FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST)

http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/

Established in 1984 as part of the Department of Transportation, AST was transferred to the FAA in 1995. The website provides information and access to Licenses, Permits, Approvals and Launch Data. The Reports and Studies section is "the official collection of current publications, market forecasts, research studies, and reports about commercial space transportation". The Regulations section gives you Final Rules and the specific legislation and regulations under Title 14 CFR Chapter III. Under the AST Programs you'll find the Environmental Program and the International Affairs effort outlined. Space Transportation Infrastructure Matching Grants were first funded in 2010. Information about application and contact for these funds are located here. You can learn how the commercial space transportation system affects everyone economically and financially. Aerospace engineers and industry analysts are invited to apply for work with AST. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has a mobile viewing website as well as pages on the major social networks.

Air Force Space Command

http://www.afspc.af.mil/index.asp

The Air Force Space Command is celebrating 30 years of service. The website covers many aspects of the men and women who are part of this military team. The Home page covers the most recent news, press releases and commentaries. Many of the items lead to videos and other websites. There are pulldown menus for News, Photos, Art, Library, Units and Questions. You can see just how the space and cyberspace professionals work and view different aspects of their jobs. You can also follow activities of the Command on the major social media.

Planet Hunters

http://www.planethunters.org/

Part of the Zooniverse science project created by the Citizen Science Alliance in collaboration with Yale University, Planet Hunters lets you participate in the real, hard work, of scientific research. Typically, you are presented with the light curves of stars. While computers can identify clear changes in a stars brightness, the human eye can detect changes that may fall into the category of 'noise' that comes with the data. That data comes from the Kepler Mission, NASA Discovery mission #10, to survey the Milky Way galaxy for stars that might have planets in or near the habitable zone. The current Kepler Planet count is 77. The Planet Hunters are contributing to that number. A short tutorial provides instruction on what to look for and gives you some practice. Then you jump right in and search. You can log in and get credit for your discoveries. There is a team of professionals that monitors the most likely candidates. You can follow Planet Hunters on Facebook and Twitter. Zooniverse also has a program to help study the Lunar surface - MoonZoo, and another to classify Galaxies - Galaxy Zoo.

New Scientist - Space

http://www.newscientist.com/section/space

The NewScientist Space page is part of the commercial news aggregate NewScientist by Reed Business Information, Ltd. The website is an offshoot of the companies over 50 year old magazine. The site has broken down the variety of interests into specific channels. The Space page provides a well laid out format with the latest news items at the top left. Clicking on any title takes you to an in-depth report with embedded links to related items. Each item allows for printing, emailing and sharing. A small video camera icon is displayed when a video is a major part of the story. The site is commercial and advertising is mostly on the right hand side. Opportunities to read the "Astrophile", check popular items, and read the blog are listed. You can explore specific aspects such as Astrobiology, Cosmology, Comets and Asteroids and much more. All space related items are available from the main 'Space' page. RSS feeds are available and you can subscribe to the magazine.

Discovery Channel Telescope

http://news.discovery.com/space/wide-angle-scanning-skies-discovery-channel-telescope-120907.html

Last month the Discovery Channel Telescope saw first light. On this page on the Discovery News website you can see the fifth largest telescope in the United States as it begins its work. The page has nine items as of this writing, that show different aspects of this new scope. Several behind the scenes videos and 'tours' capture the immense project. In partnership with the Lowell Observatory, the state-of-the-art telescope promises "to ignite curiosity and stir the imagination". The 4.3 meter scope will be tested for the next 18 months with research scheduled to begin in 2013 or 2014. Another reason to stay in touch with Discovery.com

The B612 Foundation

http://b612foundation.org/

The B612 Foundation is a non-profit organization intent on mapping the inner solar system. They propose this as a way to protect humanity by finding and tracking asteroids prior to impact with Earth. The website provides easy access to information about the B612 Foundation and it's Sentinel Mission. There is plenty of access to media articles, press releases and FAQ pages. There are photo pages and a video library hosted on Vimeo. The organization wants you to participate. Throughout the website you'll have plenty of opportunity to Join the Crew or download the latest Media Kit (Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF files) or Fact Sheet ( a PowerPoint document). You can follow the B612 Foundation on Twitter and Facebook.

Air & Space Magazine

http://www.airspacemag.com/

Air & Space/Smithsonian is part of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. The magazine publishes stories and articles revolving around the Museum's collection. The website endeavors to bring the best of the magazine and more to "surprise it's audience" with items about aviation and spaceflight. From the home page you get a slideshow of the main articles and menu's that reach inside the site for the details on flight, Military Aviation, Space Exploration and more. Photo's, videos and The Daily Planet blog keep you posted with the very latest news and activities. A link to the Smithsonian store opens a new window and brings you to the hundreds of items available there. You can easily subscribe to the printed magazine and also follow it by email and the major social media.

Orbital Outfitters

http://orbitaloutfitters.com/


Are you ready to go? Bags packed and your XCOR ticket in hand? Chances are you could be wearing the latest fashion from Orbital Outfitters. They make the new generation of space suits. It's fun to see and read about the new designs and applied technologies that Orbital Outfitters is producing. The website provides easy access to information about the company, its mission and news items about its work. Launched in December of 2006 with a contract from XCOR Aerospace, the company is living up to its tagline "Have Spacesuit - Will Travel" taken from the Robert Heinlein novel. You can get email updates from them or follow them on Facebook.

Coalition for Space Exploration

http://spacecoalition.com/

The Coalition For Space Exploration is a space advocacy group with members and partners from the leading aerospace industry companies. The Home page has a menu for information about the Coalition, the Benefits of Space, Coalition News, Legislative Activity, a Blog, Education Station and a long list of Related Links. The Blog has items of interest to the Coalition plus links to many other Space Blogs and a Twitter news feed. The Newsroom also includes Capitol Hill and NASA news. There is a link to The Coalition's YouTube page which has a wide variety of videos promoting space activity and exploration. The Coalition for Space Exploration is also on Facebook.