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The Archimedes Institute - An international not-for-profit organization focused on issues of private property claims in space, which was active from 1997 to the early 2000's, a period during which many early legal claims in this area began to flow through the court system. The site was organized and maintained by Professor Lawrence D. Roberts, a legal academic specializing in science and technology policy, and David Kantymir.
Arms and the Man; Dr. Gerald Bull, Iraq, and the Supergun by William Lowther - A short history of flawed Canadian genius Dr. Gerald Bull, a passionate and driven ballistics visionary responsible for the design of many of the worlds deadliest artillery cannons, who initially hoped to build "superguns" able to send small satellites into space, but ended up attempting to fund his dream by dancing with the devil through the political machinations of the middle east.
Arrows to the Moon; Avro's Engineers and the Space Race by Chris Gainor - While most know about the German rocket engineers led by Wernher von Braun, who helped put Apollo astronauts on the Moon, very few have heard about the Canadian engineers like Jim Chamberlin, John Hodge, Owen Maynard and others who top NASA officials called a "godsend" to the US space program in its early years. This is their story.
Arthur C. Clarke: A Life Remembered by Fred Clarke - Written by his brother, this book provides a rare insight into Arthur's early life, and into the people he met and influenced during his own personal odyssey. The book also includes a unique collection of photographs from the Clarke family, some of which have never been published before.
Asteroid Mining 101: Wealth for the New Space Economy by John S. Lewis - As may be expected, recent press reports dealing with asteroid mining have been numerous and of varying quality which suggests that there are good reasons to look closely at the underlying science and engineering that form the foundation of this work. A technical read, but the patient person willing to do the appropriate due-diligence will be well rewarded.





Becoming Spacefarers: Rescuing America's Space Program by James A. Vedda - All you ever wanted to know about the US space program with extra political intrigue, spicy historical analogies and ideas that challenge conventional wisdom added for seasoning. Written for those who know that what we should be doing next in space is heavily dependent on what we've been doing up until now.
The Birth of NASA: The Diary of T. Keith Glennan by by T. Keith Glennan, J. D. Hunley (editor) with an introduction by Roger D. Launius - The story of the critical formative months of NASA, written in diary format by its first administrator. Glennan's stay at NASA was short, but he built the organization that would vary soon afterwards start senting men to the moon.
The Birth of NASA: The Work of the Space Task Group, America's First True Space Pioneers by Dutch Ehrenfried - The story of the work of the original NASA space pioneers; men and women who were suddenly organized in 1958 from the then National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) into the Space Task Group and their contribution to the early years of NASA.



Canada’s 50 Years in Space: The COSPAR Anniversary by Gordon Shepherd and Agnes Kruchio – Provides a thorough description of the parallel growth of the Canadian space science program and the international activities of the Paris based Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) from 1958 up until the 50th Anniversary of COSPAR in 2008. For those who think we need to know more about our history and plan on not making the same mistakes.
Canadian Space Directory – The Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) listing of Canadian private and public organizations who have been and/or are engaged in space related activities.


The Centre for Spatial Law and Policy - This Virginia based think tank focuses on the legal and policy issues associated with geo-spatial data and technology, and how those questions relate to issues of privacy, data quality, intellectual property rights and national security. It's a shame that the connections and answers are often undefined, inconsistent and/or unclear.



Encyclopedia Astronautica - A comprehensive catalog of vehicles, technology, astronauts and information from most countries that have had an active rocket research program, maintained by space enthusiast and author Mark Wade. Part of the Space Daily network.

Archived presentations from the Future In-Space Operations (FISO) Working Group - These are archived and peer reviewed studies going back to 2016 (some with audio visual and power-points) for a variety of NASA approved concepts related to future in-space operations and activities. For FISO presentations made between 2013 - 2015, check out this link.




Historical Investment Financing of Exploration for New Worlds, Current Analogies to Other Industries, and Ideas for the Future by Eva Jane Lark - Essential reading for understanding how exploration has really been financed, written by a Canadian banking executive. Here's a hint. It's mostly not done through government programs.
India's Space Journey: From Fishing Hamlet to Red Planet edited by P. V. Manoranjan Rao, B. N. Suresh and V. P. Balagangadharan - A chronicle "like so many other histories written by engineers and scientists, long on nuts and bolts as well as the story of a march of progress and short on analysis and context," according to author Roger Launius. Still worth a look, especially given that India is currently a space powerhouse.
Introduction to U.S. Export Controls for the Commercial Space Industry - Written by the Office of Space Commerce and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation, this guidebook provides basic information to help commercial space organizations, especially emerging entrepreneurial firms, considering business in the international market. It is intended to serve as a starting point in the preparation for the export control process and includes plain language explanations of US satellite export controls and export control reform initiatives, how the control lists work, how to apply for a license or use a license exemption and ensuring compliance after export authorization.
ISRU Info: The Home of the Space Resources Roundtable - A US based 501 c (3) non-profit promoting the development of space resources. The organization promotes and provides information on availability, applicability and status of development of the resources of space beyond the atmosphere of the Earth.
Janes Space Systems and Industry - A pricey but comprehensive listing of the thousands of commercial and military space systems in service and under development around the world. Designed to provide aerospace and defence businesses with "critical independent technical and market intelligence" to support effective business and products development and provide military and security organizations with the intelligence they need to support critical analysis, planning and procurement activities.
Jonathan's Space Report by Jonathan McDowell - The gold standard for independent data collection on national and international space activities. Includes Jonathan's bimonthly Space Report (which tracks all space launches, piloted missions and automated satellites), a draft follow-up of the next issue (often updated before the official publication) and Jonathan's Space Home Page, which contains extensive data on the history of space exploration.





LEO on the Cheap by Lt. Col. John R. London III - A fascinating read on methods to achieve drastic reductions in launch costs. It serves as a useful companion piece to the 1993 John Walker article "a Rocket a Day Keeps the High Costs Away."
The Long Space Age: The Economic Origins of Space Exploration from Colonial America to the Cold War by Alexander MacDonald - Examines the economic history of American space exploration and spaceflight, from early astronomical observatories to the International Space Station, and argues that the contemporary rise of private-sector efforts is the re-emergence of a long-run trend not a new phenomenon. A slap in the face to government scientists who think the only way to fund science is on the government dole.



A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin - In-depth interviews with twenty-three of the twenty-four moon voyageurs, as well as those who struggled to get the program moving. The book conveys every aspect of the Apollo missions with breathtaking immediacy and stunning detail. Includes an introduction by Tom Hanks, an actor who has played an astronaut in movies and is therefore assumed to know what he's talking about.
Maple Leaf in Orbit: Institutionalizing the Canadian Space Program, 1984–1995 by Andrew B. Godefroy - Was the success of Canada’s space program in the first half of the 1980s largely the result of the country’s increased bilateral space cooperation with the United States? Godefroy argues that it was and calls co-operative initiatives such as the Canadarm a demonstration of how both Canadian nationalism and internationalism could work in outer space, despite the presence of some political friction between the two partners on Earth. Vital context to inform the current debate over Canada's space future.
Marketing the Moon: The Selling of the Apollo Lunar Program by David Meerman Scott and Richard Jurek - Why did a government program whose standard operating procedure had always been secrecy turn its greatest achievement into a communal "brand experience" with top media ratings and high public approval? Read this book and find out.
Microlaunchers: Technology for a New Space Age by Charles Pooley and Ed LeBouthillier - An introduction to microlaunchers and microlauncher technology written for those who have a basic understanding of high school algebra and physics.
The Microsat Way in Canada by Peter Stibrany and Kieran A. Carroll - A formative paper written by two of the people involved in the design and development of the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) space telescope, discussing how micro-satellite manufacturing methodologies will change the economics of space applications and reduce the barriers to entry for new companies. These discussions eventually became the basis for the methodologies in use today at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) Space Flight Laboratory (SFL).
NASA E-book and podcasts - A fascinating list of NASA books, podcasts, galleries' apps, ringtones and information relating to the US space program.


The Microsat Way in Canada by Peter Stibrany and Kieran A. Carroll - A formative paper written by two of the people involved in the design and development of the Microvariability and Oscillations of STars (MOST) space telescope, discussing how micro-satellite manufacturing methodologies will change the economics of space applications and reduce the barriers to entry for new companies. These discussions eventually became the basis for the methodologies in use today at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) Space Flight Laboratory (SFL).
NASA E-book and podcasts - A fascinating list of NASA books, podcasts, galleries' apps, ringtones and information relating to the US space program.
The Online Journal of Space Communication - Since 2001, this scholarly publication has bridged the world of the professional and the world of the academic, two worlds in desperate need of bridging. The publication examines a broad range of issues and events in space and satellite communication, including their historical, technological, economic, policy, cultural and social dimensions.

The Plundering of NASA: An Expose by Rickey D Boozer - An interesting expose which attempts to lift the veil of Congressional politics which force NASA to do the bidding of regional interests that cripple the nation’s capabilities in both exploring outer space and exploiting its enormous economic potential.
Proceedings of the 48th History Symposium of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) edited by Marsha Freedmann - Volume 46 of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) series on the History of Rocketry and Astronautics. Includes a DVD supplement containing a 2014 interview with long-time International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) member Prof. IvĂĄn AlmĂĄr and the paper, "One Hundred Years of Aerospace History in Canada: From McCurdy to Hadfield," by Robert Godwin, Phil Lapp and Chuck Black, which was serialized on the Commercial Space blog, beginning with the February 7th, 2015 post, "Verne, The Fur Country, G.Y. Kaufman, Baldwin, McCurdy & Balfour Currie."
Proceedings of the Princeton Conferences on Space Manufacturing - Abstracts from thirteen conferences from 1975 until 2001, which focused on the challenges and opportunities of space based manufacturing. The original events were organized in cooperation with the Space Studies Institute, a not-for-profit organization which grew out of the interest generated by Gerard K. O’Neill’s vision of human colonies in space.
Quest, The History of Space Flight Quarterly - A combination of learned journal and mass market publication which captures stories related to the people, projects, and programs that have been part of the last fifty years of civil, military, commercial, and international space activities.
Reaching for the High Frontier: The American Pro-Space Movement, 1972-1984 by Michael A. G. Michaud - Exceptional reading for background on the various space advocacy groups which grew out of the 1972–1984 period of stagnant space activities. The book provides many useful lessons on advocacy and a PDF is available online at no charge.
Russian Space Web - Anatoly Zak's massive compendium of news and background material on the historical Soviet and the current Russian and Ukrainian space programs is required reading for space experts. The documentation on the Ukrainian Cyclone-4 and Cyclone 4M rocket programs are especially relevant to recent proposals to build a launch facility on the Canadian East coast.
Russia in Space: The Past Explained. The Future Explored by Anatoly Zak - This comprehensive history of the Russian space program is a unique attempt to visualize the future of astronautics through the eyes of Russian space engineers and describe the processes which went into a nation's planning in space over the past several decades. A large format, full colour and well illustrated book bolstered by almost 700 footnotes.
Safe is Not an Option: Overcoming the Futile Obsession with Getting Everyone Back Alive that is Killing our Expansion into Space by Rand Simberg - Since the end of Apollo, US space operations have ostensibly emphasized safety first. Simberg argues that this has been a mistake, and we must change if we are to continue to "boldly go" back to the Moon and Mars. Simberg makes a cogent argument that our focus on safety doesn't really increase safety but instead acts as a "barrier to entry" for new companies and protects the profits of large, politically connected "dyno-space" companies.
The Science and Futurism You-Tube Channel, hosted by Isaac Arthur - Focused on exploring concepts in science with an emphasis on futurism and space exploration, along with a healthy dose of science fiction, this channel explores many concepts and technologies that are far beyond us now, but tries to keep everything inside the bounds of known science or major theories. Arthur also maintains the amazing IsaacArthur .net.
The Science Writers and Communicators of Canada - A national alliance of professional science communicators who "cultivate excellence in science writing and science journalism" in an effort to increase public awareness of science in Canadian culture.
Sex and Rockets by John Carter (author) with an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson - For those of us who think rocket science is boring, here's the incredible but true story of scientist, poet, and self-proclaimed anti-christ, Jack Parsons, who co-founded the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), led the Agape Lodge of Aleister Crowley's Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO) and even bore more than a passing resemblance to Iron Man's father. Scary, scary stuff...




A Short History of Private Space Development by Clark S. Lindsey- Useful historical context from the person who edits both the long-running HobbySpace blog and the NewSpace Watch commercial site.
Small Satellites and their Regulation by Ram Jakhu and Joseph Pelton - This short interdisciplinary book covers the legal challenges relating to small-sats including technical standards, removal techniques or other methods that might help to address current problems. Also included are discussions of regulatory issues and procedures to ameliorate problems associated with small satellites, especially mounting levels of orbital debris and noncompliance with radio frequency and national licensing requirements, liabilities and export controls. Jakhu the associate director of the Centre for Research of Air and Space Law at McGill University, was one of two authors of the February 17th, 2017 "Independent Review of the Remote Sensing Space Systems Act."
The Space Barons: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the Quest to Colonize the Cosmos by Christian Davenport - An overview of the billionaire entrepreneurs who are pouring their fortunes into the epic resurrection of the American space program. Musk and Bezos, along with Richard Branson and Paul Allen-are using Silicon Valley-style innovation to dramatically lower the cost of space travel, and send humans even further than NASA has gone.
Spaceport Earth: The Reinvention of Spaceflight by Joe Pappalardo - The Popular Mechanics editor covers the emergence of commercial spaceflight and discusses name-brand companies including Virgin Galactic SpaceX, Blue Origin and more appear in its pages. But the thrust of the book is the development of Florida's space coast, an area which Pappalardo argues has transformed from a space shuttle port to a commercial spaceflight hub in less than a decade.
Soviet Space Culture: Cosmic Enthusiasm in Socialist Countries by Eva Maurer, Julia Richers, Carmen Scheide & Monica RĂŒthers - An interesting historical examination of the Soviet space program as a unique cultural phenomenon, which united communism and religion to the utopian and atheistic during the period from the first Sputnik launch to the mid 1970's.
The Space Business Blog – A series of useful case studies on the economics of space based businesses, written by a Lockheed Martin financial analyst between 2010 and 2013.
The Space Library - A repository of primary resource materials (and quite a number of Commercial Space blog posts) from retired NASA astronauts and employees, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the British Interplanetary Society and others. Curated by Robert Godwin, the owner of Apogee Books, which has a number of other publications on this list.


The Space Business Blog – A series of useful case studies on the economics of space based businesses, written by a Lockheed Martin financial analyst between 2010 and 2013.
Space Mission Analysis and Design (SMAD) by James R Wertz and Wiley Larson - A textbook quality publication for engineering and space activities providing what you need to speak the language of space.
Space Prizes - From 2006 until 2015, this was the unofficial "publication of record" for tracking prizes related to space technology with listings, updates and status reports on 100's of international student, scientific and commercial contests. Currently inactive.
Space Vehicle Design Second Edition by Michael D Griffin and James R French - Described as ""the best, the most comprehensive, the most up-to-date resource for today's engineering challenges in space systems design."The second edition links and integrates many disciplines relevant to the field of space systems engineering and contains an additional chapter on reliability analysis, new technical material and numerous homework problems.
The Space Report Online – The “authoritative guide to international space activities” published by the Space Foundation, one of the world’s premier nonprofit organizations supporting space activities, education and space professionals. This online repository of data related to the worldwide space industry also contains copies of the annual 2006 - 2015 editions of the Space Report, the annual publication which serves as the basis of the current repository.
Space Prizes - From 2006 until 2015, this was the unofficial "publication of record" for tracking prizes related to space technology with listings, updates and status reports on 100's of international student, scientific and commercial contests. Currently inactive.


The Space Review - An online publication devoted to in-depth articles, commentary, and reviews regarding all aspects of space exploration: science, technology, policy, business, and more. Edited by Jeff Foust, an aerospace analyst who wrote the Space Politics blog from 2004 - 2014 and currently writes for SpaceNews.




A comprehensive listing of Worldwide Launch Schedules from Spaceflight Now - A regularly updated listing of planned missions and rocket launches around the globe. Dates and times are given in Greenwich Mean Time.
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