Apr 29, 2013 | Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Kids Space, Space Tourism, This Week in Space
UPDATE: For the first time ever, SpaceShipTwo fired its rocket engine in flight! A major milestone in commercial human spaceflight. According to a Virgin Galactic report: “Wheels stop—SpaceShipTwo safely on the ground after a triumphant day in the sky. So proud...
Apr 27, 2013 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Book Reviews, Education Station, Exploration, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA, Kids Space, Mars, NASA, Space Race, Space Shuttle
Spacewalker – My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA’s Record-Setting Frequent Flyer by Jerry Ross with John Norberg; Purdue University Press, $29.95; 2013. As a former astronaut, Jerry Ross has written a personal account of his childhood in rural Indiana, then taking...
Apr 27, 2013 | Benefits of Space Exploration, Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, NASA, Planet Earth, Space and Science, Space Research, Why Space
NASA’s Smartphone Nanosatellite mission is underway. Now circling the Earth are Alexander, Graham and Bell! The trio of smartphones rode to space April 21 aboard the maiden flight of Orbital Science Corp.’s Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility in...
Apr 25, 2013 | Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, International Space Station, Space Shuttle, NASA, Kids Space, NASA, Space Research
Take notice Starbucks! Rice University students have been working with NASA to provide orbiting astronauts the perfect cup of coffee. The issue onboard the International Space Station is that crew members have four set ratios of coffee, creamer and sugar –...
Apr 22, 2013 | Blog, China, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Space Research
China is readying its next human spaceflight mission – Shenzhou -10. That three-person craft is headed toward an early June liftoff from the country’s launch center in Jiuquan, Gansu province. According to Chinese space officials, the piloted Shenzhou-10 will appraise...
Apr 13, 2013 | Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, Space Tourism, Spaceports
SpaceShipTwo progress is being made in the skies over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California – successful demonstration on April 12th of key components of the system. SpaceShipTwo carried out a “Cold Flow” flight. The test objectives were achieved, and the craft...
Apr 3, 2013 | Ask the Expert, Benefits of Space Exploration, Blog, Commercial Space, Education Station, Kids Space, Space Tourism
New Mexico’s Spaceport America got a boost in readying itself to handle commercial space operations – such as suborbital flights of passengers via Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo/SpaceShipTwo launch system. Following unanimous passage by the state’s legislature, New...
Apr 1, 2013 | Asteroid Exploration, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, International Cooperation, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Kids Space, Multimedia, Our Solar System, Space Research
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is preparing for launch its Hayabusa2 spacecraft – set to depart in 2014 then land on an asteroid in 2018. Then the mission will return samples of the space rock back to Earth in 2020. JAXA has opened up a Haybusa2 name...
Mar 31, 2013 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Book Reviews, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, NASA, Space Race, The Moon
Apollo 11 and Lunar Rover: Owners Workshop Manuals from Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, UK. Haynes Publishing has issued a number of space-related manuals – and these are cram packed with great photos, good writing, and insightful history. Apollo 11 1969 (including...
Mar 26, 2013 | Ask the Expert, Blog, Education Station, Exploration, Kids Space, NASA, Space and Science, The Moon
A science instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) detected plumes of gas rising from the December 17 impact on the Moon of the space agency’s twin GRAIL spacecraft. Viewing the impact sites, LRO’s Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) aboard LRO...