Every new editorial article on Encyclopedia Astronautica carries the name of its responsible writer and lists its sources. We correct substantive errors openly. Our approach to the historical encyclopedia archive is explained below.
Who writes for us
New editorial articles are written and edited by the Encyclopedia Astronautica team. Each one carries the name of the writer responsible for it, with a short bio on their author page. The historical encyclopedia archive keeps its original authorship and credits.
How we research
We build our articles on primary and expert sources wherever we can. These include space agency archives such as NASA and ESA, mission records, peer-reviewed research, observatory releases, and published histories and memoirs.
The encyclopedia itself is also one of our sources, and we link to its entries so readers can go deeper. Every date, figure and name in an article is checked against a source before it is published.
Sources
Every new article ends with a list of the sources it relies on. If a fact is disputed or the record is unclear, we say so in the article rather than picking one version and presenting it as settled.
How we use AI
Our articles are written by our writers. Some of them use AI tools to help with parts of the work, such as research, planning a piece or drafting a passage. All use of AI is subject to the same sourcing, verification and editorial standards.
Whatever tools are involved, the writer is the author. They decide what the story is, add their own research and material, check every fact against its source, and put their name to the finished article.
Headlines
We want our headlines to make people curious about space. They must also be accurate, and the article must deliver what the headline promises. We do not invent quotes, numbers or events.
Accidents and loss of life
Spaceflight has cost lives. When we write about accidents, we focus on what happened, why, and what changed afterwards. We treat the people involved and their families with respect, and we do not use tragedy for shock value.
Corrections
If you spot an error, email us at [email protected] or use our contact page. We review every report. When we make a substantive correction to an article, we fix it promptly and add a note at the end saying what changed and when. Small fixes, such as typos, are made without a note.
The encyclopedia archive
The original encyclopedia entries were compiled over many years by the site's founder and contributors. We preserve the original archive and its historical authorship. When we make substantive factual corrections, we record what changed and when. Archive entries have not all been reverified under our current editorial process. The space history chronology ends in 2018 and is kept as a historical record.
Independence and advertising
Encyclopedia Astronautica is supported by advertising. Advertisers have no say in what we write, and we do not publish sponsored content.