Watching a Saturn V launch is still an awe-inspiring sight but there is far more going on than meets the eye. The Saturn V was far too complicated to fly by hand but contrary to popular belief it wasn’t the Apollo guidance computer or AGC in the command module doing …
F-1 The Engine That Nearly Stopped the Apollo Moon Missions
With the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 coming up is easy to forget that the whole Apollo program was a ground-breaking succession of technologies but one was essential to literally get things off the ground. The Rocketdyne F1 engines would be the biggest, most powerful single-chamber rocket engines ever built …
Will our electricity come from space in the future?
As our need for Electricity increases, solar power is increasingly seen as the future of renewable, green electricity generation. Every hour more solar energy reaches the earth than the whole world uses in a year. But it has two big drawbacks, our atmosphere, 30% of the suns energy is reflected …
How safe are nuclear weapons?
Unlike almost any other device created, Nuclear weapons must abide by the “always/never” rule. They must always work flawlessly when required, often with just a few minutes notice, they must never accidentally go off, never get stolen and never be subject to unauthorized use. So how safe are the ultimate …
Why is Project HAARP so controversial?
When it comes to controversial science projects, the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program or HAARP is right up there with the moon landings and chemtrails on the conspiracy hit list. But once you get past the wilder theories and claims the basis of the science and its aims is no …
What does it take to land on a comet?
There have been some pretty spectacular space missions since we’ve had the ability to get off of planet earth but few have attempted the complexity and precision required to catch up with a comet travelling at up to 135,000 km/h, enter an orbit around it and then land a probe …
How the Atomic Race Was Won
In the last few seconds of the countdown to the worlds first atomic bomb test in 1945, many of the people there didn’t know if it was going to work. Even General Groves, who had directed the Manhattan project said that as he lay on the ground facing away from …
How will the internet work in Space? – The Interplanetary Internet
As we reach the 30th anniversary of the world wide web, there is a quiet revolution taking place above our heads as the future of the internet expands out into space and not just up to the ISS but the moon and beyond and into what will become the interplanetary …
How do Spacecraft Photograph the Planets & get the Images Back to Earth?
Over the past 50 odd years we sent robotic probes to explore our solar system and they have sent back amazing close up images of the planets, asteroids and comets but how did they take these images and what sorts of issues are there in taking photos in deep space …
What happens to old spacecraft?
There is always a big flurry of interest when a new spacecraft is launched, like the SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Dragon crew capsule a few days back but as they say todays news is tomorrows chip wrapper so what happens to all the old spacecraft, do they just hang …