When a spacecraft comes home without people on board, it is not a cinematic failure but a carefully choreographed engineering choice. From military spaceplanes to commercial capsules, uncrewed returns ...

It was 40 years ago today (Jan. 28) that the space shuttle Challenger blasted off on its 10th mission to space. Sadly, the vehicle never made it there. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff ...

Col. Eileen Collins was the first woman to pilot and command a NASA space shuttle. Collins commanded the first flight after the 2003 Columbia tragedy, which also experienced a foam-shedding issue.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense. The Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) would need to be cut into ...