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    Blue Origin has a new employee stock plan, but not everyone is happy

    Good luck on that, as long as Bezos has to inject billions of dollars every year. And I think it will be years, if ever.
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    Rockets and spaceships are cool, but the humanity of Artemis II resonated most

    Group hug!
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    What happens next with NASA’s plan to replace the ISS? Source: “It could get ugly”

    I'm sure there's some interesting science done on the ISS, but it's main value in my opinion has been to learn how to live and work in space for months at a time. And we've learned a lot. One thing we have almost no data on is the long term effect of partial gravity. Maybe NASA should just put...
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    We got an audience with the “Lunar Viceroy” to talk how NASA will build a Moon base

    We must be careful to avoid the fallacy of a false dichotomy; we can do two things at once. NASA's budget is effectively in the noise level of the overall federal budget. It amounts to about $60 per person in the US. You could send everybody a $60 check every year and they'd be glad to get it...
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    We got an audience with the “Lunar Viceroy” to talk how NASA will build a Moon base

    Exactly right. Politically, the lunar exploration program is justified by the national prestige it engenders, i.e., soft power. But the reason space exploration has such prestige is deeper, and more universal. Through programs like this we advance two very broad goals: 1. Expand human...
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    NASA kills lunar space station to focus on ambitious Moon base

    This way of putting it really crystalized my understanding of Isaacman's vision for NASA. I love that he is saying the unsayable things out loud: there's too much politics, too much cronyism, everything is costing way too much and takes way too long. We don't need more money, we need a more...
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    A century after the first rocket launch, Ars staffers pick their favorites

    I've been to a couple of Shuttle launches. We were some miles away, but it was still amazing. I also saw the inaugural launch of the Falcon Heavy from the Banana Creek viewing site. Seeing those two side boosters fly back down to a side-by-side landing was electrifying! Now in the past several...
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    FCC chair blasts Amazon after it criticizes SpaceX megaconstellation

    Many of the comments here about launch rates overlook the fact that SpaceX's proposed million satellite constellation would be based on the ability to manufacture and launch them from the Moon - currently a science fiction concept. There are two implications. First, in such a scenario a million...
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    The US Senate empowers NASA to fully engage in lunar space race

    This is amazing! Isaacman is some kind of magician. Or perhaps snake charmer? :D
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    Former NASA chief turned ULA lobbyist seeks law to limit SpaceX funding

    I really thought Bridenstine was different. Oh well.
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    NASA shakes up its Artemis program to speed up lunar return

    "The SLS core stage remains the world’s most powerful disposable rocket stage" Fixed that for ya!
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    A non-public document reveals that science may not be prioritized on next Mars mission

    Given the advanced age of our assets currently in Mars orbit, I agree with the need to protect the 2028 window, and therefore the conclusion that science payloads must be a lower priority.
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    US House takes first step toward creating “commercial” deep space program

    I think it's safe to say that many people fear that, but we don't really have any way of knowing if that is their intention. I think they'd have a hard time making it stick anyway, unless they were willing to go to war on Earth to back up their lunar claims.
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    US House takes first step toward creating “commercial” deep space program

    Awesome. I hope this survives the Senate and is enacted. For once, a glimmer of good sense in Congress.
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    The first commercial space station, Haven-1, is now undergoing assembly for launch

    Compared to the other vendors I think Vast already is closer to the fly/fix/repeat cycle. They have opted for a staged approach that starts with a very minimal "space station" and builds from there. I really like their approach. Their biggest risk factor is that NASA may finally decide that they...
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    You can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000

    It could easily be someone else who created an account just to shitpost on this article. The account was created after the article was posted.
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    You can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000

    "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
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    Rocket Report: Neutron’s Hungry Hippo is deemed ready, Whither Orbex?

    I'm just old enough to get that joke. :)
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    After key Russian launch site is damaged, NASA accelerates Dragon supply missions

    Do NASA and Roscosmos routinely deliver cargo for each other? Food and clothing would not be hard, but how are water and oxygen supplied to the Russian segment? Are NASA containers compatible?
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    Congress told there needs to be “consequences” for NASA delays amid China’s rise

    All these years and Griffin is still plumping for "Apollo on steroids". Let the Chinese do Apollo on steroids. The United States needs to be advancing the state of the art.