Space Entrepreneur and Founding CTO of Relativity Space to Discuss the Newspace Enterprise Jordan Noone, General Partner of Embedded Ventures and founding CTO of rocket company Relativity Space, will join the roster of preeminent speakers at the National Space Society’s 2024 International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®), which will be presented at the LAX Sheraton Gateway Hotel from May 23-26 in Los Angeles, CA. Noone is the Co-Founder and a General Partner at Embedded Ventures, a next generation venture capital firm investing in early-stage deep tech startups. The firm invests in pre-se ..read more

Photo: Gibson’s first shuttle mission was the first to land at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: NASA By Robin Scott Robert “Hoot” Gibson is not only a great NASA astronaut, he is also a great storyteller. On January 8 he provided the Iowa Chapter with unique insights from his outstanding career both as a Navy pilot and space shuttle astronaut. His talk to the Iowa Chapter can be seen online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQly6A_nDcQ. Gibson’s mom and dad both flew planes, providing him with an inspiring environment. He achieved his childhood dream ..read more

Category: Nonfiction Reviewed by: Peter Spasov Title: Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the CosmosAuthor: Lisa KalteneggerFormat: Hardcover, Kindle Pages: 288 Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Date: April 2024 Retail Price: $30.00/$14.99 ISBN:  978-1250283634 Find this book In Alien Earths, Kaltenegger’s aim is to answer whether we are alone in the cosmos. Although the author does not reply with a definitive yes or no, she offers a multitude of maybes about how life could exist elsewhere. When we pursue our goal of becoming an interplanetary species, it is of interest to lear ..read more

Category: Children’s Books Reviewed by: Susan RaizerTitle: An Unlikely Astronaut Author: Susan Kilrain with Francis FrenchIllustrator: Becky Hardy Age Range: 5-8 years Format: Hardcover/Kindle Pages: 32 Publisher: Book Press Publishing Date: October 2023 Retail Price: $19.95/$8.95 ISBN-13: 978-1947305731 Find this book Former astronaut Susan Kilrain never let the obstacles placed before her to discourage a childhood desire to one day pilot the Space Shuttle. She, along with her co-author Francis French, have written a book describing the path to achieving a goal that, for many in our society a ..read more

Former Astronaut was the Subject of the Amazon Hit Movie A Million Miles Away Former NASA astronaut and STEM advocate Jose Hernandez will give a keynote speech at the National Space Society’s 2024 International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®), as well as addressing youth attending the conference’s STEM sessions. Hernandez followed a unique path into his career as an astronaut. Growing up as the son of migrant farmworkers in Central California, his hopes of going into space seemed an impossible reach, but his father encouraged him to work toward his dreams. Despite moving from town to tow ..read more

The National Space Society is pleased to announce Melissa Navia, who portrays Lieutenant Ortegas in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” will be the host of the 2024 International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®). The ISDC will be held on May 23-26, 2024, in Los Angeles, California at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at LAX. Though best known for her work on “Star Trek,” early in her career, Navia started in feature films starting in 2011. By 2013 she had won the Best Actress Award at the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival for her role in “The Paragon Cortex.” Her work in television includes a rec ..read more

The National Space Society invites you to the next Town Hall Thursday, April 11, 2024, 9:00 pm to 10:15 pm EST A Preview of the 2024 NSSInternational Space Development Conference (ISDC):No Limits   Register for this Town Hall With Embark on humanity’s greatest adventure at the 42nd annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in Los Angeles, taking place at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel from May 23 to 26. Join us for an exclusive NSS Town Hall to preview the 2024 ISDC, featuring a stellar lineup of speakers including space shuttle astronauts, NASA engineers and scientists, leadi ..read more

Kilrain Was the Youngest Person to Pilot a Space Shuttle Susan Kilrain, an aerospace engineer and former NASA astronaut, will join the roster of preeminent speakers at the National Space Society’s 2024 International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®). Kilrain flew on the space shuttle twice and was the second woman to pilot the vehicle. Her first flight was on STS-83 in 1997, followed by STS-94 later that same year. Prior to her career with NASA, she was a U.S. Navy aviator, logging over 3000 flight hours in 30 different aircraft. Of her time in the Navy, Kilrain reflects: “I realized that ..read more

Haot Will Speak About the Opportunities Presented by Artificial Gravity Platforms in Earth Orbit Max Haot, the CEO of Vast Space, will join the roster of preeminent speakers at the National Space Society’s 2024 International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®). Haot founded a company called Launcher in 2017 to develop space tugs and orbital payload platforms, which was acquired by Vast in 2023. Vast Space, located in Long Beach, California, was founded in 2021 by entrepreneur Jed McCaleb to develop artificial gravity stations in low-Earth orbit. In 2023 Vast received a Collaborations for Com ..read more

Led the Engineering for Mars Rover Missions Rob Manning, the Chief Engineer for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will appear at the National Space Society’s 2024 International Space Development Conference (ISDC) in May. Manning will be featured in a keynote talk as well as speaking to the youth audience during the four-day event. You can learn more about the ISDC at isdc.nss.org. “It is such a pleasure to have Rob coming to the conference,” said Rod Pyle, the Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine, which is published by NSS. “I first met him when I was writing a book about the Curiosity rover a ..read more