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Stories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
NASA Kicks Off a Private Space Race Between Boeing and SpaceX
Boeing and SpaceX have won multi-billion dollar contracts to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station.
An Updated List of NASA's Commercial Crew Partner Milestones
Ahead of NASA's CCiCap partner selection, here is an up-to-date list of each company's milestones.
Expedition 40 Crew Returns Safely to Earth
NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev are safely back on Earth following a five-and-a-half month stay aboard the International Space Station.
LightSail Radio Update: New Answers, New Questions
Two weeks after radio anomalies scrubbed LightSail's day-in-the-life test, the team continues to close in on the source of the problem.
NASA’s Big Rocket a Step Closer to Reality
NASA's Space Launch System passed a critical milestone yesterday, but buried within the announcement was news that the first launch could slip by nearly a year.
International Postcards from Space
A collection of pretty pictures by cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, who currently serves as a flight engineer aboard the International Space Station.
Radio Problems Scrub LightSail's Day-in-the-Life Test
A pesky radio problem that has occasionally stymied LightSail has returned, scrubbing the mission's day-in-the-life test.
LightSail Prepares for Its Day-in-the-Life Test
LightSail-A's radio system has been fixed, and the spacecraft is now preparing for its August 20 day-in-the-life test.
Watch a Recap of LightSail's Live LightSail Launch Announcement
Watch a recap of The Planetary Society's live LightSail Launch Announcement, which took place July 9 at the KPCC Crawford Family Forum.
Buzz Mercury's North Polar Region in This New MESSENGER Video
A new video shows what a traveler aboard Mercury's MESSENGER spacecraft would see as they zipped over the planet's north polar region.
Watch "Lunar Bridgehead," a Wonderfully Campy 1964 Film about Ranger 7
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has released a 1964 documentary on Ranger 7 in honor of the spacecraft's fiftieth anniversary.
Landsat 8 Looks at the Supermoon
Why did Landsat 8, an Earth-observing spacecraft, turn its unblinking eyes toward the July 12 supermoon?
LightSail 1 Has a Blown Radio Amplifier. Now What?
LightSail 1's blown radio amplifier doesn't affect the 2016 SpaceX Falcon Heavy mission, but it adds an unwelcome obstacle to the 2015 test mission's ever-shortening timetable.
45 Years after Apollo 11, NASA Prepares for Another Big Splashdown
A new version of Apollo 11's splashdown will play out when the first astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft return to Earth.
LightSail update: Launch dates
I’m excited to report some big news on The Planetary Society’s LightSail project: actual launch dates on actual launch vehicles!
Rosetta’s comet is starting to take shape
A new animation of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko captured by the Rosetta spacecraft shows the comet rotating.
LightSail update: Of booms and pretty pictures
The latest series of LightSail boom deployment tests went smoothly, paving the way for a full system test later in July.
The latest on NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission
During televised updates on June 18 and 19, NASA showcased its progress on Orion and ARM. Here's the latest news.
LightSail update: Three steps forward, one step back
The LightSail team has found potential workarounds to solve the spacecraft’s boom deployment problems, but more analysis lies ahead.