That secretive U.S. Space Force X-37B space plane is now targeted for launch on December 10th. Original launch date was December 7 with the slip “due to launch delays and pad availability,” according to a U.S. Space Force statement. Final preparations to launch the program’s seventh robotic flight, labeled the X-37B Orbital Test ..read more

NASA’s “re-booting” of the Moon via the Artemis program faces multiple challenges, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO). “NASA and its contractors have made progress, including completing several important milestones, but they still face multiple challenges with development of the human landing system and the space suits. As a result, GAO found that ..read more

NASA has certified its intent to Congress to allow NASA-funded researchers to apply to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) for access to lunar samples returned to Earth on that country’s Chang’e-5 Moon mission and made available recently to the international scientific community for research purposes. Chang’e-5 transported its lunar sample collectibles to the Earth ..read more

NASA’s mega-project of scooping up and transferring to our planet specimens of Mars is under intense scrutiny. For one, it never looked easy. Last September an independent study board released its findings after taking a hard look at the Mars sample return (MSR) project. NASA established the group of experts to appraise the technical requirements ..read more

China continues to investigate beaming space solar power to Earth, as well as putting in orbit an electricity-providing “charging station” for spacecraft. In Xi’an City of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, the work is being led by Duan Baoyan from the Chinese Academy of Engineering at Xidian University. The project is tagged with the name “Zhu ..read more

I have just finished digesting a post-Thanksgiving helping of Kennedy Assassination investigation output – including film director Rob Reiner’s new podcast, “Who Killed JFK,” a new deep dive into the history of what they call “America’s greatest murder mystery.” For myself, I went through that experience on November 22, 1963 in high school. I later ..read more

Book Review: Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson; Simon & Schuster (2023); 688 pages, Hardcover: $35.00 I can’t help but start this book review without making note of this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMDrTMnm1IE Walter Isaacson has done us all a favor by exploring a work in progress, the persona of Elon Musk. In story sleuthing fashion, the author ..read more

China’s robotic Mars rover has revealed new information about its landing zone, Utopia Planitia, the largest basin on Mars. That site may well be the location for China’s projected Tianwen-3 mission dedicated to Mars sample return by the end of the decade. In the just-published work, the country’s Zhurong Mars rover made use of onboard ..read more

It is tagged as the Multi-Purpose Habitat or MPH for lunar shorthand.  MPH aims to be the first permanent outpost on the Moon. Thales Alenia Space recently signed a contract with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) to initiate activities on the concept, building upon work to develop and provide three pressurized modules dedicated to Lunar ..read more

The recent revelation concerning pollution input into Earth’s stratosphere due to reentering spacecraft, rocket bodies, and atmospheric dumping of other human-made clutter is striking a nerve in space law circles. First, the problem. New research using high-flying aircraft armed with special collection devices have discovered significant amounts of metals in aerosols in the atmosphere. This ..read more