This week, Shane Harris speaks to Lucianne Walkowicz, an astronomer and astrobiologist at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago and co-founder of the JustSpace Alliance and studies the ethics of space exploration ..read more

The United States is poised to become the first state to launch a space nuclear propulsion system under Space Policy Directive-6. But while the directive’s goal of space exploration is admirable, it gives too little attention to crucial safety considerations ..read more

Spacefaring states have claimed to support the prevention of an arms race in outer space, yet some of them have continued to develop and test counterspace capabilities, which fosters the weaponization of outer space ..read more

NASA’s Artemis Accords have been well received by U.S. allies. But competitors warn that the accords could escalate tensions and competition that exist between the U.S. and its allies on one hand, and China and Russia, on the other ..read more

A recent policy directive detailing the United States’s cybersecurity principles for “space systems” raises important questions concerning U.S. legal obligations in space under international law ..read more

Editor's Note: This piece originally appeared on Order from Chaos ..read more

The new Netflix comedy is a different kind of military television show, and an interesting model for how art can begin to sort through the Trump presidency ..read more

Russia appears to have resumed anti-satellite weapons testing. What’s so dangerous about the Russian tests? What can the U.S. do to respond ..read more

On June 18, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Defense to “begin the process” of establishing a Space Force as the sixth branch of the U.S. military, pushing into the spotlight recent discussion between Congress and the Pentagon about the need for a separate space component ..read more

Editor’s Note: One of President Trump's more surprising, and more ambitious, decisions is to create a sixth branch of the military dedicated to space. Such a move would be historic, but would it be a good idea? Robert Farley of the University of Kentucky weighs the pros and cons and ends up on the skeptical side, arguing that there are better approaches to securing the U.S. ability to operate and dominate in space. Daniel Byman ..read more