There is strategic value in using space systems for military operations, which have changed the American way of warfare. Because of their immense value to security, they require funding for space protection and a responsive launch capability in order to make them more resilient to attack. A new Heritage Special …
When Congress holds hearings on Chuck Hagel’s nomination for Secretary of Defense, they should pay close attention to his position on U.S. space capabilities. As Secretary of Defense, he would have responsibility for ensuring that the U.S. maintains the ability to access space as necessary, a position that is increasingly …
A July 24 article in the online Mobile Magazine describes the advanced technology of Raytheon’s Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle (EKV) for destroying missile warheads in space. The article is right to tout the capabilities of this and similar anti-missile kill vehicles. The EKV is the payload portion of anti-missile missiles and …
Sometime in the next week, most likely this weekend, China will launch Shenzhou-IX, its fourth crewed mission into space. If all proceeds according to plan, this mission will see the Chinese engage in their first manned docking, as the Shenzou-IX spacecraft links with the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab. The Chinese …
The SpaceX Dragon capsule has returned to Earth after delivering nearly a half-ton of supplies in the first purely commercial replenishment mission to the International Space Station (ISS). With its successful completion, SpaceX is now on its way to providing a private-sector alternative for keeping the ISS supplied, with 12 …
On November 2nd, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) completed a critical milestone in its young, yet ambitious, space program. China’s unmanned Shenzhou 8, which launched on October 31, successfully completed an automated rendezvous and docking with their prototype space station module, Tiangong 1. This docking exercise is a critical …
Yesterday in New York City, NASA’s last space shuttle astronauts visited a World War II aircraft carrier-turned-museum docked on the west side of Manhattan. The carrier is one of four museums where retired NASA shuttles will go to rest now that the historic shuttle program has ended. But as NASA sends its …
The Obama Administration appears absolutely intent on engaging the PRC in space cooperation. How else to explain the claim by White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren that the congressional restriction banning U.S.–Chinese space cooperation under just about any circumstances was not, in fact, a ban? …
At the 2009 Sino-American summit, President Obama committed the US to dispatching the head of NASA to China, in return for a reciprocal visit by his “appropriate Chinese counterpart,” i.e., a player to be named later. A year later, NASA Administrator Bolden has visited China (although it remains unclear to …
