In the second part of his examination of Russian research into counterspace weapons, Bart Hendrickx examines work on alternative concepts like plasma and electromagnetic pulse weapons.
What sort of infrastructure is needed on the Moon to enable visions of a lunar economy? Jeff Foust reports on a DARPA study that brought together companies to develop an ecosystem of lunar services, although who will pay for it is less certain.
Objects in satellite catalogs can be lost and recovered, making it a challenge to identify which object came from which launch. Charles Phillips describes one approach that uses one aspect of an object's orbital elements to help identify it.
The Strategic Defense Initiative was a controversial program decades ago to develop a space-based missile defense system. Jeff Foust reviews a book that provides a new history of SDI and lessons it offers to today's debates about missile defense and anti-satellite weapons.
US government officials revealed in February that Russia was developing a nuclear anti-satellite weapon of some kind, but offered few details. Bart Hendrickx examines the state of Russian research on the potential use of nuclear weapons in orbit as anti-satellite devices.
As commercial launch activity continues to increase, the FAA office regulating launches is straining to keep up. Jeff Foust reports that some in industry, as well as an FAA advisory committee, think part of the solution is to move that office out of the FAA.
Launch vehicles that can take off from and land on runways have long been a dream for space engineers and enthusiasts, but have never gotten off the ground. John Hollaway describes why they remain essential and how they might be developed.
Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets over the last three decades, a remarkable menagerie of worlds. Jeff Foust reviews a book by one scientists that describes the efforts to both search for exoplanets and look for one that may be inhabitable or inhabited.
Ongoing space access problems forced Europe to use a Falcon 9 to launch a pair of Galileo navigation satellites recently. Jeff Foust reports that the "launcher crisis" plaguing Europe shows signs of ending.
As soon as Monday night Boeing will launch its CST-100 Starliner on its first crewed flight. Wendy Whitman Cobb discusses why this long-delayed flight is nonetheless a key development for commercial spaceflight.
