As NASA’s next manned spacecraft seems destined to be mothballed, SpaceX—a private space company—prepares to ready its Falcon 9 rocket for a first flight.
If the United States decides to privatize manned spaceflight—and that seems to be the Obama administration’s plan—then post-Shuttle astronauts may ride aboard a Falcon 9.
All the pieces of the Falcon 9 have [...]

It is looking increasingly likely that former astronaut Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden will be Obama’s choice for NASA administrator. Bolden would be the first African-American to hold that post.
The more important question remains: what’s next for the space program?

Many questions
We’re facing a period where America’s next manned space program, Constellation, is “under review.” Will it [...]

Reportedly, the Obama administration is ordering a review of America’s manned space program to determine how to proceed.

What next…if anything?
Everything is being questioned. Just last month, contracts for preliminary designs for the new lunar lander (Altair) and the new moon rocket (Ares V) were put on hold.
Will the shuttles be used longer and not retired [...]

Here’s an excellent video of NASA’s prototype of a next-generation lunar rover, at President Obama’s inauguration.

The BBC has an excellent video of NASA’s next-generation lunar rover. This includes a short clip of the vehicle taking to the street during President Obama’s inaugural parade.

NASA’s next generation lunar rover—designed to take 2 astronauts on a two week journey across the moon’s surface—will travel the route of incoming President Obama’s inaugural parade.
The vehicle is a prototype. The new Lunar Electric Rover won’t be ready for years. Unlike the original Apollo-era rovers, the LER will be big—the size of a pickup [...]

Nobody knows and the decision hasn’t been made about who the next NASA administrator will be. But, despite a petition campaign by former astronaut Scott Horowitz to retain Michael Griffin, it appears that Griffin will be replaced.
But with whom?
One possibility is astronaut Charles F. Bolton Jr. With four shuttle missions under his belt, one might [...]

The longstanding barriers between the military and America’s civilian space program may fall under an Obama administration, according to a Bloomberg report.
The idea is this:
The Chinese are making great strides in manned spaceflight. They may get to the moon before Americans can return. This alone wouldn’t mean much, but would suggest that the Chinese have [...]

Today’s “Science Times” section of the NY Times has two articles about space: one about NASA’s future and another about private space companies.
New Boosters Compared
The first article nicely explains quite a bit about the Constellation program (the successor to the shuttle) and the booster (Ares I and Ares V)—and how they differ. The Ares one [...]

The “carrier” plane for the commercial spacecraft SpaceShipTwo took its first test flight today. And the unmanned Falcon has been taken through its paces recently with some success.
Options Considered
But NASA’s Ares I rocket—the booster for the country’s next manned spacecraft—won’t be tested until July of next year. And it’s future is in question as the [...]