary people.” So wrote Freeman J. Dyson in The Sun, the Genome and the Internet, 1999 The...
National Space Society Congratulates ULA, NASA on Launch of Mars 2020 Perseverance Mission
The National Space Society applauds United Launch Alliance (ULA) and NASA for the successful launch of the Mars 2020 Perseverance mission, feted as the agency’s most sophisticated geological and astrobiological Mars mission yet. At 7:50 a.m. EDT, a ULA Atlas V-541 variant leaped off the pad into a sunny Florida sky at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 41, marking the beginning of a nearly seven-month-long journey for rover Perseverance and the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.
Men Not Quite From Space: O’Leary and O’Neill’s 1970s Pop Culture Moments, Part One
This Space Available, By Emily Carney. During this past year, This Space Available has profiled Dr. Brian O’Leary, perhaps the most (in)famous and controversial ex-NASA astronaut, and Dr. Gerard K. O’Neill, a physicist who, while not quite making it to O’Leary’s astronaut group, still enjoyed a diverse career and a type of cult-like fame throughout the 1970s with the publication of his classic treatise about space settlement, The High Frontier. Both scientists independently left their imprints upon pop culture during the 1970s, the decade in which they both were most publicly visible.
Becoming an Interplanetary Species
Isaac Arthur, recipient of the NSS Space Pioneer Award for Education via Mass Media, has posted this 20-minute video based on the first 12 milestones in the NSS Roadmap to Space Settlement.
The Torch is Being Passed: Shuttle to Falcon 9
By Dale Skran On July 20th a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched ANASIS-II, a South Korean military communications satellite built by Lockheed Martin, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Little noted in the mainstream media, this flight achieved several signal milestones: 57th landing...
NSS VP Dr. Greg Autry Announced as New NASA Chief Financial Officer
The White House announced today the nomination of Dr. Greg Autry as the next Chief Financial Officer of NASA. As NASA CFO, Dr. Autry will oversee the planning, analysis, justification, control, and reporting of all NASA’s fiscal resources. Dr. Autry was the Vice...
NSS Mourns Representative John Lewis – an Icon in Both Civil Rights and Space Development
The National Space Society mourns the passing of Representative John Lewis of Georgia’s 5th congressional district and celebrates the many achievements of his extraordinary life and career. Rep. Lewis was an internationally celebrated figure in the civil rights...
Book Review: Outpost in Orbit
The subtitle presents the book as a history of the International Space Station. However, it is also a complete summary of the path to the ISS by those who envisioned an Earth-orbiting outpost in space, long before humans had the ability to travel there. The book is a remarkable work for its depth and breadth and for the historical insights it conveys. It was commissioned by the Johnson Space Center and was done under a NASA Space Act Agreement.
Book Review: Space Stations – The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space
Although this book is impressive and information-filled, is profusely illustrated with excellent pictures and associated captions, and is authored by three individuals with exceptional credentials, it is marred by a disjointed presentation and at least 18 notable errors.
The National Space Society Celebrates the Life of Hugh Downs
The National Space Society (NSS) mourns the passing of Hugh Downs at age 99 on Thursday. Mr. Downs was an iconic figure in television news as well as a long-serving Chairman of the NSS Board of Governors.“Hugh Downs was larger than life, and his accomplishments were...
Book Review: Shoot for the Moon
The story of the race to the Moon has been told so many times that you might think another book on the subject would be superfluous, but James Donovan shows in his version of this oft-told tale that you’d be mistaken. A jacket blurb by Michael Collins calls this book “the best book on Apollo that I have read.”
Kathy Lueders Selected to Head NASA’s Human Spaceflight Office
The National Space Society (NSS) congratulates Commercial Crew Program Manager Kathy Lueders for her appointment to head the Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission Directorate, and thanks NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine for moving swiftly and wisely in...
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