NASA hosted a media teleconference at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, July 9 to provide details about a report that will help define science objectives for the agency's next Mars rover. The report is from the Mars 2020 Science Definition Team (SDT). The report and story are available on the SpaceRef website.

Listen in as NASA outlines its fiscal year 2014 budget and discusses new and existing projects.

This morning at 10:10 a.m. EST, a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Dragon spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on its second of 12 NASA contracted resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS). Less than 24 hours after launching, the SpaceX Dragon was supposed to arrive at the ISS where the station crew would grapple and berth the spacecraft to the ISS for an expected three week visit. However, after the Dragon spacecraft had separated from the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, and just before the Dragon solar arrays were to deploy, an anomaly occurred with the thrusters where only one of four was enabled. The spacecraft appeared to be in the correct orbit. Full story online at http://spaceref.biz

NASA held a media briefing with SpaceX to discuss Friday's launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Dragon capsule as part of the NASA commercial resupply mission program to the International Space Station. This is the second official cargo resupply mission (CRS-20). The first launch opportunity for CRS-2 is currently scheduled for 10:10 AM ET on Friday, March 1.

On February 27th, 2013 Dennis Tito and his team discussed the newly formed Inspiration Mars non-profit organization and its plan for the first human mission to Mars. Learn more about this ground breaking inspiring mission. "A unique window of opportunity for humankind will open in January 2018, and the Inspiration Mars Foundation intends to seize it, announcing plans today to pursue a challenging manned mission to Mars and back. This historic 501-day journey around the Red Planet is made possible by a rare planetary alignment that occurs five years from now. Two professional crew members - one man, one woman - flying as private citizens will embark on what is known as a "fast, free-return" mission, passing within 100 miles of Mars before swinging back and safely returning to Earth. Target launch date is Jan. 5, 2018."

The Mars rover Curiosity's team is beginning to amass enough diverse science data to actively consider whether the area around its first drilling site was potentially habitable. At the same time the science team is readying the rover's most powerful instruments to search for organic carbon and minerals supportive to life in its first sample of gray powdered subsurface rock. Read the full story on SpaceRef.

Estimated to have been a 9 tonnes in size, a meteorite streaked across the sky over the Ural mountains in Russia and exploded at 30 to 50 kilometres above ground. The supersonic reentry injured an estimated 1100 people according to reports in Russia. Part of the meteor crashed into a frozen lake. An estimated 3000 buildings were damaged in the city of Chelyabinsk, including the roof collapsing at a zinc factory.

The small near-Earth asteroid 2012 DA14 will pass very close, but will not hit the Earth on Feb. 15, 2013. It will be so close that it will pass inside the ring of geosynchronous weather and communications satellites. Learn more about this asteroid and research opportunity it presents.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced they had selected Lockheed Martin Space Systems as a partner on its Dream Chaser program in its ongoing effort for NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Lockheed Martin was competitively selected and will be the exclusive partner to SNC on its NASA Certification Products Contract (CPC). Lockheed will build the composite structure for the Dream Chaser at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. SNC was awarded $10 million for CPC Phase 1 to work with NASA towards government certification of the SNC Dream Chaser orbital crew transportation system.

Secure World Foundation held a luncheon panel discussion on December 3, 2012, from 12 PM to 2 PM on significant space policy challenges facing the second Obama Administration, including civil space funding and Congress, ITAR reform, improving space situational awareness, and improving the overall coordination of U.S. space activities. Featured Experts: Ms. Marcia Smith, SpacePolicyOnline.com Ms. Patricia Cooper, Satellite Industry Association Mr. Brian Weeden, Secure World Foundation Dr. Eligar Sadeh, Astroconsulting International Moderator: Dr. Scott Pace, George Washington University Dr. Sadeh previewed a new book he edited entitled Space Strategy in the 21st Century. Published by Routledge as part of their Space Power and Politics series, the book contains articles written by experts who attended the SWF Workshop on National Space Strategy in February, 2010.