Americans Love NASA, But Private Firms Do the Real Work in Space
People see a continuing role for the space agency, but mostly in national defense.
Space
'We're Going To Uncover the Cover Up': House Probes Government Handling of UFOs
Plus: Moralism is ruining cultural criticism, Biden administration mandates bigger plane bathrooms, and more...
Price Tag of NASA's Martian Rock Retrieval Mission Is Skyrocketing
The Mars Sample Retrieval program is now estimated to cost double than what was originally projected.
Environmentalist Lawsuit Could Delay SpaceX's Starship Launches for Years
The FAA required SpaceX take 75 separate actions to mitigate the environmental impacts of launches from its Boca Chica, Texas, launch site. A new lawsuit says it's not enough.
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! Is It the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade?
Days after an American F-22 shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, a second floating object was shot down over the Yukon.
We Can Make It To Mars Without NASA
"We can—and should—develop space without government help," says Reason Foundation's Robert W. Poole.
The Best Ever Libertarian Gift Guide
Until next year's, because capitalism is always making things better.
12 Republicans Support Same-Sex Marriage in Key Senate Vote
Plus: What Orion is carrying to the moon, when you might be able to munch on some lab-grown meat, and more...
We Are Going to the Moon
Thanks to the rise of private spaceflight companies, mankind will have a future off-Earth.
Comic: Robert A. Heinlein in The Moon Is a Hot Babe
An aeronautical engineer considers writing a novel about a new start on the moon.
Andy Weir Is Looking Forward to the Space Boom
Weir's books take seriously the limits of human knowledge and planning when it comes to space travel.
NIMBY Laws Are Blocking Humanity's Future Among the Stars
The regulations that increase building costs on Earth will have the same effect in space.
As Private Space Travel Grows, so Will the Insurance Market
One insurance company started offering a space travel policy last year.
The End of Astronauts: Should We Send Robots to Space Instead?
Robots don't get cabin fever, develop cancer from cosmic radiation, miss their families, or go insane.
The James Webb Space Telescope Captures a Dying Star
A dying star and a young star orbit each other within a plume of burning dust and gas.
Who Owns the Satellites Orbiting the Earth?
Starlink is the biggest player in the satellite business, for now.
So Long, Soyuz: Russia Is Leaving the International Space Station
Privatization can free orbital innovation from ground-bound politics.
What We Owe the Future Is Liberalism
What does "longtermism" offer those of us who favor limited government and free markets?
Review: The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy Is Good, Actually
The millennial generation has had enough anti-prequel propaganda.
Review: Be Your Own Boss in Space With 1993's Wing Commander: Privateer
The video game merges free market trading with exciting space combat, and your ethics and goals are up to you.
The Futuristic Promise of Dippin' Dots
The ice cream's innovative freezers helped Pfizer keep COVID-19 vaccines stable during transit.
Rosie the Space Habitat Is a 3D-Printed Living Space
The 23-foot-tall polymer structure has room for two and fits inside a SpaceX Starship.
Review: The Libertarianism of Firefly
What if our interplanetary future involved train heists, legal sex work, and a lot of running from the feds?
Why We Should Terraform the Galaxy
One critic calls it "arrogant vandalism," but advocates say it might be a necessary form of self-preservation.
Review: WALL-E Is Not a Realistic Take on Space Travel
If we move to space, it probably won't be because we filled up Earth with trash.
How To Use Drugs in Space
It's best to avoid sparking up a doobie on a spaceship, but there are other ways to consume substances in the cosmos.
The FCC: America's Other Space Agency
How the FCC went from regulating telegraphs to regulating satellites
NASA's Costly, Delayed Mission To Update Its Spacesuits
NASA has spent more than $420 million on the development of spacesuits with very little to show for it.
Review: 1947's Prelude to Space Envisioned We'd Be on Mars by Now
Reality has failed to match author Arthur C. Clarke's hopes.
Are We Still Awed by the Heavens?
A dimming sky and overprotective parents make it harder for today's kids to observe the great expanse.
Space Is an Opportunity To Rethink Property Rights
Here's what could happen when John Locke and Henry George go to the moon.
Brickbats: December 2022
News of politicians and space bureaucrats behaving badly from around the galaxy.
Review: Astronauts Don't Really Eat Astronaut Ice Cream
The treats you bought in gift shops are too crumbly to eat in microgravity.
It's Been 50 Years Since Humans Walked on the Moon
The last time there was a manned mission to the moon, Pong had just been released on Atari.
The Fractal, Fractious Politics of The Expanse
Taking humanity from Earth to the stars isn't easy.
Review: When Homer Simpson Went to Space
"Deep Space Homer" aired only eight years after the real-life Challenger disaster.
The Space Force Is an Expensive Farce
Why does the newest branch of the U.S. military need horses?
From Space Regulator to Astronaut: Q&A With George Nield
He spent his government career thinking about space. Then he got to fly.
Robert Heinlein's Dream of Private Space Travel Is Coming True
A new generation of companies has made space travel affordable.
Arizona Appeals Court Deflates Subsidies for Space Balloons
According to the ruling, the Pima County Board of Supervisors violated the state constitution's Gift Clause with its sweetheart deal to a space tourism company.
That Fuzzy Blob Is Not a UFO
Science writer Mick West examines alleged UFO sightings. He finds that they almost always have far more obvious explanations.
Alien Civilizations Either Self-Destruct or Transcend to 'Homeostatic Awakening,' Argues New Study
And one or the other is likely our fate too.
Tom Sachs: Taking NFTs Where No Man Has Gone Before
The artist's Rocket Factory project, which lets users build and own their own virtual spacecraft, is changing how we think about reality.