The Space Review Looks at Commercial Crew and NASA Reform

Artists conception of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft in orbit

This week in The Space Review…

Recasting the debate about commercial crew
One of the most controversial elements of the White House’s plan for NASA, commercial crew, has suffered setbacks in Congress in recent weeks. Jeff Foust reports on how proponents of commercial crew believe that the effort’s long-term success may hinge on resetting the terms of the debate about it.

A new debate, part 2
If radically reshaping and even breaking apart NASA is out of the question, what else can be done to reinvigorate the space agency? Bob Clarebrough examines the critical requirements for any successful effort to reform the agency.

The man who painted my future
Space artist Robert McCall passed away on February 26th of this year. Bob Mahoney recounts how a particular painting by McCall inspired him into the space industry and ponders, in light of recent developments, when the artist’s grand vistas of a spacefaring civilization might become reality.

Review: The Edge of Physics
As astronomy and physics have become more specialized, the requirements for performing research have become increasingly demanding. Jeff Foust reviews a book that is part review of our state of knowledge in these subjects, and part travelogue to the extreme locations on Earth where this research is performed.