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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
An Early Preview of Orion's Maiden Voyage
NASA's Orion spacecraft is just four weeks away from its first test flight. Here's an early preview of the mission.
When Good Rockets Go Bad: Orion's Launch Abort System
One of the tricky parts of launching humans into space is deciding what to do if something goes wrong. And that's where Orion's Launch Abort System comes in.
Orion's Ride to Space is at the Launch Site. Why So Early?
On Tuesday, Orion's massive Delta IV Heavy rocket rolled from its Horizontal Integration Facility out to the launch site. Launch is still eight weeks away. Why so early?
The Future of Human Spaceflight – A Public Forum
A panel of three former astronauts will discuss the future of human spaceflight at a public event at the California Institute of Technology's Beckman Auditorium, Tuesday, April 8th, 2014 at 8 pm.
A Report from the First Hearing on the 2015 NASA Budget
An animated NASA Administrator defended the commercial crew program as the fastest way to return to American access to low-Earth orbit in a hearing before the House Space Subcommittee today.
[Updated] To Europa!...Slowly. First Impressions of NASA's New Budget Request
Europa may get a mission...eventually. We give our first take on the 2015 NASA Budget request. How does Planetary Exploration fare? Which projects were cancelled? Will NASA capture an asteroid? And most importantly, what can you do about it?
Slate's Misleading Hit Piece on the Future of NASA
A response to Slate's recent piece on the future of NASA, correcting many of its myths and misconceptions about how NASA works.
A Protected Class of Programs at NASA?
The House Science Committee is considering giving a select few NASA programs special protected status against cancellation.
If we started today, how long would it take to get to Mars? With this budget, never.
The House of Representatives held a hearing today to discuss their proposed NASA authorization bill, which would fund Planetary Science, cut Earth Science, forbid asteroid retrieval, and command NASA to pursue a path to Mars via the Moon.
Orion service module, Ariane development highlight new ESA budget
Representatives from the ESA approved a 10 billion euro budget for 2013-2017 during their Ministerial Council last week in Naples, Italy.
Checking in on NASA's Space Launch System
Work continues on the Space Launch System, NASA's next-generation deep space vehicle slated to take humans beyond Earth for the first time since 1972.
SpaceX's Dragon returns to Earth, completes mission
SpaceX's Dragon capsule successfully completed its COTS 2 demo flight, as the capsule splashed down into the Pacific Ocean on May 31, 2012.
Dragon packed and ready for reentry
After making history at the International Space Station, SpaceX's Dragon capsule has been re-loaded with cargo and is preparing for reentry.
Dragon makes history, berths with International Space Station
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has been successfully grappled with the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 and berthed with the station's Harmony module.
Dragon completes initial ISS fly-under
SpaceX's Dragon capsule performed a successful fly-under of the International Space Station last night, at a distance of 2.5 kilometers.
Congratulations to SpaceX
On May 22, the Space-X Falcon rocket with its cargo capsule on top launched from Cape Canaveral and reached orbit ready to dock with the International Space Station. So far everything is going perfectly. It’s a huge step. Congratulations to Space-X, Elon Musk and his team.
SpaceX successfully launches Dragon into orbit
SpaceX moved closer to spaceflight history last night as their Falcon 9 rocket rose from its launch pad, sending the Dragon capsule on a journey to berth with the International Space Station.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 aborts liftoff due to abnormal engine reading
The launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule was aborted last night a half-second before liftoff, due to abnormally high pressure readings in engine number five.
SpaceX set to launch COTS 2 flight this Saturday
This Saturday, SpaceX will attempt to make history by launching the first commercial spacecraft to berth with the International Space Station.
Expedition 30, SpaceX and Stratolaunch
An update on upcoming missions to the International Space Station (ISS).