Americans are used to seeing their launches live on TV. In fact, after decades of shuttle launches, we see them less frequently live on TV…because they’re not rare or unusual. The Russian Soyuz launches are common too. But seeing those launches live is still pretty rare. This month will be different. The launch of the [...]

With its funding cut and its plans under review, NASA is facing a questionable future. Endeavor is scheduled for launch tomorrow, and the Ares 1-X—the early version of the booster for NASA shuttle replacement—is being tested. NASA does the near-impossible…regularly Personally, I find it strange that NASA takes such a hit. This is an agency [...]

During the Mercury space program, the astronuts didn’t like having their spaceflights delayed while chimps got to fly first. And, they really resented the notion that their missions could have been completed by chimps. Nonetheless, Mercury veteran Scott Carpenter (one of only two surviving Mercury astronauts) and Bob Crippen—who flew on the first shuttle mission—visited [...]