News Archive / Author: Josh Tallis

Since 2011 Joshua Tallis has served as the manager for research and analysis at an intelligence and security services provider in Washington, DC. Josh has co-authored several articles in the Journal of Counterterrorism and Homeland Security International with colleagues from the defense community. Previous work experience includes internships at the U.S. Congress and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Josh is also a PhD student in International Relations at the University of St Andrews' Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence. He is a Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa and Special Honors graduate of The George Washington University where he received a BA in Middle East Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs.

Articles By Josh Tallis

• The Planetary Society’s million dollar quest for Solar Sailing

  May 19th, 2015

  On June 21, 2005, Cosmos-1 bellowed out of the Russian submarine Borisoglebsk, a payload paid for by The Planetary Society, and the organization’s many members and supporters. Cosmos-1 was a prototype solar sail, a proof of concept mission with the potential to revolutionize the way unmanned probes are sent into space. Unfortunately, the rocket failed, and […]

• NASA among ‘rock stars’ at D.C. Earth Day concert

  April 19th, 2015

  Thousands of people flocked to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Saturday, April 18, to celebrate the best weekend weather so far, and to attend the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day concert. The star-studded event featured performances by artists such as Mary J Blige, Train, Fall Out Boy, No Doubt, My Morning Jacket, and Usher. […]

• NASA’s Curiosity rover measures xenon for a glimpse into Mars’ turbulent past

  April 8th, 2015

  Biologists, climatologists, geologists, and a host of other scientists have developed a dizzying array of tools and markers for unraveling the mysteries of what Earth was like in its early development. One such mechanism in which all of these communities come together is dendrochronology – or counting tree rings. Such a simple marker acts as a […]

• Nano-satellite launched from space station tests space brake

  March 5th, 2015

  On the afternoon on March 3, the International Space Station deployed a small satellite using its Nanoracks CubeSat Deployer, the first NASA satellite to be thus ejected. TechEdSat-4, as the payload is named, is designed to test new space brake technologies to facilitate the rapid return of payloads to Earth.

• Aerojet Rocketdyne to develop ‘greener’ next generation propellants

  February 28th, 2015

  On a recent flight, the commercial aircraft’s intercom chirped with an announcement: “Please return unwanted newspapers to help further our commitment to environmental sustainability.” While the sentiment was admirable, the request was laced with heavy irony given the immense carbon footprint individual passengers bear whenever they board a flight. In rocketry as in air travel, it is easy to […]

• Russia steps up as UAE launches new space agency

  February 10th, 2015

  As NASA continues to build up the capacity of its commercial partners through programs such as the Commercial Crew Program (CCP), it is important to recall that such partners face steep international competition. For years, the Soviet and Russian launch industry has proven a potent competitor to American and European alternatives. As Russia becomes an […]

• Curiosity marks two years of excavating the Martian surface with Mojave 2 sample

  February 9th, 2015

  This week marks two years since humanity first tapped into the Martian bedrock. Well, not a person per-se. NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity was the instrument of this historic excavation, and two years later the mini Cooper-sized robotic geologist continues digging into the Red Planet’s history. NASA highlighted the progress that the rover has made toward furthering our understanding toward […]

• NASA and partners confirm: Astronauts to take part in commercial launches in 2017

  January 26th, 2015

  In a news conference airing on NASA Television Monday, Jan. 26, NASA and its commercial partners sounded a note of optimism with respect to the agency’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP ). A panel of NASA administrators and astronauts sat alongside representatives from Boeing and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX ) to provide an updated assessment on exactly when […]

• SOHO spacecraft celebrates 20 years in space with new data on solar eruptions

  January 26th, 2015

  Cataclysmic explosions rock the solar system all the time, and most of humanity rarely notices. Such explosions are the subject of greater research as part of NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), as scientists explore the phenomenon of these coronal mass ejections (CMEs). It turns out that even after 20 years worth of time examining the Sun’s violent weather – […]

• NASA, Boeing, SpaceX to announce Commercial Crew Program launches for 2017

  January 26th, 2015

  In a press release issued on Thursday, Jan. 22, NASA teased that an upcoming media event held with SpaceX and Boeing will unveil some exciting announcements. The agency and its two partners appear set to lay out a more detailed timeline for sending American astronauts to low-Earth orbit—under the Launch America Commercial Crew Program—by 2017.

• Partners announced in latest NASA commercial collaboration

  January 12th, 2015

  In late December of 2014, NASA announced the participation of four companies collaborating in the space agency’s unfunded milestone program to develop greater private space capacity. The selection comes after a year of intense private-public partnerships intended by the space agency to encourage innovation across America’s aerospace industry.

• Russian Angara 5 heavy-lift rocket successfully launches on first test flight

  December 23rd, 2014

  On Dec. 23, Russia successfully launched the heavy-lift version of its long anticipated Angara 5 rocket. The launch was not broadcast live, but according to the Russian Federal Space Agency, the rocket left the pad on schedule at 8:57 local Moscow time (0557 GMT/ 12:57 EST). The Angara 5 is part of the Angara family […]

• SpaceX secures launch contract for Transitioning Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS)

  December 17th, 2014

  NASA announced on Tuesday, Dec. 16 that Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX ) would provide launch services for the space agency’s upcoming exoplanet detection satellite. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS ) mission is slated for liftoff aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket in August of 2017.

• NASA Budget Boon in Late-Night Appropriation Bill

  December 16th, 2014

  Late Saturday night the Senate passed the so-called Cromnibus bill funding the United States government through the end of the Fiscal Year, avoiding a second government shutdown in as many years. The bill, part continuing resolution, part omnibus budget act, allocated funding for NASA greater than the agency had requested and signals a resounding rebound […]

• Russian officials consider early exit from International Space Station

  November 24th, 2014

  Reports from Russia last week indicate that at least some factions of the country’s space sector are considering ending the partnership with the International Space Station (ISS) in favor of a new Russian station. This comes less than a month after all of the heads of ISS space agencies reaffirmed their commitments to the station […]