Articles, essays, and commentary about all facets of space exploration
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner launched last week on its second uncrewed test flight to the ISS, nearly two and a half years after a truncated first mission. Jeff Foust reports on that launch and docking, and the road ahead for the commercial crew vehicle.
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During the early years of the Apollo program, NASA considered a variety of approaches to scout potential landing sites. Philip Horzempa examines one proposal that would have turned the Lunar Module into a reconnaissance satellite.
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Earlier this month the governments of France and India agreed to start a formal dialogue on space policy issues. Harini Madhusudan examines how this fits into the longer history of space relations between the two countries and what topics they may discuss.
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People living in space has been a long-running dream of space advocates that predates the Space Age. Jeff Foust reviews a book that explores the various rationales offered over the years for settling space.
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Military interest in the region of space beyond geostationary Earth orbit, such as cislunar space, is growing. Kristin Burke examines how that region of space is treated in Chinese academic military papers and its implications for space security.
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NASA administrator Bill Nelson called traditional cost-plus contracts a "plague" on the agency during a congressional hearing earlier this month. Jeff Foust reports on how the agency is looking to make greater use of fixed-price contracts and competition, and the challenges it faces doing so.
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What's your favorite moon in the solar system? (You do have one, right?) Dwayne Day offers his favorite moons, based not just on science but also the stories they tell.
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Fifty years ago, the Soviet Union launched a mission to Venus that was stranded in Earth orbit. Marco Langbroek examines what's known about the last element of that mission still in orbit and when it's likely to reenter.
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The planetary science decadal survey final report released last month recommended flagship missions to the outer solar system but also endorsed continued work on Mars Sample Return. Jeff Foust reports other Mars exploration recommendations in the report are still shrouded in uncertainty, such as a radar mapping mission that NASA wants to stop funding.
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The United States announced last month it would not perform destructive direct-ascent ASAT tests and encouraged other nations to join it. Cassandra Steer explains why Australia should join the ASAT testing ban despite a lack of plans by the country's military to develop ASATs.
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