Space policy advice for the candidates

As the campaign between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney ramps up, the candidates are getting plenty of advice, solicited and unsolicited, about a wide range of issues. That includes space, with a couple of recent op-eds offering some proposals—although perhaps too vague or unrealistic to be acted upon.

Writing for NBCNews.com, […]

House hearing on NASA technology and competitiveness

The space subcommittee of the House Science Committee is holding a hearing at 10 am today on “Spurring Economic Growth and Competitiveness Through NASA Derived Technologies”. The scheduled witnesses:

Dr. Mason Peck, Chief Technologist, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Mr. George Beck, Chief Clinical and Technology Officer, Impact Instrumentation, Inc. Mr. Brian Russell, Chief Executive […]

Apollo astronauts, SpaceX, and a special photo

The re-airing of a 60 Minutes segment last month about SpaceX generated some criticism from Apollo-era officials that they were unfairly portrayed as being negative about SpaceX, which led a few weeks later to a clarification from 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley that Neil Armstrong in particular had not testified against commercial space. All this, […]

Briefly: More shuttle lobbying, support for the ex-Triana, Hernandez’s torch run

A grab bag of items from the last few days:

Remember when members of Congress would lobby for shuttle orbiters to be located in the states or districts? Now that the locations for the orbiters have been settled (and the complaints from those who lost out have died down), some members are turning their attention […]

AIAA space exploration panel raises a few hackles

On Monday, the AIAA announced it was holding a “dialogue on deep space exploration” on Capitol Hill on July 24. “The panel will examine the next steps in deep space exploration for the United States, the medical barriers that must be overcome before increased exploration is possible, and the costs and benefits of relying on […]

Reflecting on China’s space capabilities and what it means for the US

While the recent Shenzhou-9 flight was a major accomplishment for China’s space program, featuring the first crewed docking by a Chinese spacecraft and also the first flight of a female Chinese astronaut, the flight did not get that much attention—or reaction—in the US, as previously noted here. Some, though, are finding ways to use the […]

Former astronaut Jemison to campaign for Obama on Monday

The Florida campaign for President Barack Obama announced Sunday that former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, will campaign for the president’s reelection on Florida’s Space Coast on Monday. Jemison, according to the media advisory, will tour Advanced Magnet Lab, a small business in Palm Bay, Florida, that “embodies the importance of […]