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 …
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 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 …
What Were the Real Reasons Why We Stopped Going to the Moon
Next year, 2019, will be the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, since then just 12 men have walked on the lunar surface in 6 missions covering a period lasting less than 3 years. The Apollo project at it’s peak employed over 400,000 people in some …
Can We Save Hubble and Where is the James Webb Space Telescope?
Hubble has been one of the most valuable scientific projects of recent times, some even say that we have learned more with Hubble than we did with Apollo but like all good things it must come to an end and that end will be coming in the not too distant …
Could We Launch Spacecraft with a Giant Space Gun?
When we talk about blasting something in to space, most of the time you would think that they would be using a rocket but what about using a giant gun.. sounds crazy but back in the 60’s a joint project between the US and Canada used just such a giant …
How Will We Save the Apollo & Other Lunar Landing Sites?
With the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing coming up and the prospect of having new lunar explorers both state-sponsored and private companies, how do you protect what are arguably some of the most important scientific and culturally historic sites in human history? You would think that the …
NASA’s Next Space Station LOP-G – was the Deep Space Gateway
Goodbye Deep space gateway, hello “LOP-G”, just in case you wondering what heck I’m going on about. This is the news that the next space station, the one to replace the ISS has had a bit of a Trumpian makeover and will now be called the “Lunar Orbital Platform – …