Governmental Aerospace Programs
The Federal Aviation Administration, air mail, space programs and military aviation
The Moon, Asteroids, and Space Resources
By abandoning the Moon, the administration’s proposed space policy has left the space community with a huge question mark over the important issue of learning how to harvest and use space resources. Clearly if we don’t go to the Moon with people or machines, there is no way to use the abundant wat...
July 23, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Hang Time
Designers of spy planes have come up with any number of ways to increase dwell time over a target, from long-lasting UAVs to slow-moving airships to this hydrogen-powered craft called Phantom Eye, which was unveiled last week by Boeing Phantom Works.According to Boeing, Phantom Eye will be shipped ...
July 19, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Live From the Moon!
The picture may have been grainy, but it was some of the most riveting TV of the 1960s.
July 19, 2010 |
By Mary McKillop
Technology Seeding
There's a philosophical war going on in space policy circles these days, between those who believe that grand, ambitious missions drive invention (Apollo), and those who believe it's the other way around (DARPA).Honestly, I think either approach can work, given wise management. But NASA's new direc...
July 15, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
NASA’s New Mission and the Cult of Management
During a recent interview on Al Jazeera television, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined NASA’s new priorities. His remarks became headlines as the previously ignored story about the redirection of the space agency toward international diplomatic outreach and global climate change research f...
July 10, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Scenes From Star City
With more NASA astronauts Twittering and YouTubing these days, you can get all kinds of insider views of the spacefarer's life if you're willing to rummage around the Web a bit.
Scott Kelly is training for a space station tour beginning in September, and over the last year has posted video scenes ...
July 08, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Roswell, "The Genesis Story of U.S. UFOs"
"It was 58 years ago today that the Roswell incident occurred," said Roger Launius, a National Air and Space Museum Space History curator who could also be considered NASM's chief skeptic. (An earlier talk of his concerned people who refuse to believe the Apollo program landed men on the moon.) Hi...
July 07, 2010 |
By Pat Trenner
Leroy Chiao on Working With the Chinese
Last week the Obama White House released its National Space Policy, a document put forward by every administration since Eisenhower's. The report gives each president a chance to articulate his vision for the nation's space activities.The new plan is notable in its call for international cooperatio...
July 06, 2010 |
By Mike Klesius
HAM the Astrochimp
Before humans could be sent into space, scientists needed to know if they could function in weightlessness. NASA had conducted tests with mice and a monkey, but then turned to chimpanzees, animals that could be trained to perform specific tasks.Enter HAM (an acronym derived from Holloman AeroMedica...
July 02, 2010 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Truck Killer
For one mission in Vietnam, the best aircraft for the job was a bomber from World War II.
July 2010 |
By David Lande
The Last Gunslinger
The F-15C is the only dedicated dogfighter left in the U.S. military fleet. Why isn't the Air Force replacing it?
July 2010 |
By Michael Behar
Sightings: Cause for Reflection
Endeavour lights up the sky—and water—in Florida.
July 2010 |
By The Editors
Evolution of the Space Shuttle
How 30 years changed the world's most complex flying machine.
July 2010 |
By Michael Klesius
Sixty Years After Korea
The Korean War often gets lost in the commemorative gap between World War II and Vietnam, but it was the first major conflict of the Jet Age, and has plenty of lore of its own. The war began 60 years ago this month, when North Korean forces crossed the 38th Parallel to invade South Korea.
Here's a...
June 29, 2010 |
By Tony Reichhardt
Malice, Mischief and Misconceptions
The space community has fractured since the disastrous roll out of NASA’s “new direction.” Preceding the administration’s budget announcement, endless delays and rampant speculation about administrators, rockets, and program design and direction kept people guessing. The current trench warfare is...
June 26, 2010 |
By Paul D. Spudis
Flying While Female
China has selected its first two female astronauts, Space.com recently reported. But, unlike their male counterparts, females have to be married. “We believe married women would be more physically and psychologically mature,” Zhang Jianqui, the former deputy commander of China’s spaceflight program...
June 24, 2010 |
By Rebecca Maksel
Your Face in Space
With time running short for the space shuttle, NASA has come up with a way for the masses to journey with astronauts on the vehicle's two remaining voyages. Granted, it’s still impossible to actually hitch a ride to orbit, but you can upload and send a picture of yourself into space through NASA...
June 22, 2010 |
By Mary McKillop
