Humanity in Space: The Next Few Decades

A few months ago, I put together a link list of posts about developments in spaceflight. Not so much the esoteric search for knowledge of the cosmos, as crew-optional cargo ships for the Earth-orbit run; orbiting commercial facilities; Tourism beyond Earth's atmosphere, and spaceports.

That was "Humanity in Space: Looking at the Big Picture" (January 29, 2010). "Big Picture" included a very quick look at space agencies around the world, and a video tour of the International Space Station.

Power Stations in Space, Lunar Mining: It's Real

I'll be adding links to posts about space-related technology, transportation, military and business developments:

• "Skylon Spaceplane's New Engine Test; Old Video; Passenger Module"
  (April 30, 2012)
• "There's Nickle in Them There Asteroids"
  (April 23, 2012)
• "Spaceplanes: Seven Decades, One Infographic, and a Hopeful Lemming"
  (July 23, 2011)
• "Space Shuttle Era Ends: 'It's On to the Next Adventure' "
  (July 21, 2011)
• "McDonnell Douglas Delta Clipper: First Single-Stage-to-Orbit Freighter - Almost"
  (July 13, 2011)
• "Space Shuttle: Three Decades of Flights; and looking from Silbervogel to the Stars"
  (July 13, 2011)
• "Atlantis: 'Inspirational,' the Last of Its Kind (and what's next)"
  (July 8, 2011)
• "British Spaceplane Engine Test Coming in June"
  (May 6, 2011)
• "April 12, 1961, and Yuri Gagarin: the Lemming's Take"
  (April 12, 2011)
• "High-Tech Steam Gun to Mars: No Kidding"
  (April 8, 2011)
• "Space Junk, Lasers, and Diplomacy"
  (March 21, 2011)
• "Space Shuttle Discovery: 27 Years, Last Flight Done"
  (March 9, 2011)
• "ISS Storage Room, a Video, and Hair"
  (March 2, 2011)
• "Four Ships Docked at the ISS"
  (February 28, 2011)
• "Space Shuttle Infographic: From Steering Thrusters to Rudder/Speed Brake"
  (January 31, 2011)
• "International Space Station: Not Many Amenities, But What a View!"
  (January 26, 2011)
• "NanoSail-D: Maybe It's Working, Maybe Not"
  (December 12, 2010)
• "X-37B Back on Earth: Photos, Facts, and the Lemming"
  (December 3, 2010)
• " 'Today the Sun, Tomorrow the Stars?' Weird-But-True Legal Claim"
  (November 27, 2010)
• "Discovery Launch: Hydrogen Leak, Cracks, and Canvas Sails"
  (November 24, 2010)
• "Hyperbole, Business, and a Spaceship Factory"
  (November 19, 2010)
• "3-D Printer in Space: Seems to Make Sense"
  (November 11, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace, Private Space Station, International Enterprise"
  (October 20, 2010)
• "SpaceShipTwo's Quarter-Hour Glide"
  (October 11, 2010)
• "Teachers in Space! Almost. Sort of."
  (October 8, 2010)
• "Russia Will Have First* Commercial Space Station"
  (September 29, 2010)
• "Last Flights of the First Space Freighters, New Construction at Spaceports"
  (September 23, 2010)
• "Spaceships Launched on Rails: Not-So-New Idea Proposed"
  (September 15, 2010)
• "Commercial Flight to Mars: Maybe, in 15 Years or So"
  (September 1, 2010)
• "Asteroid Mission 'Plymouth Rock:' Catchy Name, Practical Technology"
  (August 31, 2010)
• "NASA's Six-Legged Roving Lunar Base"
  (August 19, 2010)
• "Repair Job on the International Space Station"
  (August 2, 2010)
• "Farms: On the Moon? Quite Likely"
  (July 29, 2010)
• "European Space Agency Inheriting Huge Satellite, and Trouble to Match"
  (July 27, 2010)
• "60 Years Plus One Day at the Cape"
  (July 25, 2010)
• "Boeing CST-100 Spaceship: Passenger Service to ISS, Commercial Space Stations"
  (July 21, 2010)
• "Proposed Commission for Planetary Defense: H.R. 5587 Makes Sense"
  (July 20, 2010)
• "Space Tourism and Virgin Galactic: Another Step"
  (July 17, 2010)
• "Free Fall for the Fourth of July"
  (July 2, 2010)
• "JAXA's Ikaros Sets Sail for Venus"
  (June 19, 2010)
• "X-51A Waverider: It's Just the Beginning"
  (June 18, 2010)
• "Taxi to the Stars, No: To Earth Orbit, Soon"
  (June 5, 2010)
• "X-51 Scramjet Test: Over Three Minutes of Hypersonic Flight"
  (May 28, 2010)
• "Secret X-37B Space Plane and Amateur Astronomers"
  (May 23, 2010)
• "Falcon Test Flight Next Week: Or, Not"
  (May 21, 2010)
• "Last Space Shuttle Launch: More of a Beginning, Than an End"
  (May 14, 2010)
• "Asteroids and Earth: Time for the Space Patrol?"
  (May 2, 2010)
• "X-37B Test Flight Scheduled For Tomorrow: Robots, Spaceships, and Feeling Safe"
  (April 21, 2010)
• "Space Marines: Really"
  (April 18, 2010)
• "X-37B / Orbital Test Vehicle Robot Spaceplane Now an Air Force Project"
  (April 5, 2010)
• "Hypersonic Transports: Not Yet, But They're Coming"
  (March 30, 2010)
  • A few modifications, and these could 'fly' to orbit and back
• "X-51 Waverider, Bullet Trains: Change Happens"
  (March 11, 2010)
• "Sailing on Sunlight"
  (November 11, 2009)
• "Hypersonic Vehicles: Waveriders to Space"
  (November 2, 2009)
• "Skylon: Spaceplane for 2019"
  (March 12, 2009)
• "Blue Origin: Another Company Building Spaceships"
  (February 27, 2010)
• "Goodbye Shuttle, Hello Falcon"
  (February 20, 2010)
• "Photovoltaic Nanotech: Solar Power, Cheap(er)"
  (February 18, 2010)
• "Humanity in Space: Looking at the Big Picture"
  (January 29, 2010)
• "Spaceport America: More Progress"
  (January 29, 2010)
• "Bullet Trains in America: United States Transportation Enters the 20th Century (It's About Time)"
  (January 28, 2010)
• "Bigelow Aerospace: Space to Rent or Lease, in Orbit"
  (January 20, 2010)
• "America's Seventh Spaceport"
  (January 19, 2010)
• "Crew-Optional Dragon Cargo Ship Ready for Testing Soon"
  (December 16, 2009)
• "ISS Space Station Walkthrough, Looking Ahead"
  (October 28, 2009)
• "NASA's X-37 Project, New Technologies, and - EEEK! the Military!!"
  (October 23, 2009)
• "New Rocket Fuel: Aluminum and - - - Water?!"
  (October 21, 2009)
• "When it's Time to Build Spaceships, People Will Build Spaceships"
  (October 4, 2009)
• "A Freighter Unloads its Cargo: What's the Big Deal?"
  (September 20, 2009)
• "Alan Stern and Space Tourism"
  (July 18, 2009)
• "Power Stations in Space: California Caught On"
  (April 20, 2009)
• "Spaceport America: It's Real, and Open for Business"
  (October 26, 2008)
• "Spaceship to the Moon: This One's from India"
  (October 22, 2008)
• "Bigelow Aerospace Space Habitat Prototype Passes Milestone"
  (May 12, 2008)
• "Coming Soon to a Spaceport Near You"
  (March 26, 2008)

Posts about what's a bit further over the horizon:

• "Humanity in Space: The Next Few Centuries "