An archive of letters and manuscripts belonging to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky was digitized years ago, but not easily searchable. Vladimir Beskorovainyi describes his project to create a machine readable…

The conflict in the Persian Gulf has caused some countries there to take steps to improve access to satellite imagery. Kelevitch argues that those measures fall short of what is needed for true…

A Falcon 9 upper stage hit the Moon last month, creating a small crater. Rachita Agrawal says the bigger impact of the incident should be thinking about how to prevent similar incidents in the future…

Strategists have tried to apply concepts from the theories of air power and sea power to space. Michael Uhall discusses why spacepower requires rethinking concepts like territory in a regime where…

In the early 1960s, the US Air Force launched nearly a dozen Samos satellites with varying designations. Dwayne Day examines what happened to one class of satellite, Samos E-3, that never launched.

The Falcon 9 has been one the most successful launch vehicles in the history of the Space Age, but it won't fly forever. Jeff Foust reports on how the space industry is coming to grips with the…

NASA is leading a new effort to develop a lunar base, one that requires development of many technologies needed to live on the lunar surface for extended periods. Chad McElroy and Jacob Smagula argue…

The first Star Trek movie features a spacecraft based on the recently launched Voyager missions. Dwayne Day described on how the filmmakers worked with NASA on the design of Voyager 6.

In the early 1960s German aerospace company pursued studies of a spaceplane with support of a famous designer. Hans Dolfing examines the designs Junkers examined for a reusable spaceplane.

Satellite operators are increasingly turning to automated systems to avoid potential collisions based on when the probability of a collision passes a threshold. Burak Oktenli argues that threshold…

Ukrainian cruise missiles struck a Russian factory last month that produces Soyuz rockets, with some reports claiming the attack caused serious damage. Bart Hendrickx examines the evidence to better…

Firefly Aerospace today is known for work on lunar landers and other spacecraft, but had its start in launch. Jeff Foust reviews a documentary that follows the early years of Firefly as it worked on…

Last week, the Indian space agency ISRO conducted the first launch since a January failure, putting an imaging satellite into orbit. Ajey Lele discusses the challenges ISRO has faced with both launch…

In the early 2000s, Russian engineers proposed converting the Backfire bomber into an air-launch platform. Dwayne Day examines the details of that concept.

The success of Star Wars triggered the development of imitators, including a short-lived TV series aimed at children. Dwayne Day discusses the good premise of Space Academy, albeit one undercut by…

Like many TV producers, Gene Roddenberry lobbied 60 years to win awards for his new series, Star Trek. Glen Swanson examines the unusual approach he took to seek television’s highest honor.

In the summer of 1962, scientists gathered at the University of Iowa to discuss the future of space research. Danny Robb examines the far-reaching impacts of that little-known event.

During the final years of the Soviet Union, its policy of Perestroika opened up cooperation with the West on space missions. Louis Friedman reviews a book on the topic and some avenues of…

What was a small building in a forgotten corner of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station used for decades ago? James Behling uncovers the mystery of facility number 49941 at the Cape.

In mid-August, NASA announced it was calling off an effort to reboost the orbit of its Swift space telescope because of problems with the commercial spacecraft launched to reboost it. Jeff Foust…

Many in the public see space as primarily a playground for billionaires. Kelsie Goddard argues that while that reputation is not undeserved, the role of wealthy private actors in commercial space may…

The growth of the commercial space industry is seen by some as a way to help the US government to do more with less. Charles Galbreath discusses how commercial space capabilities, while offering…

The Starship Enterprise is one of the best known science-fiction spaceships, but in Japan another vessel is just as famous. Dwayne Day examines the legacy of Space Battleship Yamato and how both it…

Space advocates have offered grand visions of how space can create a better, even utopian, future for humanity, efforts yet to be realized. Jeff Foust reviews a book intended to criticize those…

While space science programs are usually associated with major space powers, there are roles for emerging players as well. Shaikh Afnan Birahim discusses what Bangladesh can do in the field with only…

During the Cold War, US reconnaissance satellites monitored a Soviet airfield in the far north of the country. Harry Stranger and Dwayne Day examine the mystery fo that airfield that even the best…

Launch vehicles have used solid rocket motors for decades, although many new vehicles eschew the. Michael Puckett discusses the factors that led to adoption of solid motors on many early launch…

Millions of dollars flow into space startups with the hope those companies will some day be worth billions. Florian Gutzwiller offers cautionary tales from his investments into three space companies…

As the Cold War space race between the US and USSR raged, US officials tried to understand what the Soviet Union was doing. Andrea Zullo reviews several reports from that era to summarize where those…

One argument that critics of space settlement make is that it would be far easier to settle Antarctica. Milan Ćirković offers several reasons why that argument is wrong.

The race to return humans to the Moon pits not just two countries but two political philosophies. Alexander William Salter discusses how American leadership in space can establish a humane space…

LANYARD was not the only effort to salvage something from the Samos satellite reconnaissance program in the early 1960s. Dwayne Day discusses a similar effort to repurpose Samos hardware for a…

The demand for launch services is higher than ever, but the supply of rockets today is very constrained. Jeff Foust reports on the various factors that make getting a ride to orbit today difficult…

Synthetic aperture radar imagery had long been considered primarily a tool for defense applications. Kateryna Sergieieva discusses how commercial SAR systems have made such imagery available for many…

Satellite activities are extensively logged, providing an audit trail for tracking down problems or determining blame. Burak Oktenli explains why the rise of quantum computing threatens the integrity…

Space activities increasingly rely on automation and AI to make decisions faster than humans. Bharath Gopalaswamy and Daniel Dant describe how this creates challenges for determining what decisions…

The UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Space established an “action team” in 2024 to study how to coordinate lunar activities. Giorgio Cardile offers an update on the team’s work, including…

When the NRO decided to cancel a classified satellite reconnaissance program in the early 1960s, engineers with the company that designed its camera sought to salvage that work. Dwayne Day examines…

Navigation and timing services provided by satellites have become ubiquitous in modern society. Jeff Foust reviews a book that explores the development of GPS and some of the challenges it now faces.

Many space startups seek, and often struggle to raise, venture capital to scale their businesses. Samson Williams argues companies are better off first working with the government to develop…

Very small launch vehicles are at an economic disadvantage to larger vehicles. However, Evangelos Dimitriou describes how they could provide a strategic capability for some spacefaring nations.

NASA has announced plans for a lunar base starting wiht tis current Artemis architecture. Ernesto Gabriel Arias discusses an alternative approach better suited for lunar permanence.

When the NRO decided to cancel a classified satellite reconnaissance program in the early 1960s, engineers with the company that designed its camera sought to salvage that work. Dwayne Day examines…

NASA is relying heavily on commercial partnerships in its plans to return to the Moon and establish a base there. Alexander Salter discusses why those plans will require a balance of commercial…

One question about NASA's revised plans for Artemis is how much it will cost to get astronauts back to the Moon. Robert Oler argues that Congress should investigate just how affordable those plans…

SpaceX's Starship performed its latest suborbital test flight last week, inching closer to orbital missions. Paul Almond says that Starship could still be useful to SpaceX even before the company…

NASA's next major space telescope, launching in a month, is named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman. Trevor Williams discusses how she spearheaded the development of a line of spacecraft missions to…

The International Space Station is scheduled to be retired as soon as the end of the decade. Jeff Foust reports this is providing new urgency to efforts to preserve some aspects of the station before…

Once Upon a Time in Space is a documentary series on human spaceflight airing on PBS. Emily Carney interviews filmmaker James Bluemel about the series and his approach to telling the stories from the…

Among the new exhibits in the National Air and Space Museum is a half-scale model of a formerly top-secret signals intelligence satellite from the Cold War known as FARRAH. Dwayne Day discusses the…