Bill Housley
Space Exploration, Science, Opinion and Current Events
Twilight Tales
Into the Dark:Escape of the Nomad — Kindle Edition
In a world hostile to space travel, a former Astronaut has a dream to travel the stars--so he steal's NASA's forbidden starship designs and starts building the ship himself, only to get caught up in a perilous game of interstellar cloak-and-dagger between two alien superpowers fighting over Earth.
One Way
So you want to go to Mars? One Way? Are you sure?
Another Man’s Terrorist — Kindle Edition
In a war far into the future, two young refugees, orphaned by insurgent violence on their home planet, flee behind the lines to make a new life for themselves. But when the turmoil they sought to escape beats them to their new home, thirteen year old Jessica Ratcliff must find peace for her small family while learning the true difference between friend and enemy.
Where’s the Cat? — Kindle Edition
On a long cargo flight to the outer solar system, Pauline gets a visitor she didn't expect and learns of a marvelous friend she never knew she had.
Into the Dark–Escape of the Nomad — Original Paperback
In a world where space travel is forbidden, former astronaut Stan McPherson wants to return to space but finds himself caught up in a dangerous game of interstellar cloak-and-dagger.
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Space.com Top Stories
- Famous 'alien' Wow! signal may have come from distant, sunlike star May 24, 2022An astronomer proposes that the sun-like star 2MASS 19281982-2640123 is the origin of the Wow! Signal
- 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' episode 3 builds up backstories for Number One, M'Benga May 24, 2022In "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," episode 3, Una Chin-Riley goes full Captain Kirk, plus it turns out that she's actually an Illyrian.
- Japan will send an astronaut to the moon with NASA, President Biden says May 24, 2022A Japanese astronaut will visit NASA's planned Gateway space station, and perhaps the moon's surface, as part of a larger interagency agreement.
- NASA's James Webb Space Telescope mission: Live updates May 24, 2022Read the latest news about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.
- James Webb Space Telescope practices tracking an asteroid for the 1st time May 24, 2022The James Webb Space Telescope successfully watched a moving asteroid as the telescope inches toward the end of its commissioning period.
- The NASA-funded launch of CAPSTONE, a tiny cubesat for the moon, delayed to June 6 May 24, 2022The little CAPSTONE spacecraft will have to wait a bit longer for its big lunar launch.
- Super Flower Blood Moon lunar eclipse glows eerie red in new photo May 24, 2022The eclipsed moon glows an eerie deep red color in a new photo of the total lunar eclipse that occurred earlier in May.
- Massive Mars dust storms triggered by heat imbalances, scientists find May 24, 2022Mars' planet-engulfing dust storms are a consequence of a huge energy imbalance on the Red Planet.
- Early Memorial Day deal: get 33% off the Terraforming Mars board game May 24, 2022Save over $20 on the epic space board game in an out-of-this-world deal just ahead of the Memorial Day celebrations.
- Asteroid four times the size of the Empire State Building barreling toward Earth on May 27 May 24, 2022The near-Earth asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) will make a close approach to our planet on May 27, 2022, flying within about 2.5 million miles of Earth.
NASAWatch
- NASA Wants Your Ideas - Or Do They? (Update) May 23, 2022Update: NASA Seeks Comments on Moon to Mars Objectives by June 3, NASA "NASA has extended the comment period on its Moon to Mars Objectives to 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, June 3. Comments were previously set to close on Tuesday, May 31. While the agency is working on a tight deadline to finalize the objectives this fall, numerous respondents requested additio […]
- Boeing's Starliner Is Back In Space - And Docked With ISS May 21, 2022Keith's update: Starliner docked with the ISS on Friday night. Boeing Starliner Launches To The International Space Station, NASA "Starliner lifted off on NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) at 6:54 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Following an orbital insertion burn 31 minutes lat […]
- Yet Another Report Tells NASA Things That NASA Will Ignore May 18, 2022Advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in Competed Space Mission Leadership at NASA Will Require Extensive Efforts Along Entire Career Pathways, Says New Report, National Academy of Sciences "Inadequate data gathering and reporting are critical barriers to NASA's understanding of the efficacy of its own DEIA efforts to date, and […]
- PBS NewsHour On The Future Of ISS May 18, 2022Tonight on @NewsHour w/ @milesobrien @RussianSpaceWeb @waynehale @StationCDRKelly @KathyLueders @Rogozin @realhomerhickam @AstroDude "Russia's invasion of Ukraine jeopardizes the future of the International Space Station" https://t.co/osYMR1R28m #ISS #spacestation #Ukraine— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 18, 2022
- NASAWatch On Al Jazeera Arabic: Hearing On UFOs and UAPs. May 17, 2022Keith Cowing · NASAWatch on Al Jazeera Arabic - UFOs and UAPs
- Neil Tyson Finds Astronomy Events Boring May 16, 2022Gee, for someone who more that happily accepts the mantle of being Carl Sagan's heir apparent, this is probably one of the most discouraging things anyone could possibly say when it comes to inspiring people to look up at the night sky.Just sayin, Neil. https://t.co/T4WyFIePfz— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) May 16, 2022
- Boots Of Exploration May 15, 2022#OTD 15 May 2009: my boots at Everest Base Camp; Scott Parazynski's boots up on Everest and John Grunsfeld's boots in orbit. @AstroDocScott @SciAstro #Namaste #adastra pic.twitter.com/pLIprmpZ0Q— Keith Cowing (@KeithCowing) May 15, 2022
- Interesting Commercial Space Job Opening At FAA May 12, 2022Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation, FAA "The Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation regulates the Unites States' (U.S.) commercial space transportation industry, and ensures compliance with international obligations of the U.S. and protects the public health and safety, safety of property, and national […]
- Space Situational Awareness Hearing May 12, 2022Space & Aeronautics Subcommittee Hearing - Space Situational Awareness: Guiding the Transition to a Civil Capability (with witness statements) - Chairwoman Johnson Opening Statement "As the amount of space debris and number of satellites orbiting the Earth have exponentially increased in recent years, SSA is critically important to maintaining space […]
- Starliner Still Has Issues (Update) May 11, 2022Keith's note: According to an official press release issued on 9 May "NASA and Boeing will hold a media teleconference at about 6 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 11". So when you go to the NASA media page for the beginning of the event around 6:00 pm EDT the official website says "5:30 p.m. - Media briefing for NASA's Boeing Orbital Fligh […]
LiveScience.com – Top Stories
- What is an abortion? May 24, 2022An abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy, which can happen spontaneously, as in the case of a miscarriage, or by medical or surgical means.
- Expect another above-average hurricane season in 2022, NOAA predicts May 24, 2022NOAA has announced that the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is likely to be more active than average for the seventh year in a row.
- Neptune: The farthest planet from our sun May 24, 2022Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun in our solar system and home to blistering winds and diamond rain.patrick.pester@futurenet.com (Patrick Pester)
- What are pulsars? May 24, 2022Pulsars are the ultradense cores of gigantic stars that emit beams of radio waves in regular pulses, like cosmic lighthouses.pmsutter@gmail.com (Paul Sutter)
- Giant ‘dragon of death’ with 30-foot wingspan unearthed in Argentina May 24, 2022Scientists recently discovered fossils in Argentina that belong to Thanatosdrakon. The specimens are the largest pterosaurs ever found in South America.
- Blue Apron review May 24, 2022We tested the Blue Apron meal delivery kit to see how the service and meals stacked up against the competition
- A meteor shower outburst from a shattered comet may spawn a new tau Herculids display on May 30 May 24, 2022The tau Herculids from comet 73P/Schwassman-Wachmann which began to fragment in 1995 may make an appearance on the night of May 30-31.
- Spiraling vortex of 60 sharks rips apart a dead humpback whale in mesmerizing new video May 24, 2022Video captured by tourists using a drone, shows more than 60 sharks tearing apart the floating remains of a dead humpback whale in Australia. But it will take more than a decade for the carcass to fully decompose.
- Axolotls: The adorable, giant salamanders of Mexico May 24, 2022Starring in mythological origin tales, axolotls are threatened salamanders that may hold the key to regenerating body parts in mammals.
- Can you be intolerant to alcohol? May 24, 2022Is it possible to be intolerant to alcohol? We speak to an expert about the symptoms, causes and treatment of alcohol intolerance
Discovery Space News
- Huge Tsunamis May Have Ravaged Ancient Mars May 25, 2016When Mars was a wet world, did its oceans experience powerful tsunamis spawned by meteorite impacts?
- Collapsing Cosmic Clouds Birth Black Hole Monsters May 24, 2016Supermassive black holes occupy all known galaxies, but astronomers have little idea how they formed. Now space telescopes have found a clue.
- Mystery Plumes: Did the Sun Bruise Mars? May 24, 2016Strange plumes have been spotted high in the Martian atmosphere that have, so far, defied explanation. Now scientists think space weather is to blame.
- NASA Probe Tracks Object in Solar System's Badlands May 23, 2016While coasting through the outer solar system, NASA's New Horizons is busying itself with astronomical observations of a distant Kuiper Belt Object.
- Solar Superflares Set Stage for Life on Earth May 23, 2016Earth could have grown warm enough for liquid water as far back as 4 billion years ago thanks to massive and frequent solar flares.
- See the Red Planet with Your Own Eyes This Weekend May 21, 2016Mars reaches opposition this weekend, making Saturday and Sunday (May 21 and 22) an opportune time to see the Red Planet with your own eyes.
- Extreme Exoplanets Reveal Migration Mystery May 20, 2016A star hosting 4 massive gas giant exoplanets has been spotted -- is this how our solar system looked in its ancient past?
- How to Form Io's Mountains? Just Squeeze! May 20, 2016On Earth, mountains form along tectonic boundaries, but Io, Jupiter's volcanic moon, is awash with molten rock and dotted with solitary mountains -- how did they form?
- DNews: Meet a Black Hole 17 Billion Times the Sun's Mass May 20, 2016DNews sits down with U.C. Berkeley astronomy professor Chung-Pei Ma to learn all about supermassive black holes, including one nearby that's just honking huge.
- LHC Opens the Quantum Physics Floodgates May 20, 2016As it restarts its mission to discover weird and exotic things about our universe, the Large Hadron Collider is about to become a firehose of quantum data.
SpaceRef
- NASA Space Station Update 24 May, 2022 - Starliner Set For Wednesday Departure May 24, 2022NASA astronauts living aboard the International Space Station closed the hatch of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft at 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday, May 25.Marc Boucher
- Fans And Polygons On Mars May 24, 2022This is a place where fans emerge relatively late in the Martian spring from polygonal cracks owing to the process of sublimation.Keith Cowing
- Galaxy Pair IC 4271 As Seen By Hubble May 24, 2022This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of IC 4271, also known as Arp 40, is a curious pair of spiral galaxies some 800 million light-years away.Keith Cowing
- Ultracold Bubbles on Space Station Open New Paths for Quantum Research May 24, 2022Produced inside NASA's Cold Atom Lab, the bubbles provide new opportunities to experiment with an exotic state of matter.Keith Cowing
- Self-cleaning Spacecraft Surfaces To Combat Microbes May 24, 2022Astronauts live and work in orbit along with teeming populations of microorganisms, which could present a serious threat to health - and even the structural integrity of spacecraft. To help combat such invisible stowaways, an ESA-led project is developing microbe-killing coatings suitable for use within spacecraft cabins.Keith Cowing
- NGC 541 Fuels An Irregular Galaxy In A New Hubble Image May 24, 2022This striking pair is an elliptical galaxy NGC 541 and an unusual star-forming, irregular dwarf galaxy known as Minkowski's Object (the bluish object to the lower left of NGC 541).Keith Cowing
- Webb Telescope Nearly Set To Explore The Solar System May 24, 2022As NASA's James Webb Space Telescope moves through the final phases of commissioning its science instruments, we have also begun working on technical operations of the observatory.Keith Cowing
- NASA Space Station Update 23 May, 2022 - Unloading Cargo from Starliner May 24, 2022Two Expedition 67 astronauts are unloading cargo delivered inside Boeing's Starliner crew ship and testing its systems ahead of its departure this week.Marc Boucher
- San Pedro And Ambergris Cay As Seen From Space May 23, 2022San Pedró, Belize, forms the center of this photograph taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS).Keith Cowing
- Sunken And Pitted Ejecta On Mars May 23, 2022The objective of this observation was to examine the edge of impact ejecta from a crater to the north-west of this area (north is up, west is to the left).Keith Cowing
Space Flight Now
- SpaceX swapping heat shield for next crew flight due to ‘manufacturing defect’ May 24, 2022SpaceX’s next crew mission to the International Space Station, set for launch in September, will fly with a different heat shield structure than originally planned after a composite substrate failed in acceptance testing due to a “manufacturing defect," NASA said Tuesday.Stephen Clark
- China launches three communications test satellites May 23, 2022A two-stage Chinese Long March 2C rocket launched Friday and delivered three communications test satellites into an orbit about 550 miles above Earth.Stephen Clark
- Launch of NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission delayed to late September May 23, 2022The launch of NASA's Psyche asteroid mission, which was set for Aug. 1 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, has been delayed to no earlier than Sept. 20 after ground teams discovered an issue during software testing on the spacecraft, officials said Monday.Stephen Clark
- Russian spy satellite launched by Soyuz rocket May 23, 2022A classified mapping satellite rode a Soyuz rocket into space Thursday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the fifth mission of the year to deploy a Russian military payload in orbit.Stephen Clark
- Space station astronauts check out Starliner crew capsule May 21, 2022Astronauts on the International Space Station floated into Boeing's Starliner capsule Saturday, becoming the first people to enter the spacecraft in orbit less than a day after it docked at the orbiting research complex for the first time. The station astronauts will spend several days performing tests and unpacking cargo inside the Starliner spacecraft […]Stephen Clark
- Boeing’s Starliner capsule completes first “nail-biting” docking at space station May 21, 2022Boeing's Starliner crew capsule finally reached the International Space Station Friday night with a "nail-biting" rendezvous and docking, overcoming several technical glitches to accomplish a long-awaited objective for the spacecraft before NASA clears it to ferry astronauts to the research complex.Stephen Clark
- Live coverage: Boeing’s Starliner docks at International Space Station May 20, 2022A day after launching from Cape Canaveral, Boeing's human-rated Starliner spacecraft approached the International Space Station Friday for docking, a major test objective left unaccomplished during the crew capsule's first unpiloted demonstration flight in 2019. Docking occurred at 8:28 p.m. EDT (0028 GMT).Stephen Clark
- Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule takes off on long-awaited test flight May 19, 2022Boeing's Starliner spacecraft thundered into orbit Thursday from Cape Canaveral aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, aiming to dock at the International Space Station on a years-late test flight to prove the capsule's systems before flying astronauts.Stephen Clark
- Live coverage: Atlas 5 rocket sends Starliner toward space station May 19, 2022Boeing's Starliner crew capsule lifted off on its second orbital test flight Thursday, riding a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket off the pad at Cape Canaveral at 6:54 p.m. EDT (2254 GMT). The mission is heading for the International Space Station.Stephen Clark
- Atlas 5 rocket and Starliner capsule return to Florida launch pad May 18, 2022United Launch Alliance rolled an Atlas 5 rocket to its launch pad Wednesday at Cape Canaveral, moving into the starting position for a critical unpiloted demo flight of Boeing's Starliner crew capsule. Unlike the first Starliner test flight, the spacecraft's launch abort system will be armed during the climb to space Thursday.Stephen Clark
SpaceRef — Mars News
- Fans And Polygons On Mars May 24, 2022This is a place where fans emerge relatively late in the Martian spring from polygonal cracks owing to the process of sublimation.
- Sunken And Pitted Ejecta On Mars May 23, 2022The objective of this observation was to examine the edge of impact ejecta from a crater to the north-west of this area (north is up, west is to the left).
- Sedimentary Rocks Inside Terby Crater On Mars May 20, 2022The sedimentary history of Mars is important to understanding climate change and the evolution of Mars.
- Physicists Explain How One Type Of Aurora On Mars Is Formed May 19, 2022Physicists led by the University of Iowa have learned how a type of aurora on Mars is formed.
- Mars InSight Still Hunting Marsquakes as Power Levels Diminish May 18, 2022Dusty solar panels and darker skies are expected to bring the Mars lander mission to a close around the end of this year.
- Cliffs of Crumbling, Layered Sediments On Mars May 18, 2022Massive deposits of sediments rich in hydrated sulfates are found in central Valles Marineris. Such deposits on Earth are soft and easily eroded, and that appears to be true on Mars as well.
- Solar Heat Is The Likely Cause Of Dust Storms On Mars May 17, 2022A study indicates there are seasonal energy imbalances in the amount of solar energy absorbed and released by Mars which is a likely cause of dust storms and could play an important role in understanding the climate and atmosphere of the red planet.
- Dunes In Meridiani Planum On Mars May 17, 2022HiRISE monitors dune fields across Mars to track how they are changing.
- The Caldera of Olympus Mons May 16, 2022HiRISE is not able to capture the entire caldera at the summit of Olympus Mons, so we try to get as many images as possible to create a potential mosaic.
- Stunning Slopes In Juventae Chasma On Mars May 13, 2022Even though this observation was acquired after a large dust storm, there are numerous and large example of recurring slope lineae (RSL), even on the bedrock.
SpaceX
- Starlink Mission May 18, 2022
- Starlink Mission May 14, 2022
- Starlink Mission May 13, 2022
- Starlink Mission May 6, 2022
- Crew-3 Mission | Return May 6, 2022
- Crew-3 Mission | Undocking May 5, 2022
- Starlink Mission April 29, 2022
- Crew-4 Mission | Approach and Docking April 28, 2022
- Crew-4 Mission | Launch April 27, 2022
- Ax-1 Mission | Return April 25, 2022
Spacewire
- NASA’s Webb Program Director Named to TIME100 List
- NASA’s Psyche Mission Launch Update
- Fifth Launch Attempt Scheduled for NASA Super Pressure Balloon
- Varda Space Industries Orders Fourth Photon Spacecraft from Rocket Lab to Enable In-Space Manufacturing
- Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Geophysical Activity Report and Forecast 24 May 2022
- NASA Awards Contract to National Academy of Science
- NAS Workshop Leveraging Commercial Space for Earth and Ocean Remote Sensing
- ESA Awards GHGSat Third Party Mission Status
- Slides and Video Posted: Advancing DEIA in the Leadership of Competed Space Missions
- NASA to Debut VIPER Rover Model During Artemis Preview Weekend
NASA Image of the Day
- InSight's Final Selfie May 24, 2022NASA's InSight Mars lander took this final selfie on April 24, 2022, the 1,211th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.
- Mysteries of the Needle's Eye, a Dwarf Spiral Galaxy May 23, 2022This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a section of the spiral galaxy nicknamed the Needle’s Eye.
- Starliner Launches to Space Station May 20, 2022Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, May 19, 2022.
- Boeing’s Starliner on the Pad May 19, 2022A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft aboard is illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad.
- Hubble Peers Through Giant Elliptical’s Layers May 18, 2022This new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the central region of the gigantic elliptical galaxy NGC 474.
- Kartik Sheth: Advancing Science and Equity May 17, 2022Dr. Kartik Sheth's career spans academia, non-profits, and government.
- Introducing Quesst: Speed Never Sounded So Quiet May 16, 2022Quesst is what NASA is calling its mission to enable supersonic air travel over land.
Astronomy Picture of the Day
- A Deep Sky Behind an Eclipsed Moon The plan was to capture a picturesque part of the sky that was hosting an unusual guest.
- The Once and Future Stars of Andromeda This picture of Andromeda shows not only where stars are now,
- A Large Tsunami Shock Wave on the Sun Tsunamis this large don't happen on Earth.
- Planetary Nebula Abell 7Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is some 1,800 light-years distant,
- A View from Earth's ShadowThis serene sand and skyscape finds the
- A Digital Lunar EclipseRecorded on May 15/16 this sequence of exposures
- A Jewel on the Flower MoonCloudy skies plagued some sky watchers on Sunday as May's
Bill Housley 
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