Category Archives: Uncategorized

A New Site to Explore on the Moon

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Paul Spudis

I have some thoughts on the landing site and mission of the Chang’E 3 spacecraft and rover up at the Air & Space site.  Comment on this here if so inclined.

Posted in Lunar exploration, Lunar Science, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

China, America and the Moon: Boldness and Abdication

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Paul Spudis

An interesting article appears in the November 2013 edition of Aerospace America (AA), a trade magazine for space professionals.  Famed space reporter Craig Covault discusses plans for the Chinese mission Chang’E 3 (scheduled for a December 1, 2013 launch).  Chang’E … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, space technology, Uncategorized | 32 Comments

Cost and Value

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Paul Spudis

Two articles regarding the never-ending debate over our national space program recently drew my attention.  One, published by Hearst Newspapers, discusses the current policy confusion in space, particularly in regard to the different versions of the next NASA Authorization Bill … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Worldviews in Collision: A Tale of Two Presidential Science and Technology Advisors

Posted on October 6, 2013 by Paul Spudis

Of those who’ve paid attention to developments in the nation’s civil space program in recent years, few would argue that we have a stable program with regular accomplishment.  There are many reasons for this, some of which I have discussed … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space industry, space policy, space technology, Uncategorized | 48 Comments

The Frontier of Space

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Paul Spudis

My friend Neil deGrasse Tyson seems to have stepped in it.  Commenting on his radio show Star Talk, Neil said that the private sector would not “lead the way on the frontier,” presumably referring to the opening of space.  This … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, space technology, Uncategorized | 52 Comments

Congressional Bipartisanship and the ARM

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Paul Spudis

A much-publicized congressional divide has developed over the administration’s proposed asteroid retrieval mission (ARM).  ARM features a robotic capture of a small (few meters across) asteroid and its return to near-Earth (cislunar) space for human examination.  Although there are mutterings … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, space technology, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 47 Comments

The Elephant in the Room

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Paul Spudis

Nowadays, people know the price of everything and the value of nothing – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray A recent hearing before the Senate Space Subcommittee clearly demonstrated the disarray into which our civil space program has fallen.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, space technology, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 38 Comments

Let’s Haul Asteroids!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Paul Spudis

In their never ending quest to find something to do in space that does not involve going to the Moon, the wizards of space policy in the administration have seized on one of the nuttier ideas floating around space circles … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunar development, space policy, space technology, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 54 Comments

What’s Our Vector, Victor?

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Paul Spudis

The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space recently held a hearing on a proposal to change how the NASA Administrator is selected and the agency is monitored.  The bill (HR 823, The Space Leadership Preservation Act of 2013) is … Continue reading →

Posted in space policy, Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Direction for Space Needed

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Paul Spudis

A recently released report by a committee of the National Research Council (NRC) has examined the current activities and future strategic direction of the U.S. civil space program.  The report concluded that NASA’s space program doesn’t have a direction and … Continue reading →

Posted in space policy, Space transportation, Uncategorized | 15 Comments