Archive for June, 2008
June 30, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
This week NASA is taking part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, while another exhibit on the future of space exploration finds a temporary home at the National Air and Space Museum. Jeff Foust offers a review of both.
June 30, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
Glitches in the development of the Orion spacecraft and Ares 1 problem have raised questions in some quarters about whether there are more serious problems with those efforts. Eric Hedman says that open and frequent communications for any major project are key to both their progress and their perception by outsiders.
June 30, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
Is NASA a "fascist" organization? And what exactly does that mean? Dwayne Day critiques some of the more extreme rhetoric about the space agency that has emerged from the blogosphere.
June 30, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
What drives humans to pursue space exploration? Jeff Foust reports on a recent speech by Neil deGrasse Tyson where the astrophysicist took on that question, as well as some widely-held beliefs of space advocates.
June 23, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
Stephen Ashworth responds to a recent essay critical of space solar power, arguing that developments in areas like low-cost space access will make the technology economically feasible in time.
June 23, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
Entrepreneurial space companies offer the potential for tremendous payoffs if their innovative technologies achieve a market breakthrough, but also carry high risks of failure. Taylor Dinerman examines how the challenge of assessing financial risks of these companies may be as difficult as the technology itself.
June 23, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
For years the US Defense Department has issued annual reports on China's military efforts, some of which have included claims about space weapons technology of dubious validity. Dwayne Day reviews those claims and suggests that these are signs that the Pentagon does not put a high priority on producing these reports.
June 23, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
The early, hyperactive years of the Space Age benefited from the superpower competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, Nader Elhefnawy argues, long-term economic cycles also played a role, and can also explain the sluggish progress since then.
June 16, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
TFour years ago this week, SpaceShipOne soared into the history books as the first non-governmental manned spacecraft to reach space. Jeff Foust reviews a book that offers new details about the development and testing of this vehicle.
June 16, 2008
· Filed under Space technology
While some space-related sci-fi series strive for realism, they can fall short in areas like plot and characters. Dwayne Day encounters this in his review of the latest installments of the Japanese anime series "Moonlight Mile".