News & Map

China's astronaut center addresses challenges of long-term human survival on exoplanets: political advisor and China's first female taikonaut to enter space station

Accelerating Artemis

On Friday, NASA shook up its Artemis lunar exploration plans with changes to planned missions and to the Space Launch Sy...

The ghost in the orbit: how hybrid surveillance reshapes risks

The US military recently announced plans to commercially procure satellites to monitor other spacecraft in geosynchronou...

Gala time! The Chinese New Year narratives of the space program

China marked the Lunar New Year last month with a televised gala. Krzysztof Karwowski discusses how space played a role ...

"We failed them": NASA grapples with Starliner

Last week, on very short notice, NASA released an independent report on the flawed Starliner crewed test flight in 2024....

Prometheus bound: The legacy of the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter

More than 20 years ago, NASA embarked on an effort to develop a massive nuclear-powered mission to the moons of Jupiter....

We can build cities on the MoonÑbut who will govern them?

As companies follow the lead of countries in returning humans to the Moon, it raises new questions of governance of thos...

When Iran took the Internet hostage, Elon Musk held the keys

Protestors in Iran turned to Starlink to maintain connection with the outside world when the government restricted Inter...

AI and Army astronauts: A judge advocate's solution to protecting the soldier-astronaut

As astronauts, including those from the military, go deeper into space, they will face medical challenges that can't be ...

Musk's Moon mania

Elon Musk and SpaceX have long been associated with establishing a human presence on Mars, but that appears to be changi...

Seattle's lessons for rocket reusability

While reuse of the first stage of launch vehicle has long been proven by SpaceX, reusing a rocket's upper stage is more ...

Tame the wolf, release the panda: The case for US-China space cooperation

For 15 years, the Wolf Amendment has severely restricted US-China civil space cooperation. Jimin Park makes the case tha...

The dominance of Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg

There are more than a dozen licensed spaceports in the United States and even more prospective ones, yet nearly all the ...

Breaking dishes: the space facility at Yevpatoriya

Last year the Ukrainian military attacked a satellite tracking station in Russian-occupied Crimea. Dwayne Day examines t...

The Solar System Internet: Envisioning a networked future beyond Earth

Networking protocols used on Earth today don't work well in space, given distances and other challenges. Scott Pace and ...

Much needed cargo for the Moon

Plans for lunar outposts, like the one included in an executive order by the White House in December, will require large...

High Jump: the JUMPSEAT signals intelligence satellite

Last week the National Reconnaissance Office announced it had declassified information about a signals intelligence sate...

Normalization of deviance

Ahead of the launch of Artemis 2, some have raised concerns about the Orion spacecraft's heat shield. Robert Oler says N...

Suborbital's descending trajectory

In a surprise move, Blue Origin announced Friday it was suspending New Shepard suborbital flights for at least two years...

Dragonship: China builds a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier while satellites watch

China is building up its navy, including what appears to be its first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Dwayne Day shows...

From pacifism to pragmatism: Japan's evolving space security policy

Japan, which once ruled out any military use of space, has gradually made use of space for reconnaissance and other nati...

Inching towards launch

A little over a week ago, SLS/Orion rolled out to the pad for Artemis 2, the first crewed mission beyond Earth orbit in ...

When satellites are hacked: the legal gray zone of non-kinetic space attack

While kinetic attacks, like direct-ascent missiles, on satellites are well understood, less appreciated are non-kinetic ...

How superheavy-lift rockets could transform astronomy by making space telescopes cheaper

New large launch vehicles like Starship and New Glenn open up many new opportunities. Martin Elvis describes how they en...

Kazakhstan's space strategy: can its high-tech assets propel it to Eurasia's new broker?

Kazakhstan is best known in the space community as the home of the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Three experts examine how the co...

Liftoff for European launch startups

Isar Aerospace is returning to the launch pad this week to make its second orbital launch attempt. Jeff Foust reports on...

The PSLV-C62 failure marks a setback for India's space ambitions

Earlier this month India suffered a second failure of its PSLV rocket in as many flights. Ajey Lele examines the implica...

The successful development of Russia's counterspace activities in LEO and GEO

Russia has embarked on a a variety of projects to disrupt or destroy foreign satellites. Matthew Mowthorpe and Markos Tr...

Shenzhou-20 taikonauts make 1st public appearance after safe return following debris incident, recounts details

Prescriptions for space medicine

For the first time in NASA history, a crewed mission is being cut short because of a medical issue with an astronaut. Je...

Japanese commercial firms as drivers of Japanese space policy

Japan has developed a vibrant commercial space industry in the last several years, with startups pursuing radar imaging ...

Building empires in the sky: Effectuating off-Earth territorial expansion using existing legal frameworks

The Outer Space Treaty makes clear that countries cannot claim territory on the Moon or other celestial bodies. Camisha ...

Safe passage in the stars: The next Bretton Woods

On Earth, control of the seas and thus of trade helped create the current financial system dominated by the US dollar. A...

The Isaacman era begins at NASA

Jared Isaacman became NASA administrator last month, ending a convoluted confirmation process that lasted just over a ye...

Innovative, affordable, and expedited

One of big challenges facing Isaacman is how to speed up a human return to the Moon, or at least keep it from falling fu...

Houston deserves a Space Shuttle, but not like this

A provision in last year's budget reconciliation bill effectively directed the transfer of the Space Shuttle Discovery f...

The Artemis Accords at five

This fall marked five years since eight countries, including the United States, announced that they were signing the new...

State-owned enterprises and commercial space in China

The Chinese space ecosystem now includes many startups that emulate American entrepreneurial space companies. Owen Chban...

SpaceX, orbital data centers, and the journey to Mars

After years of saying the company was not planning an initial public offering of stock, SpaceX now appears to be moving ...

"Sovereign capacity" of private and public space programs

Countries are increasingly seeing the strategic value of space capabilities. Alexander Wallace Watson examines the ways ...