Dozens of space-based telescopes operate near Earth and provide incredible images of the universe. But imagine a telescope far away in the outer solar system, 10 or even 100 times farther from the sun than Earth. The ability to look back at our solar system or peer into the darkness of the distant cosmos would make this a uniquely powerful scientific tool.

I'm an astrophysicist who studies the formation of structure in the universe. Since the 1960s, scientists like me have been considering the important scientific questions we might be able to answer with a telescope placed in the outer solar system.

University of Leicester experts in the military uses of outer space have urged further international dialog and 'cool heads' following flight tests of a new Chinese hypersonic missile system.

Reports of China testing a new orbital launch vehicle, known as Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS), have fuelled concerns about the nuclear weapon state's advancing military capabilities and possible consequences for the United States and its allies.

High-profile flight tests conducted in July and August saw a rocket launched into orbital flight, which later re-entered the atmosphere and released a maneuverable glide vehicle traveling at hypersonic speeds, in excess of five times the speed of sound.

Long-range missile systems like this can carry nuclear or non-nuclear warheads. With no official explanation from the Chinese government, some US commentators were quick to assume the worst—a new Chinese ability to bombard the United States from outer space with nuclear weapons.

But now, in a new policy brief for the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network by Dr. Bleddyn Bowen and Dr. Cameron Hunter, the international relations experts have called for cooler heads in response to the tests.

A federal agency has yet again pushed back a final decision on whether to allow the construction of a launchpad for commercial rockets in coastal Georgia.

The Federal Aviation Administration plans to release its decision on Spaceport Camden by Dec. 15 rather than this Wednesday, agency spokesman Steve Kulm said. An agency statement cited a delay caused by "ongoing consultation efforts." The final determination was originally expected at the end of July but now has been delayed at least three times.

Camden County, in the southeast corner of Georgia, wants to build the nation's 13th licensed commercial spaceport and has spent nearly 10 years and $10 million pursuing that goal. The FAA in June issued an environmental impact study that concluded building the spaceport would be its "preferred alternative."

That drew pushback from the National Park Service and its parent agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior. In a July 22 letter to the FAA, the Interior Department said a chance of rockets exploding and raining fiery debris onto the federally protected wilderness on Cumberland Island creates an "unacceptable risk.