Views of a last space shuttle launch

As NASA nears the final launch and retirement of its mainstay Space Shuttle, I think it only fitting to review another final Space Shuttle launch – one made twenty-three years ago. In 1988, the U.S.S.R. launched its own Space Shuttle, the Buran, for what would be the first and last time. Replay camera videos of […]

Space Suit of the Week

A quick note today on a very excellent blog series called Space Suit of the Week. Its weekly contributions feature, unsurprisingly, space suits as they appear in art, culture and history. While entries vary in style from edgy or morbid to fascinating and fun, the posts carry readers on a romp through some of the most identifiable imagery in our collective psyche. It’s quite […]

Russia announces new Nuclear Rockets for manned Mars trip

For the first time in possibly four decades, two electrifying space technology phrases have managed to show up in the same sentence in earnest. Quietly nestled in the murky details of a somewhat thrilling AP news story about a potential new Russian spacecraft to be produced in the next few years are the words: “manned […]

Yuri’s Semi-Centennial… and other milestones

Today marks the 50th anniversary of human exploration off-world. Coincidentally, it also marks the 30th anniversary of the inaugural launch of NASA’s Space Shuttle. Now is a time of transition in many respects; it’s a time of remembrance and of guarded (and sometimes not-so-guarded) excitement. The Space Shuttle is retiring, the International Space Station is […]

China’s space lab rising

As arguably the third most powerful space agency in the world, the China National Space Administration, which already has successful manned launches and a confirmed spacewalk under its belt, continues its determined drive starward. In early October, the CNSA signed a cooperative space plan with Russia for the 2010-2012 timeframe, the contents of which are […]