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From The New York Times: "In New Space Race, Enter the Entrepreneurs": Four years from now, the company plans for real modules to be launched and assembled into the solar system’s first private space station. "Every astronaut we have come in here just says, ‘Wow,’ ” said Robert T. Bigelow, the company founder. “They can’t believe the size of this thing.”

Celebrated astronomer Carl Sagan also was said to have been involved with the secret project, which reportedly was known as "A Study of Lunar Research Flights" or "Project A119." In an excerpt from the study reads, "Nuclear detonations in the vicinity of the moon are considered in this report along with scientific information which might be obtained from such explosions. The military aspect is aided by investigation of space environment, detection of nuclear device testing, and capability of weapons in space.

By the time U.S. astronauts return to the moon they may need permission to touch down -- from China, which is laying the groundwork for a lunar land grab, says long-time space advocate and entrepreneur Robert Bigelow.

Owning the moon is the first step in a game Bigelow, founder of Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, calls "Solar System Monopoly."

A Policeman in Worcestershire, England, was on duty alone and saw a suspicious light in the Clent Hills. He went to investigate the light, warning his Sergeant over radio that he might need backup. After 20 minutes of investigating, he radioed back explaining that the light was actually just the moon.

On April 30, 2012, if everything checks out, SpaceX will send an unmanned Dragon capsule, launched from its own rocket, to dock with the International Space Station. If successful, this would mark the first time a privately-owned spaceship docks with a space station in orbit. And it will pave the way for private, manned space travel.

On April 13, 2009 the National Archive Records Administration made available almost 250,000 pages of documents from President Reagan's administration. A curious comment found in President Reagan's Diary for Tuesday, June 11, 1985 (page 334) reads:

"Lunch with 5 top space scientist. It was fascinating. Space truly is the last frontier and some of the developments there in astronomy etc. are like science fiction, except they are real. I learned that our shuttle capacity is such that we could orbit 300 people."

It's actually really easy to think of space as boring. The planets in our own solar system all seem to be empty rocks or balls of gas, and you find a whole lot of nothing before you get to the next star. Meanwhile, Hollywood's most creative minds can't get past populating the place with planets that look a whole lot like Earth (and specifically, parts of California) featuring monsters, rapey aliens or Muppets.
But real space is far, far stranger. You just have to know where to look to find things like ...

An engineer who created plans of working replica for the starship Enterprise has created a petition for NASA to consider the project.

The engineer suggests that the 3,000 foot-long ship be built in space and not land on the surface of any moon or planet so that it would never need to reach escape velocity. The ship would use on-board nuclear reactors, cutting down cost of fuelling the ship. He estimates his re-design of the Enterprise would be able to travel to the moon in a mere three days, and Mars in three months.

June 4, 2010: Earth and space are about to come into contact in a way that's new to human history. To make preparations, authorities in Washington DC are holding a meeting: The Space Weather Enterprise Forum at the National Press Club on June 8th.