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 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 …
You Won’t Believe How the First Spy Satellites Worked
When you think of surveillance satellites you think of systems beaming back hi res images of almost anywhere on the earth to secret government intelligence agencies but now that same technology is available to all of us with things like google earth. However, when the very first surveillance satellites were …
Why Did We Test Nukes in Space?
Just as the world was reeling from the Cuban missile crisis when it had come closer than ever to a nuclear conflict between the US and Soviet union, both the US and the Soviets launched high altitude nuclear tests at the edge of space, one of 9 such tests within …
What Did We Leave on the Moon & What Will Happen to it in the Future?
With the surprise landing of the Chinese rover Yutu 2 or Jade rabbit 2 and the Chang’e-4 lander on the far side of the moon on 3rd Jan 2019, I thought it would be interesting to see just what sort of things we’ve actually put up there on the moon …
What Happened to NASA’s Gateway to Space – Launch Complex 39
They were seen on the most significant missions like Apollo, Skylab, the Space shuttle, they’ve been used for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy and they’ll be there on the upcoming SLS missions but they are hardly ever talked and without them, we simply wouldn’t be able to get the rockets off …
How do you make Invisible Ships, Planes & Tanks?
To the ancient Greeks it was called the Helm of Hades or the cap of hades, a special helmet that would make the wearer invisible. In Welsh and Germanic folklore as well as our modern day fictional equivalent of Harry Potter there is the “cloak of invisibility”, a magical …