NASA's History Office Web site is offering a publication for public review entitled Looking Backward, Looking Forward: Forty Years of US Human Spaceflight Symposium. The two hundred and fifty page document chronicles NASA's history from the Sputnik era to the present including insights from Buzz Aldrin, perspectives on the future, the international space station, and much more. Readers will enjoy...

The NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) is a truly remarkable site about some of the most compelling technology concepts and ideas. The NIAC's aim is to foster creative thinking and support research that could turn today's science fiction into tomorrow's science fact. Numerous projects, both from past efforts and from current investigations, are profiled on the institute's Web site. For...

This article from New Scientist highlights the most recent actions that are bringing us closer to commercial space flight -- the granting of the first licence to a private company. The one-year license authorizes the launching of people up to 100 kilometers. Apparently, the company is competing with other companies to win a prize being offered by the X Prize Foundation, which will be awarded to...

On April 18, 2003, an historic event in space travel was marked by the unveiling of the first private manned spacecraft and launch platform (called SpaceShipOne and White Knight, respectively). Already constructed and in the test flight stage of its development, the project was hidden from the public in order to reveal a finished product rather than just schematics. The news article describes the...

The Space Technology Hall of Fame is a fascinating Web site that honors "the innovators who have transformed technology originally developed for space into commercial products." Selection criteria for the induction process are given in the Hall of Famers section. It is interesting to note the weights of each criterion, with the most points given for public awareness and social benefit. The Hall of...

This website promotes the Tier One Project - "the world's first privately funded manned space program." Users can find general information on the project, the SpaceShipOne craft, and the four pilots. The site provides a series of press releases where users can find out about the project's latest news and events. Visitors can obtain details on four types of flight tests. The site furnishes...