Articles

Van Kane

Van Kane gives a summary of the 53-page proposed Fiscal Year 2016 NASA Planetary Science budget.

Jason Davis

NASA will set the Space Launch System's inaugural flight date at the end of this year, according to the agency's 2016 budget request, which was released on Monday.

Casey Dreier

NASA's 2016 budget request increases the space agency's budget by $519 million, starts a new mission to Europa, increases funds to Commercial Crew, and threatens some long-running planetary missions.

Jason Callahan

It takes a year to make, and is the starting point for all coming debate by Congress. It's the President's Budget Request, and understanding how it comes together is an important part of being an effective space advocate.

Jason Davis

Now that Boeing and SpaceX have won the high-profile privilege of carrying astronauts to the ISS, they must start making public appearances as reluctant equals.

Casey Dreier

The 2016 budget cycle for NASA kicks off on Feb 2nd, when the White House releases the President's Budget Request. Here's what to look for.

Jason Davis

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has released four images of the company's Falcon 9 rocket impacting its drone ship landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean.

Jason Davis

Following a routine two-day voyage, SpaceX's Dragon capsule pulled in to port at the International Space Station. Meanwhile, tweets from CEO Elon Musk give clues on what happened at sea.

Jason Davis

NASA completed a 500-second test firing of the RS-25 engine, which will power the core stage of the Space Launch System.

Casey Dreier

The story of NASA's 2015 budget ended on December 16th, when President Barack Obama signed the massive omnibus spending bill into law. NASA's increased budget is locked in, as is the increase to Planetary Science. Here's how Planetary spends its additional money.

Jason Davis

NASA's efforts to capture a near-Earth asteroid and tow it back to lunar orbit will have to wait a little bit longer for a final mission concept.

Casey Dreier

Senate passes the CRomnibus spending bill with an $18.01 billion NASA budget, which includes an increase to planetary science and Europa. The legislation now moves on to the President for his signature.

Casey Dreier

By a narrow vote, the House of Representatives passed the 2015 'CRomnibus' spending bill, which includes an increase to NASA and its Planetary Science Division. It now moves on to the Senate.

Casey Dreier

The U.S. budget cycle for fiscal year 2015 is coming to an end. Should Congress pass the so-called CRomnibus bill as-is, NASA would see its highest funding level since 2011 and a great increase to its Planetary Science Division.

Jason Callahan

Jason Callahan takes a detailed look at the effects of Curiosity's cost overruns on NASA's budget.

Van Kane

With the release of the official Announcement of Opportunity (AO) early in November, NASA has officially begun the competition to select its next low cost ($450M) Discovery program planetary mission. Because planetary scientists are free to propose missions to any destination in the solar system other than the sun and Earth, these competitions bring out the creativity in the planetary science program.

Van Kane

The past few months have brought announcements for new missions from India and China as well as a wealth of creative ideas for future missions.

Jason Davis

When Orion launches next week, you may notice something alarming: The spacecraft's rocket sort of catches itself on fire. But not to worry, says United Launch Alliance.

Deepak Dhingra

Deepak Dhingra gives an exciting update from the recent Lunar Exploration and Analysis Group (LEAG) meeting at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab (JHU-APL) in Baltimore.

Casey Dreier

Rep. John Culberson, an outspoken supporter of Europa exploration, will assume leadership of an influential congressional committee that funds NASA.