Mika McKinnon of io9 asks, Ever since the shuttle program ended, NASA has been paying Russia to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station. But the price-per-seat aboard Russia’s spacecraft has gotten ridiculous. The solution is clear and cost-effective: The US needs its own space taxis. So why won’t Congress pay for it? Every year, NASA’s budget for Commercial Crew is less than requested. This means more flights using.. Read More

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, left, and crewmate Kjell Lindgren, right, chat with CBS News during a space-to-ground question-and-answer session Monday. Kelly urged lawmakers to fully fund NASA’s commercial crew program to end sole reliance on Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft. (CBS News)   Scott Kelly, an astronaut nearly five months into a one-year stay at the International Space Station, has begged Congress to stop killing America’s manned space program. In the words.. Read More

Richard Shelby is watching out for his NASA center. (AP Photo)   Eric Berger has a new editorial at the Houston Chronicle. Congress is stalling commercial crew merely to generate pork. Space is a new industry, capable of providing jobs to thousands of Americans. But it is being hobbled by Congress. Crucial money that could be given to American companies is funneled off to Russia. Further, the Space Launch System, or SLS,.. Read More

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2015 ‐‐‐ The National Space Society (NSS) and Space Frontier Foundation (SFF) today announced their support for NASA’s funding of the newly released NexGen Space study, illustrating how to cut the cost of human space exploration by a factor of 10. The study, “Economic Assessment and Systems Analysis of an Evolvable Lunar Architecture that Leverages Commercial Space Capabilities and Public‐Private Partnerships,” finds public‐private partnerships able to return.. Read More

HR 2262, the new SPACE Act, the Space Act of 2015, contains a hidden bomb. It’s in a part of the section titled “Space Launch System Update”, on pages 26-28 which reads: It shall be the policy of the United States to use the Space Launch System for purposes that require a human presence directly to cis-lunar space and the regions of space beyond low-Earth orbit. Says the Space Development Steering Committee’s.. Read More

Here is a video proposal to build solar power plants where the Sun shines close to 99% of the time. This video of transporting parts to GEO and building a thermal power satellite was in a contest, but a team supported by the Chinese government won. The proposal grew out of one to use laser to power the last part of earth orbit injection and transfer to GEO. Lasers are.. Read More

America’s enthusiasm for manned missions to Mars is on the upswing. NASA has just released a new animation of the Space Launch System, the rocket that it says will get us to the red planet. NASA head Charles Bolden told a Humans to Mars Summit in Washington on May 5th that “a clear plan to make” a manned Mars mission “happen is starting to take shape.” Four days after the.. Read More

Workshop: Current Challenges for Space Solar Power IEEE WiSEE 2015, Dec. 14-15 2015, Orlando FL Call for Papers and Talks  Important Dates:  Full Paper/Talk Abstract Submission: Aug. 01 2015 Review Complete: Sept. 01 2015 Uploading Final Papers: Sept. 15 2015  This workshop provides a forum for researchers and developers working on Space Solar Power (SSP) to facilitate and highlight developing SSP technologies, to determine and advance the state of the.. Read More

The International Space Development Conference starts Wednesday, May 20th in Toronto. This annual event is sponsored by the National Space Society. It brings together leading managers, engineers, scientists, educators, and business people from civilian, military, commercial, entrepreneurial, and grassroots advocacy space sectors. This year’s conference includes Lori Garver (former NASA Deputy Administrator), Kip Thorne (physicist), George Whitesides (CEO of Virgin Galactic) and Buzz Aldrin. Breakthrough Technologies are not only paving the future,.. Read More

On May 20, an advanced NASA materials science experiment will be carried as a payload on board the U.S. Air Force X-37B winged reusable spaceplane. The X-37B is set for its fourth Atlas-V launch from Cape Canaveral. The Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space (METIS) project is planned to remain in space for at least 200 days. By flying the METIS investigation on the X-37B, materials scientists will have the.. Read More