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NASA is an organization with talented managers and an impressive track record from its birth in the 1950s to today. It pioneered new technologies, send probes and people to distant—seemingly unreachable—places.

But it needs to have clear goals, and a budget to match. Congress and NASA legion of critics have left the space agency in a foggy mess, with ever changing demands. So, NASA seems to have taken the best available tactic: coming up with a modular space launcher, and letting Congress make up its mind which version it wants to fund.

Of course, even this isn’t good enough for some people. Because by putting up orbiting fuel depots and using existing satellite launchers, NASA could do manned space exploration cheaper. This works great if human life doesn’t matter to you—because existing rockets like Delta and Atlas are much, much more dangerous than NASA’s designs for future manned launchers.

SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 launch vehicle—which was recently chosen by NASA to re-supply the International Space Station—is vertical at the launchpad at Cape Kennedy. And it looks beautiful. Medium to Heavy Lift for Supplies or People Falcon 9 will be available in 2 configurations, The standard configuration (pictured) is capable of lifting 20,000 pounds into low [...]

As we approach the age of the inflatable space hotel, we should remember the inflatable satellite (some called it a “satelloon”), Echo. A Passive Communications Satellite Echo was a giant inflatable mylar balloon, designed to work as a passive communications satellite. Signals from earth could be bounced off Echo, and picked up elsewhere. It re-directed [...]