The CBS News Space Place

In this photo taken on April 23, 2012, Elaine Vlieger, 79, walks near her home near Denver, Colo. Vlieger is making some concessions to her early stage Alzheimer's, but isn't ready to give up either her home or her independence. She stays active with yard work and daily walks. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) / Ed Andrieski

This is your source for detailed, accurate information about the world of space exploration, from shuttle missions and assembly of the international space station to statistics, demographic data and coverage of planetary exploration from Mars to Saturn. No attempt is made to duplicate NASA's many space pages or others devoted to daily news. Rather, the goal here is to provide a level of detail and objectivity not readily available elsewhere.

The CBS News Space Reporter's Handbook, available from the Current Mission page before each shuttle flight, provides a wealth of hard-to-get information while SpaceCalc, a suite of Excel spreadsheets, is available in both PC and Macintosh formats for armchair flight controllers who want to track a launch or mission in more detail. In-depth coverage of the Challenger disaster also is available on line.

The Space Place is written, edited and maintained by CBS News space consultant William Harwood, who has covered America's space program full time for more than 15 years, focusing on space shuttle operations, planetary exploration and astronomy. Based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood provides up-to-the-minute space reports for CBS News and regularly contributes to Spaceflight Now and The Washington Post.

During space shuttle missions, Harwood provides timely and detailed email updates about the flight. Click here to start receiving Bill's email updates.

Comments, suggestions, questions and email are welcome! Bill can be reached at [e-mail].