ROOM: The Space Journal is one of the top magazines on space exploration, technology and industry. At ROOM, we share a common objective – advancement of peaceful space exploration for the benefit of humankind, all while bringing you fascinating articles on an array of contemporary topics. Our authors include analysts and industry leaders from all over the world, which lets us bring you timely and accurate information about 8 surprising space shuttle facts.
April 2020
Space Florida - gateway to an interstellar future
...and investing in commercialising aged or under-utilised assets. Facilities that once launched NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle missions are now launching commercial rockets. The state’s spaceport system is a living example of ...Processing Facilities (OPF) of NASA that were used to turnaround and process the Space Shuttle after landing for subsequent re-flight to space. Space Florida secured a long-term property agreement for the first of these, OPF ...
February 2019
The Space Elevator – an alternative path to space?
... spectacular launch failures. The rocket equation for chemical rockets results in only a small payload fraction. The space shuttle carried only one train-wagon-equivalent payload to LEO, around 27.5 metric tons (mt), or 1.4 percent of total...eventually hit it. This danger is as real as a speck of paint almost taking out the window of the space shuttle! The risks of debris, large and small, and the possible responses are complex [19] and beyond this...
July 2020
Lego’s replica space programme
... its own small space programme. Entering space Space is increasingly an integral part of our culture… It is therefore no great surprise that Lego has embarked on its own small space programme Although a number of space-related Lego kits ..., lack-of-saleability reasons). It could, however, be time to consider that icon of human space travel, the Space Shuttle, as it drifts further into the mists of history and rose-tinted recollection. About the ...
June 2022
Military space – how worried should we be?
...(Warner Brothers, 1983) unmistakeably reflected the US government and media portrayal of early space as ‘peaceful purposes’. The Space Shuttle had its own dedicated west coast military base, Vandenberg Air Force Base. Full spectrum... been flying secret missions since 2010. Only one country has a largely military space programme: Israel. This is hardly surprising, given its location and its inability to gain military observation intelligence on its ...
August 2021
Born to juggle in space
...near the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio and in Florida, within view of Space Shuttles leaving the planet, I developed an early appreciation for space exploration. In addition to my love of the cosmos, and perhaps related to my ...a deep truth about the human experience which is often left in the world of metaphor and mystery Not surprisingly it made me extremely dizzy. When I first started, I could only handle about five minutes before ...
February 2021
Space archaeology - preserving our orbital heritage
..., it is hardly surprising that the proliferation of debris is of major concern to the operators of such assets. The destructive ability of even a small paint flake travelling in excess of 17,500 miles per hour is significant, as shown by craters observed in Space Shuttle windows. Whilst...
September 2016
Transforming US space policy
... between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Apollo programme, Space Shuttle launches, the International Space Station; all high profile human exploration programmes carried out by world governments. Many do not realise that ... other bills that will pass. I do not expect everyone to agree with all of the provisions of the bill. In fact, I expect many will have strong objections to some of the provisions. But these are issues that need...
May 2020
Space for Art – The magnificent beauty of spaceflight
... so, and I am so thankful to all of the photographers who are chronicling the magnificent beauty of spaceflight. To me, this picture of the Space Shuttle Discovery’s roll to the launch pad for her final flight is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. With... to and from the ISS together for the past 20 years – over half that time in parallel with Space Shuttle flights, and now our sole means of transport since the...
February 2020
Preserving our space heritage
...trains, cars, etc, but probably no satellites that have actually flown in space. There are, of course, a few re-entry capsules and a limited cadre of space shuttles, manned vehicles that were deliberately designed to return to Earth. But in ... in the museum? If you know where and when to look, the ISS is pretty unmistakable. In fact, during its construction it overtook Venus to become the second brightest object visible in the night sky, after...
