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Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is a founding member and long-time contributor to Space.com. She concurrently spent 25 years as a wire service reporter and freelance writer, specializing in space exploration, planetary science, astronomy and the search for life beyond Earth. A graduate of Northwestern University, Irene currently serves as Space Editor for Aviation Week & Space Technology. 

Articles by: Irene Klotz

An artist's illustration of a satellite servicing spacecraft approaching its target. DARPA has selected Space Systems Loral as its commercial partner for the agency's Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites program.

Orbital Loses Bid to Stop DARPA Satellite-Servicing Project

By Irene Klotz published

Spaceflight provider Orbital ATK lost a bid to stop DARPA from partnering with a competing company to demonstrate in-space satellite-servicing technology.

Mars Base Camp space station concept art

NASA Could Reach Mars Faster with Public-Private Partnerships, Companies Tell Congress

By Irene Klotz published

Vice President Pence Visits KSC

Pence Calls for Return to the Moon, Boots on Mars

By Irene Klotz published

The Trump administration will seek a heavier emphasis on human-spaceflight efforts, including crewed missions to the moon and Mars, Vice President Mike Pence said today (July 6).

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shown here launched 10 communications satellites into space for Iridium Communications on June 25. SpaceX is preparing to launch another Falcon 9 on July 2.

SpaceX Rockets Through Backlog with 3rd Launch in 9 Days

By Irene Klotz published

Deep Space Gateway art

Moon Station Could Use Tech from Scrapped Asteroid Mission, NASA Says

By Irene Klotz published

NASA is salvaging technology from a scrapped asteroid mission to help build a space station orbiting the moon.

Nuclear power system art

NASA to Test Fission Power for Future Mars Colony

By Irene Klotz published

NASA engineers are working on a nuclear fission system called Kilopower that would power a human colony on Mars.

Total Solar Eclipse of March 2016 from Plane

Solar Eclipse 2017: Alaska Airlines Flight Will Offer View Above the Clouds

By Irene Klotz published

A group of lucky astronomy buffs will get to watch the moon block the face of the sun on Aug. 21 from 35,000 feet (10,700 meters) in the air aboard a special charter Alaska Airlines eclipse flight.

Liftoff! SpaceX Nails Second Launch in Three Days

By Irene Klotz published

SpaceX nailed its second launch in three days today (June 25) with liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying 10 satellites owned by Iridium Communications.

Bulgaria Sat Mission

SpaceX Set for Second Falcon 9 Launch in Three Days

By Irene Klotz published

One day after putting Bulgaria's first communications satellite into orbit, SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday (June 25).

SpaceX test fires a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket booster ahead of its planned launch on June 19, 2017 to send BulgariaSat-1, the first communications satellite for Bulgaria, into orbit from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Flo

SpaceX to Launch 1st Satellite for Bulgaria (on a Used Rocket!) Monday

By Irene Klotz published

SpaceX is ramping up for its eighth flight of the year on Monday (June 19) with the launch of a communications satellite for Bulgaria aboard a previously flown Falcon 9 booster.

KFC Zinger chicken sandwich

KFC Flying Chicken Sandwich Bankrolling World View Balloon Test Flight

By Irene Klotz published

A KFC ad campaign that will place a chicken sandwich on a World View stratospheric balloon has covered a significant portion of the cost of the test flight.

pulsar concept art

Pulsar-Based Navigation System to Get Test on Space Station

By Irene Klotz published

SpaceX’s Dragon at the ISS, September 2014

SpaceX Dragon Cargo Ship Poised for Historic Relaunch to Space Station

By Irene Klotz published

Orphan planet with disk

Orphan Planet's Huge Disk Shows That Planets Are More Like Stars Than We Know

By Irene Klotz published

The discovery of a vast star-like disk of gas and dust surrounding planet OTS44 challenges the notion of what differentiates a planet from a star, and of how their origins differ.

Rocket Lab Launches First Electron Rocket

Rocket Lab Electron Booster Falls Short in Debut Test Launch

By Irene Klotz published

The private spaceflight company Rocket Lab's first Electron rocket launches into space from Mahia peninsula in New Zealand on May 25, 2017. The two-stage Electron is designed to launch small satellites into orbit.

Rocket Lab's Electron Mini Launcher Blasts Off in Debut Flight from New Zealand

By Irene Klotz published

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is pictured with an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft (left) during a May 12, 2017 spacewalk outside the International Space Station. Whitson, the station's commander, and fellow NASA astronaut Jack Fischer will conduct a repair s

Space Station Astronauts to Take Surprise Spacewalk Tuesday to Replace Failed Computer Relay

By Irene Klotz published

Rocket Lab's Electron Rocket

Maiden Flight for Rocket Lab's Mini Launcher Nears

By Irene Klotz published

When Rocket Lab's small satellite launcher blasts off from New Zealand next week on its debut test flight, it will be more than just the Electron rocket that is on trial.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Inmarsat-5 F4 communications satellite into space from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 15, 2017.

SpaceX Launches Super-Heavy Communications Satellite

By Irene Klotz published

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Inmarsat 5-F4 communications satellite is test fired at Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida ahead of its May 15, 2017 launch.

SpaceX Will Launch Its 1st Flight for Inmarsat Tonight: Watch It Live

By Irene Klotz published

SLS and Orion on the Pad: Artist Illustration

Test Tank for NASA Heavy-Lift Rocket Damaged in Louisiana

By Irene Klotz published

A Space Launch System (SLS) fuel tank needed for structural tests in advance of the debut flight of NASA's heavy-lift booster was damaged on May 3, the space agency said today (May 11).

Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

Dark Matter Probe on Space Station to Be Revitalized

By Irene Klotz published

Mars by Hubble in August 2003

Boiling Blood and Radiation: 5 Ways Mars Can Kill

By Irene Klotz published

Radiation exposure is among the top health risks for Mars astronauts, but the Red Planet poses many other dangers as well. Here are the fastest ways Mars would kill an unprotected traveler.

Virgin Galactic's spaceship Unity flies freely over the Mojave Air and Space Port in California during a May 1, 2017 test flight.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Makes 1st Test Flight of Revamped Re-Entry System

By Irene Klotz published

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the NROL-76 spy satellite on a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office on May 1, 2017. The mission launched from Pad-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

SpaceX Launches US Spy Satellite on Secret Mission, Nails Rocket Landing

By Irene Klotz published