• Do We Need to Worry About Boeing as a Space Partner?

    While spreading out the manned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) among various private sector partners sounded like a great idea, it has proven less than perfect. First we had to worry about the emotional stability of SpaceX’s CEO, and now we need to worry about the financial viability of Boeing, the only other…

  • Space Quote: Threatened Cuts at Wallops Flight Facility

    “This is an unacceptable and drastic step that will have a significant impact on local employees, residents, and visitors…My staff and I are in contact with NASA to better understand the reasoning behind this reported decision as it is contradictory to the proposed House budget. Wallops has long been a vital part of our community,…

  • Space Stories: Gas Giant Exoplanet Found Orbiting Alpha Centauri A, New Jesuit Heads Vatican Observatory, and Crew-10 Mission Astronauts Return from ISS

    Here are some recent space-related stories of interest. —Astronomy.com: “Webb Telescope Discovers Potential New World in Neighboring Star System“ A team of astronomers has found evidence of a candidate gas giant planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, a Sun-like star in the closest stellar system to our own. Initial observations hinting at the planet’s existence were made…

  • RIP: Jim Lovell, Apollo Astronaut

    Last Thursday, former NASA astronaut Jim Lovell passed away at the age of 97. Mr. Lovell was one of the first astronauts to orbit the Moon in Apollo 8, and he also commanded the Apollo 13 mission around the Moon under great stress after the onboard explosion of an oxygen canister. While the crew was…

  • Television: The New Series Alien: Earth is Coming

    Given that Hollywood has apparently given up on summer blockbusters about space aliens and similar science fiction, we need to look to television. The summer has already been a lot of fun given the new series Murderbot, as well as the new seasons of Foundation and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. But wait, there’s more.…

  • IPO Shows Moon Missions Stir Stock Investors

    Firefly Aerospace, the Texas-based company that successfully put a lander on the Moon earlier this year, is now having success with the stock market as well. It’s initial public offering (IPO) earlier this week led to a valuation of about $6 billion for the company. The sale provided Firefly with about $868 million in new…

  • Pic of the Week: The Third Interstellar Visitor

    This week’s image is from the NASA/European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope. It shows an image of interstellar comet 3I/Atlas from July 21, 2025. The comet was about 365 million kilometers from Earth. First identified by a telescope in Chile last month, this is the third such object to be observed by astronomers. Here…

  • Is Ukraine Suggesting an End to US-Russian Cooperation in Space?

    In a recent Washington Post editorial titled “How to Shut Down Putin’s War Machine,” Andriy Yermak, who is the head of the presidential office of Ukraine, states that Roscosmos should not be considered as a “neutral civilian institution.” He notes that the space agency helps to guide Russian missile strikes, so it is just another…

  • Space Stories: White House Destroys Satellite, US Nuclear Reactor Proposed for the Moon, and the End of the Lunar Trailblazer Mission

    Here are some recent space-related stories of interest. —Oregon Public Radio: “Why a NASA Satellite that Scientists and Farmers Rely On May Be Destroyed on Purpose“ The Trump administration has asked NASA employees to draw up plans to end at least two major satellite missions, according to current and former NASA staffers. If the plans are…

  • Television: A Look at the New Series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

    Now that the Comic Con 2025 events are over, all we can do now is await the showing of the new Star Trek series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, slated to premiere early next year. We can also rewatch the first look teaser trailer a few times. So what can be shared about the new series?…