From the crisis in Syria to the case of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden to the criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s human rights record, the U.S.-Russia relationship has become undeniably more confrontational in the last year. Considering the current circumstances and a long history of harsh competition, why would any American think that the Russians are our friends? Continue Reading
NASA and the space industry need a new generation of problem solvers to answer the questions that will shape our future, but right now, they don’t have it. Continue Reading
Neil Armstrong was the personification of America’s dreams for space exploration. Yet today, the future of the United States’ human spaceflight program is one of uncertainty and doubt. With the space shuttle grounded, U.S. access to human spaceflight is dependent upon another nation. The developments underway for continued human spaceflight are yet unproven and years away. At best, they will return us to a capability to fly in Earth orbit that we had more than 40 years ago. The nation and Neil deserve better.
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We have grown accustomed to the role of large companies, such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in successful space launches. But with the nearly flawless debut of SpaceX, and with the arrival of other smaller companies on the scene, we are again seeing the benefits of competition, as new companies bring innovation, flexibility and, more importantly, reduced costs to space operations. Continue Reading
As Atlantis’ mission and NASA’s space shuttle program draws to a close, George Abbey, Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy, reflects on the legacy of U.S. space exploration and discusses prospects for its future. Abbey, who served as director… Continue Reading
Today was not a good day for the thousands of employees and contractors at Johnson Space Center in Clear Lake who work on the space shuttle program for NASA. In a speech at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, President… Continue Reading