Sigma, the think tank of writers who advise the government on formerly unthinkable possibilities, was surprised with a public presentation on their efforts at WorldCon...
Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson and Scaled Composites' Burt Rutan unveiled the carrier airplane which will be the backbone of VG's planned space tourism venture...
Google co-founder Sergey Brin put a $5 million deposit on a tourist flight to the International Space Station. "Travel agency" Space Adventures also announced an agreement with Russian launcher FSA for its first private Soyuz flight...
The follow-on ship to the one which won the X-Prize may be ready for test flights late this year, and passengers by 2010. Richard Branson and Burt Rutan revealed the designs...
The Japanese space agency's SELENE launched on 14 September, and early on 4 October performed its lunar orbit injection maneuver, placing it in orbit aroubt the Moon. This is Japan's first lunar orbiting...
Following the success of the $10 million X Prize, Google is sponsoring the follow-on $25 million Lunar X Prize, to encourage the development and launch of a commercial rover to the Moon...
NASA is sponsoring an art contest, open to college students in the US, with the theme "Life and Work on the Moon." There will be cash prizes and exhibit opportunities for winners...
Two unrelated stories, the second drawing attention the first. An explosion during a SpaceShipTwo construction test killed three employees of Scaled Composites. The event drew attention to last week's announcement that Northrup Grumman is buying out the entire company...
Dr. Graham J. Murphy, of Trent University, recently published a paper investigating "Somatic Networks and Molecular Hacking in Eastern Standard Tribe," using Cory Doctorow's novel as his source material. The paper is now available...
DuPont and Environmental Defense have collaborated on a two-year project to produce their 104-page "Nano Risk Framework." The document is a process to evaluate and address the potential risks of nanoscale materials...
The European Space Agency is planning a 520-day simulated mission to Mars (in an enclosed environment in Moscow), and is looking for volunteers to fill the crew positions (plus slots on earlier 105-day missions). Participants must be...
Today is the twelfth anniversary of the web site Astronomy Picture of the Day. While not really a genre entry on the web, the photos and descriptions they post—every day—are truly inspiring. SFScope salutes 12 years of APOD, and eagerly awaits its bar mitzvah next year.
Author Michael A. Burstein, as president of the Society for the Preservation of Pluto as a Planet, is quoted extensively in the National Geographic article detailing the dwarf planet's demotion from king of the dwarfs...
Astrium revealed their plans for a vehicle for space tourism that looks remarkably like a business jet, but with a rocket engine in the back. Their plan is to launch...
The Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to lift off at 7:38PM tonight, carrying artifacts of Jamestown to the International Space Station. It will also...
