White Papers
U.S. Defense Strategy Document Pledges Commercial Space Protection
Wednesday October 19, 2022
By The Space Report research@spacefoundation.org Introduction | In a first-of-its-kind shift in stated strategy, the Biden Administration pledged, in a document that outlines Pentagon plans, to protect growing American commercial interests in space while advancing military space capabilities and international cooperation in orbit. Military space has returned to the spotlight…
Advances in Nuclear Reactors Could Power NASA Missions on Moon, Mars
Wednesday June 15, 2022
Introduction | After a decades-long hibernation, nuclear fission power has come back into fashion for NASA and other agencies as a way to deliver power to remote locations and drive spacecraft at speeds other fuels cannot deliver. What brought back programs shelved since the 1970s are new, safer…
Record Number of New Launch Vehicles Set for 2022 Debut
Monday April 4, 2022
Introduction | With 15 new launch vehicles expected to make maiden flights this year, 2022 is set to be the busiest year for new rockets since the dawn of the Space Age. The firms involved span from industry standards Arianespace and ULA to new firms with only a few dozen…
Asteroid Mining: Potential Develops, but so do Regulatory, Technical Issues
Saturday January 22, 2022
Introduction | Mankind could soon be able to exploit asteroids to obtain natural resources for use on Earth, gather ingredients for missions in space, and support habitation on the Moon and Mars. In the following article, some leading industry experts discuss how to mine in the absence of gravity, how…
The Role Of Intellectual Property In Space Innovation
Saturday December 26, 2020
Introduction | As the exponential growth of commercial space looms, this is a good time to survey several critical aspects of intellectual property (IP) as an enabler of innovation in commercial space. This article begins with a review of the vital role of IP in promoting innovation and an overview…
Broadband Constellations: Market Challenges Remain as Launched Satellites Climb to More Than 1,000
Saturday December 26, 2020
Introduction | At the end of 2020, more communications satellites orbited the Earth than all communications satellites deployed during the previous 10 years. Operators deployed more than 1,000 communications satellites last year, mainly into low Earth orbit (LEO). Two new satellite communications operators deployed most of those LEO communications satellites…
The Race to the Moon and the Promise of Cislunar Space
Tuesday December 1, 2020
This paper was first published in December 2020. Introduction | Apollo 17 astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972 were the last of a dozen men to walk on the Moon. For the past 48 years, lunar exploration has been largely replaced by deep space exploration, space station…
With Roots in Space Travel, Wearable Tech Comes Full Orbit
Sunday March 1, 2020
Introduction | You’ve just finished a tough workout, and at a glance, your smart watch tells you your heartrate, the calories you’ve burned, and can alert you if it detects that you have an irregular heartbeat. Devices like these have become so commonplace today, it’s hard to imagine that when…