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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Orion Completes Critical In-Flight Abort Test
The test showed Orion can blast itself away from the Space Launch System if the big rocket fails while attempting to fly to orbit.
Crew Dragon Test Vehicle Suffers Mishap during Engine Testing
The extent of the accident is unclear, but a plume of orange smoke was visible from miles away.
Crew Dragon Returns to Earth
The spacecraft completed a successful test flight with splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean on 8 March 2019 at 08:45 EST (13:45 UTC).
Crew Dragon Successfully Docks to International Space Station
Docking occurred slightly ahead of schedule at 5:51 EST (10:51 UTC).
Crew Dragon Safely on the Way to International Space Station
SpaceX's Crew Dragon has successfully launched on its maiden voyage! It will dock with the ISS tomorrow.
What to expect when Crew Dragon launches to the International Space Station
SpaceX's Crew Dragon is scheduled to blast off for a 6-day, uncrewed test flight on 2 March at 02:49 EST (07:49 UTC).
NASA's Orion spacecraft makes progress, but are the agency's lunar plans on track?
Orion's service module arrived in Florida, but some space industry experts question whether NASA's human spaceflight plans are realistic.
Orion's third flight will haul two pieces of a space station to lunar orbit
NASA is planning for a 30-day mission to lunar orbit in 2024.
Some snark (and details!) about NASA's proposed lunar space station
So long, Deep Space Gateway. You've been replaced with the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.
We choose to go to the Moon and do the other things
Vice President Mike Pence kicked off the National Space Council's first meeting today by declaring Americans will return to the Moon. Casey Dreier and Jason Davis analyze this new direction for NASA's human spaceflight program.
The anatomy of a delay: Here's a timeline of twists and turns for NASA's SLS and Orion programs
The Space Launch System and Orion won't fly until 2019, and NASA is sticking with its original plan not to include astronauts for the maiden mission. Here is a timeline of some of the programs' major twists and turns over the years.
NASA unveiled new plans for getting humans to Mars, and hardly anyone noticed
NASA revealed its most concrete plan yet for sending humans back into deep space, centered around a small lunar space station and a reusable transport ship to carry astronauts to Mars and back.
A repeat of the space shuttle's bold test flight? NASA considers crew aboard first SLS mission
NASA has only flown astronauts aboard a rocket's first flight once, when John Young and Bob Crippen took space shuttle Columbia on the boldest test flight in history. What are the risks of repeating the feat for SLS?
ISS-bound Progress spacecraft fails to reach orbit, breaks apart over southern Siberia
This morning's launch of an uncrewed Russian Progress cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station went awry. Following a third-stage failure, the vehicle reentered Earth's atmosphere and broke apart over southern Siberia in Russia.
An international outpost near the Moon gets closer to reality
International Space Station (ISS) project partners are inching ever closer toward an agreement to begin the development of a new human outpost in the vicinity of the Moon. If successful, the cis-lunar space station (a space station in the vicinity of the Moon) will be the largest international space project to date, influencing the direction of human space flight for decades to come.
Lockheed Proposes to have Humans Orbiting Mars by 2028
Lockheed Martin proposed a system to send humans to orbit Mars in the year 2028—a concept that shares many core values with The Planetary Society's report, Humans Orbiting Mars, we released last year.
All the way to orbit: After 35 years, is the RS-25 still the Ferrari of rocket engines?
The RS-25 powered the space shuttle for three decades, and will soon be used on the Space Launch System. Is it still the Ferrari of rocket engines? A deep dive on performance, reliability and the politics of rocket science.
In Pictures: Orion Assembled and Shipped to Kennedy Space Center
The shell of NASA's next Orion spacecraft has been welded together and shipped to Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Here's a photo recap of the assembly and transport process.
New Budget Bolsters NASA's Journey to Mars Plans
The recently passed omnibus spending bill directs NASA to work on a new upper stage for the Space Launch System, and begin development on deep space habitat modules.
Orion Service Module Faces Roller Coaster of a Ride in Sandusky
The Orion European Service Module test article has arrived at NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it's being prepared for acoustic and vibration testing.