The Greatest Spacecraft Never Built? The Space Tug
Nixon Wakes Up NASA in the Middle of a Dream How often is it that we talk about the “golden era” of something? Generally, that tends to infer that the best of something is behind us. It doesn’t mean that great things won’t, or can’t be accomplished in...
The Lunar Modules That Were Built But Never Flown
In November of 1962, the Grumman company headquartered in Bethpage, New York won the contract to build the Lunar Module that first carried American astronauts to the Moon. Grumman, a well known defense contractor famous for navy fighter aircraft wanted to be a part of the coming race to space, but they...
The Politics of NASA – What History Has Taught Us
Every political season brings the same old ideas about what government should do and how it should operate. This election brings a decision between operating government like a business and the discipline it requires, or operating it as an entity that transcends the typical rules of budgeting, balancing, and...
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
Prior to the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project there were several attempts by the United States to engage the Soviets in a joint space effort. President John F. Kennedy was the first to propose a combining of U.S and Soviet resources. Kennedy’s core focus was defusing tensions between the U.S. and...
The Art of Imitating Life
This past weekend I ventured down to the Kennedy Space Center to catch the annual airshow on the grounds of the space center complex. While there I took the time to catch the 3D IMAX film “Magnificent Desolation”. When I had first seen this movie several years ago needless...
A Dangerous “Trek” to Tranquility Base
Astrobotics has announced an exciting and ambitious effort to land a robotic rover on the lunar surface at the site of the Apollo 11 landing as part of the Google LunarX Prize competition. Dubbed the “Tranquility Trek” they plan to land and explore the historic site where humans first...
Red Moon
China announced today a new heavy lift launch vehicle capable of lifting a space station or propelling astronauts to the moon. The target launch date is 2011. China’s space program garners a lot of attention. Each announcement seems to convey a country that just isn’t satisfied with getting a...