News Archive / Editorial

• Opinion: New Horizons should remain a planetary mission

  Laurel KornfeldApril 28th, 2023

  A little-known proposal is threatening the future of NASA’s New Horizons mission, and for reasons unknown, the space press has hardly reported on this development.

• Opinion: Is the Starship flight test a reality check for SpaceX, NASA and Artemis?

  Derek RichardsonApril 22nd, 2023

  By all honest measures, SpaceX’s first integrated flight test of Starship was a success, but it unearthed some serious problems.

• OPINION: In spaceflight testing, what defines a failure?

  Cullen DesforgesFebruary 27th, 2021

  Recently, several companies have made great strides in the realm of advanced spaceflight testing, despite public perception some would label a failure.

• Remembering Apollo 8, celebrating Christmas from a distance

  Sean CostelloDecember 24th, 2020

  As 2020 draws to a close, families worldwide are gathering for Christmas Eve celebrations in various degrees of isolation, driven in large part to public health restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

• OPINION: Arecibo Observatory should be rebuilt

  Laurel KornfeldSeptember 7th, 2020

  After experiencing a series of misfortunes ranging from earthquakes to hurricanes to budget cuts, the National Science Foundation‘s (NSF) Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, both a scientific and cultural icon, was seriously damaged when an auxiliary cable broke on Monday, August 10 at 2:45 am.

• OPINION: A booster return like no other

  Matt HaskellJune 10th, 2020

  For many residents on the space coast, seeing a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster being returned to the Cape on the company’s autonomous drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” is a regular occurrence. But this one was special.

• OPINION: 2019 – Numbers and Names

  Jason RhianJanuary 1st, 2020

  Well that happened. 2019 was a roller-coaster of ups and downs that will have far-reaching consequences for future space exploration efforts.

• OPINION: SpaceX’s upcoming Starlink mission means more than ending Florida’s launch drought

  Curt GodwinNovember 3rd, 2019

  The Space Coast has not seen a liftoff since Aug. 22. SpaceX is set to launch the second group of its Starlink satellites on Nov. 11, ending a two-month "drought" of ground launches from Florida. This upcoming mission has a lot more riding on it other than just alleviating that.

• OPINION: NASA administrator enters decades-long Pluto debate

  Laurel KornfeldAugust 28th, 2019

  A comment by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine affirming he still considers Pluto to be a planet has drawn criticism from some media outlets that may be motivated more by politics than science. It is also a potential game changer in the decades-long planet debate.

• Book Review: “The Case For Space”

  Paul KnightlyJune 19th, 2019

  Title: The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility Author: Dr. Robert Zubrin Publisher: Prometheus Books, 2019 Format: Hardcover Pages: 395 ISBN: 978-1-63388-534-9 Retail Price: $25.00 The past decade of space travel has witnessed massive leaps in the viability of new commercial spaceflight ventures and the realignment […]

• What did Opportunity’s ‘last words’ actually mean?

  Jason RhianFebruary 17th, 2019

  "My battery is low and it's getting dark." This supposedly was the last message sent back to mission controllers on Earth by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. But is this actually what she "said?"

• Notes on the Run: Put on your tinfoil hat because here we go…

  Jason RhianFebruary 3rd, 2019

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – “Have you seen UFOs? Are aliens real?” My response to this line of questioning is almost always the same and, usually, not suitable for print. 

• Notes on the Run: Where the wild things are

  Jason RhianJanuary 13th, 2019

  The locations where rockets are tested at or lift off from are usually in the middle of nowhere. Within these swamps and deserts live a wide assortment of creatures that you have to contend with if you're going to be in the space business.

• Notes on the run: Embrace the suck

  Jason RhianDecember 30th, 2018

  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- One of the things you have to get accustomed to when covering the space program is when things go wrong. Weather, idiotic boat captains, "out of family" sensor data, bad mouse food - you never know what, or who, might creep in to complicate what should be a simple process.

• OPINION: 50 years after Apollo 8 NASA is grounded

  Jason RhianDecember 25th, 2018

  On Dec. 25, 1968 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders circled the Moon in their Apollo 8 capsule. This was a dark period in U.S. history and, as one person stated via a telegraph, Apollo 8 had "saved 1968." It was a time when anything seemed possible. It now serves as a reminder of a bygone age.

• Notes on the Run: What is it like to see a rocket launch?

  Jason RhianDecember 15th, 2018

  One of the questions I'm often asked is “What’s it like attending a rocket launch?” Perhaps the best way to answer the question is by detailing some of our recent experiences during the launch of Northrop Grumman's S.S. John Young to the International Space Station.

• Inside Opportunity: Oppy still silent

  James RiceNovember 1st, 2018

  Dr. Jim Rice has provided this latest update from the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. Has the rover been silenced forever?

• Is flag controversy to blame for First Man’s performance at the box office?

  Jason RhianOctober 29th, 2018

  Does the exclusion of Neil Armstrong planting the US flag on the Moon have anything to do with First Man not meeting expectations at the box office?

• Discovery Channel marks NASA’s 60th Anniversary with Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow

  Jim SiegelOctober 12th, 2018

  As a 60th anniversary tribute to NASA’s formation in 1958, the Discovery Channel and the Science Channel will be airing a 90-minute documentary entitled Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow. 

• Opinion: Musk marijuana story much ado about nothing

  Jason RhianSeptember 9th, 2018

  Elon Musk smoked pot and drank whiskey in California. The story was painted as if the event was some bizarre Matthew McConaughey moment where Musk was banging on a bongo drum and smoking weed. After watching the 2.5-hour Joe Rogan interview, one is left with the impression that some in the media must be in desperate need of views.