Bigelow has competition

by | Sep 30, 2010 | Blog, Uncategorized

Hard to picture 7 crew here. Note sleeping alcove with porthole for scale. I got a press release yesterday from a new venture to build what’s being billed as the first commercial space station. What got my attention is who proposes to build the thing: RSC...

Watch me on C-SPAN’s Book TV

by | Aug 22, 2010 | Blog, Uncategorized

I taped this one-hour interview in Washington last month, and it aired for the first time last night. It will repeat on C-SPAN2 tonight at 9:30 Eastern Time and at various times during the week.You can also watch it in C-SPAN’s online video library. Listen as I...

SpaceX hits a home run

by | Jun 4, 2010 | Blog, Uncategorized

Falcon 9 second stage engine making the final push to orbit.Congratulations to everyone at SpaceX for a flawless inaugural flight to orbit of the new Falcon 9 rocket.SpaceX made a historically very difficult feat look easy: the company launched a payload into orbit on...

SpaceX to launch tomorrow or Saturday

by | Jun 3, 2010 | Blog, Uncategorized

F9 static fire test. Credit: SpaceX / Chris Thompson.Looks like all systems are go for Falcon 9’s first launch attempt tomorrow. The launch window opens at 11 a.m. ET, with a live webcast to begin at 10:40. The window stays open for 4 hours. If the launch...

If We Can Put a Man on the Moon…

by | May 20, 2010 | Blog, Uncategorized

Anyone who thinks that the Obama administration’s plan to replace the Space Shuttle with private space taxis is inherently riskier than the status quo needs to read William Eggers and John O’Leary’s book, If We can Put a Man on the Moon…:...