Tag Archives: International Space Station

Summer Reading: Indispensable Books on the History of the Space Shuttle

Posted on June 12, 2017 by launiusr

When NASA began work on what became the Space Shuttle at the end of the Apollo program, few recognized how important a part of American life it would become over the next thirty-plus years. While not vast, the literature on … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Personal, Politics, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged Ares I, cahellenger, challenger accident, columbia, columbia accident, International Space Station, NASA, Orion, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space | 14 Comments

Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2017

Posted on January 9, 2017 by launiusr

1942—75 Years Ago 3 October—Germany launched its V-2 rocket and is the first spacecraft to cross the Kármán line (100 km). 1947—70 Years Ago 20 February—The United States sent fruit flies into space. 1952—65 Years Ago 1 April—The U.S. Army … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Applications Satellites, Cold War Competition, Earth Science, History, International Space Station, Lunar Exploration, Science, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged 1960s, American exceptionalism, cold war, Department of Defense, Earth science, History, International Space Station, JFK, Moon, Moon race, NASA, public policy, Ronald Reagan, science, Soviet Union, space science, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space, Wernher von Braun | 4 Comments

Wednesday’s Book Review: “Safe is Not an Option”

Posted on June 15, 2016 by launiusr

Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing Our Expansion into Space. By Rand Simberg. Jackson, WY: Interglobal Media, LLC, 2013. 242 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0989135511. $19.95 USD, paperback. Rand Simberg may state … Continue reading →

Posted in Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged American exceptionalism, Apollo, History, Interglobal Media, International Space Station, NASA, politics, presidential power, public perceptions, public policy, Rand Simberg, risk and reward, risk aversion, Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing Our Expansion into Space, space shuttle, U.S. Civil Space | 4 Comments

Immediate Outcomes from the Columbia Accident in 2003

Posted on February 5, 2016 by launiusr

The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, signaled the beginning of an important policy debate about the future of human spaceflight. NASA grounded the shuttle fleet, appropriately so, at the time of the accident, but wanted to return … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space, Space Shuttle | Tagged Admiral Harold W. Gehman Jr., Caspar Weinberger, Challenger, columbia, Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB), History, International Space Station, ISS, John F. Kennedy, Marcia S. Smith, NASA, Richard M. Nixon, space shuttle, STS-107 | 2 Comments

Reconsidering the Place of Cooperative Programs in Relation to the International Space Station

Posted on June 22, 2015 by launiusr

The national space programs of the worlds have long been dominated by national concerns over international affairs. This is most assuredly the case with the United States. Manifested in the context of both competition and cooperation, international concerns have been a … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Politics, Space | Tagged International Space Station, Moon race, NASA, U.S. Civil Space | 3 Comments

The Mystique of the Space Suit

Posted on January 19, 2015 by launiusr

Wherever astronauts go, from the beginning of the human spaceflight program to the present, they have been characterized by their uniform. Nothing sets astronauts apart from ordinary Americans more than the physical existence of a space suit, and in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, History, Space | Tagged and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, Apollo, cyborgs, Debra Benita Shaw, Donna Haraway, Hard Bodies: Hollywood Masculinity in the Reagan Era, History, International Space Station, Jerry Ross, Marina Benjamin, Megan Stern, Moon race, NASA, Rocket Dreams: How the Space Age Shaped Our Vision of a World Beyond, Simians, space science, space shuttle, spacesuits, Susan Jeffords, U.S. Civil Space | 3 Comments

Chronology of Key Space Anniversaries for 2015

Posted on January 12, 2015 by launiusr

1945—70 Years Ago 4 July—The NACA’s Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD) launched from Wallops Island, Maryland, its first test vehicle, a small two-stage, solid-fuel rocket to check out the installation’s instrumentation. The group soon began serious work to learn about … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space | Tagged 1960s, Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program, Akatsuki, Alexei Leonov, Apollo 13, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Army Ballistics Missile Agency, Atlantis, Atlas, cold war, Deep Impact 1, Dragon, Echo 1, Ed White, Falcon 9, Frank Borman, Gemini III, Gemini IV, Gemini VI, Gemini VII, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Gus Grissom, Hayabusa, History, hubble space telescope, IKAROS, Intelsat 1, International Space Station, Jim Lovell, John W. Young, Luna 16, Luna 17, Lunokhod 1, Mariner 4, Mir, Moon, Moon race, NACA, NASA, National Security Council, Naval Research Laboratory, Norman E. Thagard, Pilotless Aircraft Research Division, Project Vanguard, Redstone Arsenal, science, Soyuz 9, space science, space shuttle, SpaceX, Tiros 1, Titan, Tom Stafford, Transit 1B, U.S. Civil Space, V-2, Viking, Voskhod 2, Voyager, WAC-Corporal, Wally Schirra, Wernher von Braun, White Sands Proving Grounds | 5 Comments

That Was The Year That Was in Space, 2014

Posted on December 29, 2014 by launiusr

While some might question it, 2014 was a fascinating year in spaceflight for the United States. This was not always a positive story. Here are my top five events of the year listed chronologically. Others may choose to emphasize other stories, … Continue reading →

Posted in Applications Satellites, Space | Tagged Antares rocket, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus capsule, Cygnus CRS Orb-1 Operational Resupply Mission, Cygnus CRS Orb-3, Delta IV Heavy, Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), human spaceflight, International Space Station, Launch Failure, Michael Alsbury, NASA, Orbital Sciences Corp., Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Peter Siebold, Space Report 2014, space tourism, spaceshiptwo, Virgin Galactic | Leave a comment

What is the Attraction of a Space Station?

Posted on October 27, 2014 by launiusr

There has been an international crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since 2000. Why? What is it about the idea of a space station that has made it so important for the nations of the world. It seems that … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Space | Tagged Almaz, Atlantic Monthly, Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums, Edward Everett Hale, Hermann Noordung, Hermann Oberth, History, International Space Station, Konstantin E. Tsiolkovskiy, NASA, Salyut, science, Skylab, The Brick Moon, The Problem of Space Travel, U.S. Civil Space | 6 Comments

Curiosity’s Remarkable Findings after Two Years

Posted on August 4, 2014 by launiusr

Since the 1960s humans have been engaged on a concerted effort to understand Mars. The landing of Mars Curiosity on the surface in the early hours of August 6, 2012, is the latest effort to learn about one of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Space | Tagged History, International Space Station, Mars, mars Curiosity, NASA, space science | 2 Comments